Category Archives: Bed Bugs Arizona

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The bed bug is an insect that feeds on blood and is most active at night. True to its name, the bed bug is most common in beds. These insects are notoriously difficult to get rid of. These parasitic insects are members of the genus Cimex. Their bites cause skin rashes, but may also cause psychological effects and allergic reactions.

Of the insects in the genus Cimex, two species cause infestations of bed bugs:

There are 11 subspecies of the genus Cimex. Only four out of 90 species of bed bugs feed on humans, with the aforementioned two preferring humans. The others are bat bugs.

Proper identification of bed bugs rules out confusion with other insects such as fleas, ticks, carpet beetles, and cockroaches. It also depends on the life stage of the bed bugs.

Adult bed bugs are five to seven millimeters long about the size of an apple seed and visible to the naked eye. They are brown and long with an oval-shaped, flat body unless its recently fed. If its fed, its body is round, reddish-brown in color, and longer. As true insects, they have beaks with three segments, an antenna with four parts, wings that arent for flying, short, golden hairs, and a sweet-musty odor coming from glands on their undersides.

These insects have five immature or young life stages called nymphs before they become adults. Nymphs are smaller and either whitish-yellow or translucent depending on whether theyve fed recently or not.

Bed bug eggs are pearly-white and tiny, about the size of a pinhead. If more than five days old, they have an eyespot marking.

Rather than the identification of live bed bugs, however, identification may instead mean recognizing an infestation. This is usually from early signs such as bites or spots of human blood. You may also see rusty stains from crushed bed bugs, dark spots from excrement, or pale yellow eggs and eggshells.

Early signs of bed bugs are uncomfortable, itchy nights in bed, marks on arms and shoulders, and an unpleasant odor resembling a wet towel. Symptoms of bed bug bites are skin rashes of red, itchy, flat welts in zigzag lines or clusters. The bites have a darker red spot in the middle. Some people may have allergic reactions and develop fever, severe itching, blisters, or hives. They can also cause secondary bacterial infections such as impetigo, lymphangitis, and ecthyma, as well as symptoms of psychological issues such as insomnia and anxiety.

Read this guide on how to identify bed bugs for more information.

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When it comes to evolution, it is always important to factor in what the animal ate and what was in its diet. This is because survival ability dictates adaptation and supports evolution towards being more successful at obtaining that food source. It is especially important for animals like bed bugs that require a host to feed.

Specific species of bed bugs are generally known to feed on four different types of hosts: humans, bats, water birds, and other birds. This is because they have evolved to become very adept at feeding off them. As researchers are finding, however, the history of the bed bug ancestry dates back many millions of years ago and predates some of their current hosts, like humans. Scientists are working on solving the puzzle of how these insects were able to make the jump between different types of hosts over their evolution.

The habitat of these insects is worldwide, never in nature. Instead, they live in mattresses, fabrics, furniture, luggage, and pieces of wood. They hide from light and movement during the day and come out at night, so they wait in seams of furniture, curtain folds, electrical appliances, the junction of the wall and ceiling, loose wall hangings and wallpaper, and even in heads of screws. They can live singly but come together in clusters in their habitat.

Bed bugs live in mattresses and fabrics.

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The diet of bed bugs is blood. Some species prefer the blood of one mammal over another in their diet, while others absolutely need the blood of a specific mammal to survive and lay viable eggs. Those that humans deal with as pests in homes, apartment buildings, and offices feed on human blood. Their bites dont hurt at first because they inject an anesthetic while they are feeding, which is four to 12 minutes. Plus, they feed during the night, when it is dark and humans are asleep. Their bites most often appear on the neck, face, arms, and hands.

Bed bugs feed on their hosts at night.

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To get rid of these insects more easily and quickly, noticing the early signs of bed bug infestation or symptoms of bed bug bites is important. Professionals first use visual inspection, then sniffing dogs, interceptor cups, and insect monitor cards. Average people, however, need methods that dont require a lot of money. Read our complete guide on how to get rid of bed bugs for more information.

To get rid of them, laundering and drying with heat is one method. Vacuuming and steam treatment are others. Commercial heating services offer whole-room heat or cold treatments to kill them. You can either heat a room at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours or 130 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours. Cold treatment isnt possible or practical except through commercial heating services. If youre getting rid of infested furniture, make sure theyre unusable so other people wont spread bed bugs to their own homes.

