Good Night Sleep Tight – Canine Bed Bug Scent Detection Service

How do bed bugs reproduce? A female bed bug only needs to mate once in her lifetime. She is then capable of laying up to 500 eggs, or about 5 per day. After the eggs are laid, it only takes 6 to 20 days for them to hatch. A single female bed bug can increase to over 5,000 bed bugs in just six months.

What does a bed bug look like? Adult bed bugs are almost 1/4" long (about the size of an apple seed), brownish and paper thin and have a flat oval shaped body enabling them to hide in literally any place that they can wedge their bodies into.

The nymphs are a miniature replica of the adult but straw-colored and all but microscopic. They are slightly larger than a pinhead.

The eggs are white and difficult to see on most surfaces without magnification. Individual eggs are about the size of a dust speck. When first laid they are sticky causing them to adhere to surfaces.

How do bed bugs survive? Bed bugs are extremely resilient and the adults can survive up to a year without feeding. This is one reason why infestations are unlikely to diminish by leaving the premises unoccupied. While mainly active at night, they bite people while they are sleeping. Attracted to their host by heat and carbon dioxide, they feed by piercing the skin with an elongated beak through which they draw blood. Engorgement takes about 3 to 10 minutes, yet the person seldom knows they are being bitten. Immediately after feeding they crawl off and reside elsewhere to digest their meal. In 3 to 5 days they will begin searching for another meal.

How do I know if I've been bitten? Symptoms after being bitten vary with the individual. Around 70% of people have no reaction to being bitten by a bed bug, while some people will have a severe, immediate reaction. Symptoms are extremely similar to that of a mosquito bite. Bites will increase as the bed bug population rises. Often multiple bites will appear in "rows" on exposed areas, such as the neck, face, arms and legs.

Where do bed bugs live? Bed bugs prefer to hide close to where they feed. However, if necessary, they will travel to obtain a blood meal. For a small insect, bed bugs can move rapidly over floors, walls, ceilings and other surfaces. Initial infestations tend to be in areas around beds, but the bugs eventually may become scattered throughout the environment, occupying any item that provides access. They can hide in extremely small cracks and crevices making it difficult to locate breeding sites. Bed bugs may also spread to adjacent rooms or apartments.

How do bed bugs spread or travel? It often seems that bed bugs arise from nowhere. The bugs are efficient hitchhikers and are usually transported on luggage, clothing, beds, furniture and other items. This is particularly a problem for hotels, dormitories and apartments where turnover of occupants is constant. Bed bugs can survive, and thrive, in any indoor environment that people occupy for any reason. Once introduced, they often spread throughout a building. The bugs travel from room to room or floor to floor either by crawling or via a person. The level of cleanliness has little to do with most bed bug infestations. Pristine homes and apartments have plenty of hiding places and an abundance of warm-blooded hosts.

How do you get rid of bed bugs? Exterminating an infestation requires persistence and the services of a professional.

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Good Night Sleep Tight - Canine Bed Bug Scent Detection Service