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REGIONAL PEST REPORT

Pest threat

Ants and mice are moving inside and wildlife may be looking for potential harbourage areas. Spiders are constructing egg sacs and mosquito activity is increasing. House fly activity can be expected. Commercial accounts will need to be aware of increased small fly activity. Nuisance wildlife, such as squirrels and chipmunks, will be much more noticeable.

Home Bed Bugs Bed Bug Treatment & Control

Although bed bugs dont pose any serious health concerns they do live and hide in the areas where we sleep. They are mostly found in bedding, mattresses, on headboards and in bed frames and box springs. Due to their size and nocturnal nature bed bugs can easily go undetected. Dark spots and small blood stains may indicate the presence of bed bugs. Bed bugs also give off a sweet musty odour and will often leave their eggs and molted skins near areas they have infested. Good housekeeping may not eliminate the problem. Even upscale hotels are not immune bed bugs can thrive in a spotlessly clean room. Bed Bug infestations are difficult to deal with, and success depends on the thoroughness of the preparation, treatment and the follow-up. One of the most important steps in effective bed bug control is the accurate identification of bed bugs presence before starting any treatments. Home remedies, available in stores, are not very effective getting rid of a bed bug infestation. If you do choose to use an over-the-counter insecticide, make sure to read the label closely and follow directions. Your best course of action is to immediately contact your local Orkin Canada branch as we have extensive experience dealing with bed bugs. Pest control professionals administer the most effective treatments. It is advised that anyone with a suspected bed bug infestation contact their local expert to arrange an inspection and consultation.

There is no way to prevent bed bugs entirely; however, experts agree that early detection is the best way to prevent them from establishing themselves. A bed bug dog is your best tool for early detection. To prevent bed bug infestations you need to be vigilant in examining your surroundings. When returning from a trip, or a night out check both your clothing and luggage. If you think you may have a bed bug infestation, contact a pest control professional. This is not a pest that can be controlled with do-it-yourself measures.

Bed bugs are small, nocturnal and very difficult to detect. They are also very rugged insects and that can live for up to a year without feeding. They can hide in cracks and crevices and in hard to find spots and can withstand a temperature from almost freezing up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. All of these facts make treating bed bugs very difficult and should always be done by a professional pest control technician such as your local highly trained Orkin Canada Technician.

Short of inspecting your own or a guests luggage and belongings as they come in, there is no known way to completely prevent bed bugs from entering a property. And once they are inside, two bed bugs can lay up to ten eggs in one day. Thats why it is important to have any rooms with a bed bug problem treated immediately to prevent them from becoming a widespread infestation.

To address current infestations, Orkin Canada will provide an aggressive treatment strategy that includes a thorough inspection of areas of concern to locate harbourage sites, as well as treatment of both infested and potentially infested areas. Orkin Canada will also conduct a follow-up inspection to ensure that the treatment was effective.

The threat of bed bugs is always present but Orkin Canada is always ready. Armed with the best training in the industry plus over 100 years of experience and success Orkin professionals will provide training for your housekeeping and engineering staff on proactive bed bug measures. A favourite spot for bed bugs to hide is under the seams of box springs andmattresses. Orkin Canada will teach the housekeeping staff to inspect for bed bugs while servicing rooms and thus helping identifiy bed bugs in hotels rooms.

An effective bed bug control strategy must start with an inspection. A highly trained pest control professional, such as your local Orkin Canada technician, would start with a thorough inspection of all known and suspected spots where bed bugs might be hiding. Bed bugs are not pests that can be effectively controlled by do-it-yourself means. If bed bugs are detected your pest control professional will develop a customized treatment and control strategy with you that depends on the size of the infestation.

Rising complaints about these unwelcome guests are leading to red faces at the reception desks of hotels and an increase in the number of help calls. Even though they dont pose a health threat, bed bugs, which live off human blood, can take a nasty bite out of a hotels reputation and business.