Finally, there are chemical treatments. Pesticides can be effective but need to be handled very carefully, and bed bugs can become resistant. They cannot be used on items that people come into contact with. Liquid and dry formulas should only be applied to cracks and crevices. They may include insect growth regulators as well as desiccants, which dry out these insects. They must be registered by the EPA and labeled specifically for bed bug control.

Bed bugs exterminators use gloves and safety glasses to inspect infected mattress sheets and blanket bedding.

Michael OKeene/Shutterstock.com

An alternative is the use of botanical oils, which are plant-based insecticides. Certain neem oil insecticides are registered for bed bug control.

As for how to prevent them in the future, a mattress encasement will protect your bed. It covers both the mattress as well as the box spring. Diatomaceous earth and pheromone traps work on everything else. It is difficult to find how to prevent bed bugs with just one method, though, so its best to use them together. We recommend all of the items below be used in conjunction for the most effective bed bug prevention.

Adult bed bugs can be seen with the naked eye. They are small, long, and brown, about the size of apple seeds.

Look for signs of bed bug infestation by checking mattresses, furniture, clothes, luggage, and electrical appliances.

Heat treatment with hot water and high-heat drying of fabrics, hot or cold treatment by commercial heating services, and insecticides. As for how to prevent them, furniture covers, diatomaceous earth, and pheromone traps work best when used together.

Bed bugs have been around for 115 million years, as early as 400BC. They thrive in dark, damp places but can be anywhere from public transportation and homeless shelters to homes, apartment buildings, offices, public libraries, and 5-star hotels.

Diluted rubbing alcohol instantly kills all bed bugs it comes into contact with. Insecticides, which are best professionally applied by pest control services, also kill bed bugs instantly. But at home, you can use heat above 120 degrees F, a clothes iron, or laundering and dry with heat.

They dont. They only go on your body when they feed off your blood.

No, they dont live anywhere on the human body.

Yes, they are likely to hide in pillows.

Bed bugs eat human blood.

The greatest differences between a baby cockroach and a bed bug include size, shape, and antennae. Baby cockroaches are equal in size but grow slightly larger than them in a short amount of time. Baby cockroaches are cylindrical in shape, but bed bugs are oval-shaped, and that difference makes it easy to distinguish these creatures.

The subtlest difference between a spider beetle and a bed bug is in their shape. While both insects are oval-shaped, the bed bug is flatter than the spider beetle. A good picture that may help you spot this difference is that the bed bug is typically shaped like an apple seed, while the spider beetle looks like it is hunch-backed.

There are only two ways to differentiate male bed bugs from female ones: the shape of their abdomen and whether or not they lay eggs.

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Bed Bugs - AZ Animals

Updated August 01, 2022

A bedbug lease addendum is a form that informs a tenant that there is not a bed bug infestation on the premises of a dwelling. Due to the difficulty in exterminating this type of bug, the states of Arizona, California, and Maine have made it a requirement that the landlord has to provide a history of any bed bug infestation. The only full-proof way the tenant can ensure that bed bugs do not exist on the property is to have an exterminator visit the property and conduct any necessary tests.

Required Arizona, California, Maine, and New York City.

1 Obtain A Copy Of The Arizona Bed Bug Lease Addendum

You may view and save a copy of this information packet by clicking this link then saving it to your machine: Arizona Bed Bug Lease Addendum.

2 Provide A Copy To Each Signature Party

Once you have saved this file to your machine, open it. You will need to print it then attach it to the lease. Make sure to print enough copies so that each signed Lease Agreement being dispensed has its own pamphlet. Allow ample time for each Signature Party (Owner/Landlord/Agent and Tenant) to review the information on this attachment thoroughly before signing the attached Lease Agreement.

1 Gain A Copy Of This Template To Provide A Bedbug Addendum

The paperwork on this page can be downloaded through the link here: California Bed Bug Lease Addendum. You may download any file version you wish at your discretion, then open it to fill in the information relevant to the

2 The Parties And The Concerned Rental Unit SHould Be Identified

The paragraph opening this document will seek to positively identify the Owner, Landlord, or Agent and the Tenant. It will also seek to attach each of these entities to the Rental Property. Start by recording the Execution Date of the Lease Agreement this paperwork will be attached to on the blank space after the words Part Of The Rental Agreement Dated. The next blank line in this paragraph requires the Full Name of the Owner, Landlord, or Agent supplied to the second blank line. Supply the Tenant or Residents Full Name to the third blank space. The next few spaces following the terms For The Premises Located At, Unit Number, and City Of to present the Full Street Address where the Rental Property being leased can be physically found.

