Bed Bugs Handbook on How to Get Rid of Bedbugs

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The Bed Bugs Handbook is committed to providing information on how to recognize that you have a problem and how to remove these pests from your home or apartment. We also provide advice for how to avoid bringing them into your home from other places, such as when you are on vacation, traveling or bringing used or new items such as furniture or a mattress into the home.

According to a a 2010 study conducted by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the University of Kentucky, If you have bedbugs in your home you are not alone. There has been an 81% increase in bedbug calls since the year 2000. The study goes on to state that we are on the threshold of a global bedbug pandemic. It also states that bed bugs are harder to treat than cockroaches, ants and termites.

Bed bugs have been found everywhere including hospitals, daycare centers, college dorms, religious institutions, homes, apartments, libraries and even theaters. No location is immune. It doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, if someone carries a bed bug into your home, they will multiply quickly.

Bedbugs are small insects that are technically not wingless, although they do not fly. They hide in narrow crevices near the feeding area, such as a mattress seam, bed frame, and other furniture, although they can be found in any room or area of a home.

There area many different kinds of bedbugs. One type in particular likes to feed on the blood of people, but they will also feed on pets.

Having bugs in your home does not mean that your home is unclean. The bugs can ride into your house on clothing or crawl out of luggage carried from an infested hotel room. You may even bring them into your house on used furniture. Be especially cautious of used mattresses and bed frames. Finally, your house or apartment could already be infested when you move in or if they moved from another apartment into yours.

The length of time a bed bug can live is dependent on temperature and how recently they fed. Cooler temperatures result in a longer lifespan. It is possible at the right temperature and feeding schedule, that a bed bug could live for 1 year without feeding again.

Many people do not realize they have an infestation. They may even have bites from bedbugs, but not realize what is biting them. Bed bug bites are an allergic reaction that can vary from person to person. For most they take the form of raised red bumps. There are usually multiple bites in the same area, but a single bite is possible. Bumps are usually larger than a mosquito bite. Larger reactions or hypersensitivity to the bite can result in the formation of blisters. Bites do not normally require any treatment and will go away on their own in a few days. Bites can be itchy, with any over the counter treatment for itch due to insect bites providing some relief.

Adult bugs are about a quarter of an inch long. Young bed bugs are called nymphs, of which there are 5 stages in the bed bug life cycle followed by a 6th adult stage. A nymph is approximately 1/32 of an inch or 1 mm long. A bedbug egg is approximately 1 mm long.

Getting rid of the bugs can be quite a chore. Removing an infestation involves washing all clothes and linens, treating mattresses and cracks and vacuuming all areas of the room. See our guide for specific steps on how to kill bedbugs.

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Bed Bugs Handbook on How to Get Rid of Bedbugs