Orkin Canada recommends that you follow A.I.M. for the best results, when dealing with bed bug infestations. Assess the Situation:Your Orkin Canada Technician performs a thorough inspection of your home to locate any current bed bug infestations. Implement a customized treatment plan: Every bed bug problem is different; so is every treatment. Your Orkin Canada Technician is an expert on the entomology and life cycle of bed bugs and uses the appropriate treatment to match the extent of your problem. To protect your family and pets, your technician uses integrated pest control methods safely applying products only when needed. Monitor Results: With our established Quality Assurance regimens we will document everything & follow-up. Bed bugs are extremely hardy. A return visit from your technician helps ensure the maximum effectiveness of your program. In addition, we offer protective mattress covers to help prevent future infestations. Schedule a Bed Bug Inspection Today! Want to learn more about bed bugs? Click one of the links below:

If you suspect a bed bug problem, for best results, you should immediately contact a professional pest control company such as Orkin Canada and our highly trained technicians.

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Bed Bug Treatment: Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Home - Orkin Canada

Learning how to identify bed bugs will help any home owner or apartment tenant avoid an infestation. All it takes is one pregnant female to produce a population. Bed Bugs do resemble other bugs, so a close inspection is required.

Bed bug appearance will change based on where they are in their life cycle, as they pass through 5 nymph and 1 adult stage. Color and shape can also vary if the bedbug has just had a blood meal and if that meal has been digested. They will appear flat and light brownish if they haven't just eaten and will become reddish after feeding.

Bed bug infestations are increasing across the globe. Reports in many U.S. cities show a 2x increase in complaints over a 2 year period. Reports in Ontario Canada have increased 100%, while Germany has seen a year to year increase of 5 reports to 76 reports.

In its earliest stages bed bugs may be difficult to detect since red bumps on the skin and skin itch, the typical symptom, can have multiple causes. As an infestation grows, repeated bites and stains on the mattress make it obvious that bed bugs are the problem and indicates that you should bring in an expert to identify bed bugs in your home or apartment.

Bed bugs change in appearance depending on where they are in the bed bugs life cycle. A bed bug will pass through five stages before reaching the sixth stage which is adulthood. Baby bed bugs are referred to as nymphs.

The bugs are also difficult to detect since they tend to only leave their hiding places at night, with the only sign being mattress or furniture stains. When an infestation is small, must bugs can be found on or near a bed, hiding on a box spring, backboard on in cracks on a bed frame, particularly wood frames. Always look for light to dark spots which can be shed skins and feces .

At birth they are about 1/16 of an inch and have a light straw color appearance. After a blood meal they will redden in color and appear to be larger. As they get older they become darker in color, taking on a reddish/brown appearance and grow to 1/4 inch.

If you think you have bed bugs, but want to be sure, then you can send a bug you capture to the Cornell Insect Diagnostic Laboratory. The service costs $25.

Bed bugs tend to hide in many places around a room, with most hiding near or around the mattress. The following diagram shows common bed bug hiding places. It is possible to see a solitary bed bug that isn't near the location of the larger infestation.

When trying to identify bed bugs, look in the following places in the typical room:

Here are some bed bug identification tips:

1. Bed Bug Bites: The most telling way to determine if you have bed bugs is if you experience bites while sleeping. Bites can vary from just puncture marks on the skin to large red bumps. The bites themselves are an allergic reaction and vary from person to person. It is possible for the allergic reaction to worsen after each biting episode. When a person is being bitten they may only feel a slight tickle. Bed bugs tend not to bite the face or bottom of the feet.

2. Spots on the Mattress: Red blood smears, brown spots, or pale colored spots (fecal spots) on the mattress along the seams or on sheets, bed sheets or the head board. Look for clusters of spots, particularly on the head board, where the bugs might hide or rest.

3. Look for Bed Bug Eggs; A female will lay clusters of Bed bug eggs along the seams of the mattress and in other parts of the room. These are white pin sized specs that will be glued on to the mattress as the eggs are sticky when laid by a female bed bugs. When looking for a bed bug egg, use a magnifying glass and a bed bug detection flashlight.