3 The Resident Must Verify This Document By Initialing It

The next two bullet statements will need to be initialed by each Tenant or Resident that has signed the lease. These statements will verify that no bedbugs have been found during the Tenants inspection of the Premises and Tenant Possessions. Each Tenant/Resident must initial one of the blank lines labeled Resident Initials. Three such areas have been presented however if there are more than three Tenants make sure they initial this section as well.

4 The Parties Involved With This Addendum Must Sign This Document

The end of this document will contain the statement beginning with the words By Signing Below Here, each Resident and the Owner, Landlord, or Agent must furnish a Dated Signature after reading this document. Two blank lines labeled Resident have been presented so the Tenant or Resident may supply this required signature. After signing his or her Name, each Tenant or Resident will also need to enter the Date when he or she signs it. If there are more than two Tenants on this lease you may use a compatible program to add more Signature Lines or attach a clearly labeled document with the rest of the Tenant Signature. Once all the Tenants have signed this document, it should be surrendered to the Landlord, Owner, or Agent. He or she must sign the blank space labeled Owner/Agent then fill in the Date this signature was produced.

1 Download And Fill Out This Template To Supply A Bedbug Disclosure In Maine

The Disclosure Template can be opened then saved to your computer by clicking this link: Maine Bedbug Infestation Disclosure. If you have an editing program compatible with this file version, you may use it to enter information directly onscreen Otherwise you may fill out this form manually so long as it is legible and in blue or black ink.

2 Several Facts Relevant To This Disclosure Must Be Set

The first few blank lines of this template will require some specific information that should be easily located on the lease. Make sure to transcribe this information so that it is identical to that reported on the lease this document will accompany. Fill in the Landlords Full Name in the first blank space. The second blank line, labeled Tenants Name, must have the Name of the Tenant displayed on it. Finally, present the Street Address of the leased property on the two blank lines after the words Address Of Rental Unit. This should be where the leased unit can be physically accessed.

3 Some Tenant Information Must Be Presented

This disclosure will serve to document the lack of any bedbug infestations in the leased unit and adjacent units. In addition, it will serve as proof that the Tenant has not had or dealt with an infestation in his or her last residence in the last 12 months. Use the blank lines after the phrase All Places Where Tenant Has Resided to record the Physical Address of each place the Tenant has lived in the past 12 months.

4 A Signature Verification From The Property Manager And Tenant Is Required

The Property Manager (or Landlord) must supply the Date he or she is signing this document on the blank line labeled Date. Then, he or she must sign the blank line labeled Property Manager/Landlord to show that the contents of this document are true. Each Tenant signing the lease agreement must also read and sign this form. First, he or she must locate the Tenant Signature area below the Landlords Signature then report the Date he or she will sign this paperwork. Once this Date has been supplied, the Tenant must sign his or her Name on the line labeled Tenant. Enough space for two tenants has been supplied here however if there are more than two Signature Tenants on the list each one will have to sign this document. This can either be done on a labeled attachment or by simply adding an extra line on this form for the additional Tenant(s) to Date and Sign.

1 The New York Bedbug Disclosure Is Accessible Here

The required disclosure notice should be saved to your machine by clicking here: New York City Bed Bug Lease Addendum. When you are ready to fill it out, open it on your machine and simply enter the information requested on screen or, if you do not have a compatible editing program, you may print this file then fill it out on paper.

2 Identify Several Facts Regarding The Lease Agreement

Locate the line labeled Name Of Tenant(s) then present the Full Name of each Tenant who has signed the Lease. The Street Address of the leased property should be furnished to the line Subject Premises. If this property has a Unit or Apartment Number, supply this to the blank line Apt. #. The Lease Date should be produced on the blank space labeled Date Of Vacancy Lease.

3 The Landlord Must Disclose The Bedbug Status Of The Premises

Next, at least one of the checkbox statements in the Bedbug Infestation History. Read through each statement on this list and mark the checkbox to the left of any sentence that is accurate. If it requires more information, you must supply it. If There Is No History Of Any Bedbug Infestation in any part of the building where the rental property is located then mark the first checkbox. Mark the second checkbox if there has been a Bedbug Infestation in the building and report what floor or floors this infestation was found on the blank line provided. This statement should only be marked if this is the case and Eradication Measures have been taken. The third check box statement should be marked if a Bedbug Infestation has been found in the building and no effort to eradicate the infestation has been taken. If this statement has been selected then report the Floor where this infestation was found on the blank line preceding the word Floor(s) If the rental has had a Bedbug Infestation in the past year and measures to exterminate the infestation have been taken, this must be disclosed to the Tenant by marking the fourth check box. In the event, the Rental Unit has had a Bedbug Infestation in the past year and no attempt of extermination has been taken then mark the fifth check box. If information regarding a Bedbug Infestation must be provided to the Tenant and has not been described in the previous statements, then mark the Other check box then, present a report with this information on the blank line provided.

4 The Tenant And Landlord Must Each Present A Signature To Authenticate This Document

This disclosure must be signed by the Tenant and Owner/Agent so that it may be verified as delivered and its contents accurate. Each Tenant should sign the Signature Of Tenant(s) then fill in the Date of his or her Signing on the Dated line. The Owner or Agent must also sign this disclosure once it has been completed. He or she should sign the line Signature Of Owner/Agent then present the Date of Signature on the Dated line.

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Free Bed Bug Lease Addendum Template - PDF eForms

Bed Bug Hotel and Apartment Reports. Click on the city below to find our latest bed bug reports in Arizona on hotels. To report a new bed bug incident, navigate to our city page below to see further details.

Recommended tips after hotel check-in: 1. Pick up the mattresses in the rooms and look under it. Check around the edges of the box springs. 2. Check under the box spring. 3. Lift up each headboard an lay it on the bed. Carefully inspect the hole where the headboard was lifted out of. Also, inspect all niches and corners of the headboard. 4. If you decide to stay in the hotel, do not put any clothes in dressers. Keep them in your luggage and your dirty clothes in plastic bags.

7/8/2020 5am Woke up to my husband and daughter saying they Just got bit by something. My husband had at least 3 bites up his arm and another few bites on his back. Our daughter has bites on her neck...

June 14,2020. This room is infested with bugs. I noticed bites on my neck on June 13th and suspected bed bugs. On checkin Thursday I inspected my bed for bugs because I saw how dirty the room was. I d...

1. 4/20/20, Woke up about 5:15a from something crawling on me, pull the sheets back and there was a bed bug down by my legs, my fiance's arm was covered with bites. 2. After alerting the front desk...

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Arizona Bed Bug Hotel and Apartment Reports ...

Bed bug feeding on human skin. (Photo by: Edwin Remsburg/VW Pics via Getty Images)

TUCSON, Ariz. - Officials say Tucson City Hall had been bugged for several months with bedbugs that is.

The Arizona Daily Starreportsofficials said it took nearly three months to remove the small insects from the Arizona municipal building.

The first report of bed bugs came in late September, with an employee reporting finding a dead bedbug in a file folder on the third floor.

A week later, the second report surfaced with a sighting a live bedbug on the fourth floor.

As a precaution, exterminators sprayed every floor of City Hall to get rid of the little bloodsuckers.

Officials believe the bedbugs were brought in accidentally from an outside source.

Tucson spokesman Andy Squire after the three-month removal, the city also had to hire a Phoenix company earlier this month to bring in a specially-trained dog to sniff the remaining bugs out.

City officials estimated it cost about $7,853 to get rid of the bedbug infestation, nearly half went to pay for the bedbug sniffing dog.

Read more here:
Tucson City Hall hit by bedbug infestation - FOX 10 News Phoenix

Worst Bed Bug City is an award that nobody will show up to receive. Its not pleasant to think of your hometown as a bed bug hot spot. But while bed bugs are active in all 50 states, some urban and metro centers see more infestations per year than others. Lets go through the list and discuss why these bed bug cities are the unlucky winners:

The capital of Arizona is the only state capital with more than a million residents, making it easily the most populous capital city in the country. Its sprawling suburbs give Phoenician bed bugs ample opportunity to find new homes to infest. On top of that, Arizonas famously hot and dry climate leads to long summers with residential air conditioning running day and night. This mild indoor climate is ideal for temperature-sensitive pests like bed bugs.

Phoenix has been one of the top 10 bed bug cities for a few years in a row now. Public sightings of bed bugs have been reported by the local news over that time, with bed bugs spotted in hotels, airports, restaurants, schools, and even libraries.