4. Bed Bug Odor: Bed bugs sometimes, but not always give off a distinct odor that smells like coriander. The alarm pheromone is not always produced so bugs or rooms infested by them don't always smell like this. However, bed bug dogs can pick up odors that humans cannot.

5. Seeing the bugs themselves on the mattress: 90% will be near or around the bed.

6. Create Your Own Bed Bug Trap: Rutgers University Scientists have devised a simple make at home trap that can help you identify bed bugs (Science News, Jan. 16, 2010).

Start by putting 2.5 lbs. or dry eyes in a 1/3 gallon jug. A cooler (eg; Coleman type) with a flip top will be best. Leave the spout open a bit, so that as carbon dioxide is released, it leaves the container. Put the cooler in the center of a bowl such as a pet food dish. Tape a piece of paper to the outside of the dish.

The bed bugs will be attracted to the carbon dioxide, climb up the side of the dish or bowl and then get trapped inside. Place some talcum powder into the dish, which will kill the bed bugs when it sticks to the insect's back. This home made bed bugs trap should work within 12 hours if you have bed bugs.

As an alternative, you can buy a Climbup Interceptor (pictured below), and place one under each leg of the bed. This will work the same way, and trap any bed bugs heading toward the bed and the human host.

Bed bugs are oval in appearance and can look like a tick or small cockroach. They follow a life cycle where they change in appearance. They appear to be flat if unfed or far on in digesting a blood meal. Atfirst, Instars are whitish and yellowish or straw-colored and nymphs (young bed bugs) will be plump and red if they have taken a blood meal. They are not so red in color if digesting the meal.

After a meal a bed bug will become enlarged by approximately 30%.

There are 92 species of bed bugs in the world, with 16 of the 92 found in the United States. Sometimes it is very difficult to identify bed bugs vs. other bugs. These include:

Bugs vary by their natural host and where they are found. Several bugs need to be collected and examined by a pest control specialist in order to confirm that an infestation exists.

A pest control expert will have the experience for how to identify bed bugs. We suggest starting with a call to Home Advisor (1.877-233-1145), which is a network of local pest control experts that are pre-screened by the network before being accepted as members. They will provide up to 4 free quotes and certify that each member is licensed and insured.

You can also search our database of local bed bug experts here. If you'd like to read consumer reviews of bedbug exterminators in your area, a helpful service is Angie's List.

Someone that frequently treats bed bugs infestations will know where in a home or apartment to look for hiding bugs. Expect to pay $50 to $500 for an on site inspection ($500 is a dog is used) plus the cost of the treatment which can cost $750 or more.

As an alternative, a do it yourself kit, containing the multiple products you need, such as the one offered by Naturasil for Bed Bugs (uses organic methods) or Bed Bug Supply (insecticide based) will cost $160 for everything you need (spray, steamer, fossil dust, mattress covers).

Each of these free brochures provide additional information on how to identify bed bugs in your home or apartment.

How to Identify Bed Bugs

Tips on how to identify bed bugs in your home, office or when traveling..

Written by: Dini M. Miller, Ph.D.

Available in a free Ebook

Bed Bug Identification and Inspection

One page summary of how to identify bed bugs and inspect your home, apartment, office or hotel room.

Written by: Illinois Department of Public Health

Available in a free Ebook

Do you have a question or great story about bed bugs? Share it!

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

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Identify Bed Bugs: Pictures and Descriptions

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Bedbugs are small, wingless insects that feed on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. They are easily moved from room to room on infested objects. Bedbugs cannot easily climb metal or polished surfaces and cannot fly or jump.

Adult bedbugs can be as long as 10 mm. They have an oval, broad, flat body and a short, broad head. Adult bedbugs are brown, but darken to a blood red colour after feeding. Young bedbugs are shaped like adults, but are smaller (1.5 mm long) and lighter in colour. They also darken after feeding.

Bedbug eggs are white, about one millimetre long, and are almost impossible to see on most surfaces. The female bedbug lays at least 200 eggs in her lifetime, at a rate of about two to four each day. The eggs have a sticky coating and are laid in cracks and crevices, behind woodwork and other hidden locations. They usually hatch in 6 to 17 days.

Bedbugs come out at night to feed, attracted by the carbon dioxide we exhale. They will feed on both people and pets. Bedbug bites may not be noticed right away because bedbugs typically feed at night when people are asleep.

Bedbugs prefer locations where they can hide easily and feed regularly, like sleeping areas. Their flattened bodies allow bedbugs to hide in extremely small locations: under wallpaper, behind picture frames, in electrical outlets, inside box springs, in mattress pads, and in night tables.

Newly hatched bedbugs feed as soon as food is available. Bedbugs can live from several weeks to up to a year and a half without feeding. Older bedbugs can go even longer without feeding.

Adults usually live for around 10 months, but can live for a year or more in a home where the environment is good for reproduction (with temperatures ranging between 21C and 28C).

A bedbug bite can take as long as 14 days to appear, depending on the person. While bites can happen anywhere on the skin, they are often found on the face, neck, arms, legs, and chest.

Some people do not react at all to the bites, while others may have small skin reactions. In rare cases, some people may have severe allergic reactions. To avoid infection, try not to scratch the bites and keep the bite sites clean. Using antiseptic creams or lotions, as well as antihistamines, may help. Talk to your health care provider for advice.

For more information on pesticide use and regulation, contact Health Canada's Pest Management Information Service.

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Bedbugs - What are they? - healthycanadians.gc.ca

There are hundreds of different types of household pests, many that are easy to spot and others that are not. You may have been invaded by ants in the past or seen cockroaches scurrying away when you turn the lights on; you may have found mice or rats. All these bugs are large enough to see with the human eye, and just like bed bugs Toronto they are not necessarily interested in how clean your home is.

If you think rats you think sewer, if you think cockroach you think of the garbage cans, and if you think of bed bugs you will think of cheap motels. However, just because you have pests in your home does not mean that your home is not clean, or that you necessarily stayed in a hotel that was not clean. Bed bugs are pesky little mites that will go unnoticed in even the cleanest of hotel rooms; that is until you start to itch at night.

Bed bugs are very tiny, they have no wings, and instead of being black in color like many pests, they are actually light brown. What this means is that they are often hard to spot and unless you have a really good eye you may never see one even if you know they are there. Their eggs are around the size of a poppy seed, and these may be easier to spot; however bed bugs hide in crevices and this is where they will generally lay their eggs.

Bed bugs have the name they do as during the night they will come to your bed and feed off your blood, leaving red itchy marks. You may wake in the morning to find that you have been bitten, or you may find little blood stains on your sheets; at first you may think that you have been bitten by fleas from a dog or cat. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed about if you find bugs in your home; but when you do you need to act quickly.

If you think your home may be infested, it is important that you call on your bed bugs Toronto team to ensure a correct diagnosis. These pesky mites are not just hard to spot; they are hard to get rid of too. As they live in crevices and are tiny, it is impossible to eradicate them without professional help. If you are experiencing bites and itching at night and have recently stayed in a hotel or travelled abroad, you need to call in your bed bugs Toronto experts to get a real diagnosis on the situation.

Once the presence of bugs has been confirmed by your bed bugs Toronto expert, you need to ensure that they are eradicated by fumigation and that you take all the other necessary steps such as steaming all your soft furnishing and ensuring your suitcases are not harboring bugs. Ask the advice of the professionals and you can be bug free in no time at all.

We are focused exclusively on bed bugs. We have experimented with countless bug control and extermination methods. We are the best bed bug exterminators in Toronto and Ontario region. Call Bed Bugs Canada now to schedule your service!

(416) 854-7060

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Bed Bugs Canada - Bed Bug Extermination Toronto