The 9th worst bed bug city is also the 9th largest metropolitan area in the US. As the home to the worlds busiest airport, it makes sense that Atlanta would struggle with bed bug infestations. These creepy critters have lots of commuters and travelers to hitch rides with, allowing them to easily move from one infestation to the next.

But its not just about population and travel. Atlanta also has a warm, humid climate, with long summers and generally mild winters. These conditions are ideal for bed bugs to thrive and reproduce, since their activity level is tied to the overall temperature of their surroundings. In places where its warm most of the year, bed bugs will spend less time hibernating and more time feeding and breeding.

The nations capital is one of the most visited cities in the world, with over 20 million tourists flying in annually. While the city itself is not exceptionally populous, commuters from nearby Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the citys daytime population significantly during the week. Unfortunately, many of those commuters will take home more than a paycheck.

A recurring theme of our lists of bed bug cities is weather. Like Atlanta and Phoenix above, DC is also home to a toasty, humid climate. With warm springs, hot summers, and mild falls, bed bugs have a long season every year to feed and reproduce without any temperature fluctuations interrupting them.

Continuing the trend of bed bug cities in subtropical climate zones is Baltimore. This independent city features warm springs and autumns most years, while only three months out of the year have daily average highs below 50F.

But Baltimore offers more perks to its native bed bugs than just sunny days and air conditioning. Its a large metro area on its own, and is within commuting distance of Washington, DC, a major travel hub and fellow bed bug cities finalist. Add on the citys thriving tourism and shipping industries, and you have a recipe that allows bed bugs to travel into Baltimore and stay put.

The five boroughs of NYC used to be one of the five worst bed bug cities, but The Big Apple seems to have turned things around in recent years. While there are still hundreds of thousands of infestations treated every year, New York has slipped down the ranks of bed bug cities.

The decline in infestations may be due to government efforts by the city and state. The City of New York offers a bed bug hotline to report infestations, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development conducts urgent inspections after reports are received. Under the NYC Bed Bug Disclosure Act, landlords are required by law to notify prospective tenants about any bed bug infestations that have occurred on their property within the last year.

For various reasons, the state of Ohio has faced some of the worst of this bed bug epidemic over the years. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati have all been frequent flyers on our lists of bed bug cities, and this year is no different. For 2019, the third-largest city in Ohio is the fifth worst of the big bed bug cities.

Cincinnati has three major sports teams, a huge university, a modern streetcar system, and a nearby airport that acts as a major travel and shipping hub. Theres a lot in the city to attract visitors and residents, and a lot of opportunities for those newcomers to bring bed bugs with them. While winters are colder in Ohio than in the subtropic states, summers in Cincinnati are long and warm enough to give bed bugs plenty of time to mature and reproduce.

While the city itself has seen major population decline over the last several years, Detroits metro area is second only to Chicagos in the American Midwest. With its busy airport and riverport, as well as the busiest crossing between the US and Canada, Detroit welcomes visitors for business and pleasure every day. That means bed bugs have ample opportunity to get around town to their next infestation.

While their rank as one of the worst bed bug cities may seem bleak, its actually a nice improvement for a city that once topped our list. Due to active efforts by both government agencies and pest management professionals, reports of infestations are down by about 15% this year compared to 2017 and 2018.

The third most populous city in the country is also the third most popular city for bed bugs. The metro area thats affectionately referred to as Chicagoland is an absolutely enormous array of cities and suburbs that is home to 10 million people. This gives bed bugs plenty of options to hitchhike from one of Chicagos airports or public venues to one of so many nearby residences.

As an international hub for finance, industry, and transportation, Chicago has heaps of planes, trains, and cars moving in and out all day, every day. Bed bugs love hiding in clothes, luggage, and personal belongings to travel from their birthplace to a new home, where they can settle down and start a new infestation of their own.

Continuing the trend of bed bug cities in the Northeast and Midwest is Philadelphia, the second top travel destination for American bed bugs. Sitting at the center of the densely populated Boston-Washington corridor, Philadelphia welcomes travelers from Boston, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, and DC, along with other visitors from around the world.

Much like neighboring Baltimore, Philadelphia features a humid subtropical climate. This means hot and muggy summers with short winters, a favorite arrangement for bed bugs looking to start a family.

Back to defend its title, Columbus has retaken the rank of one of the worst bed bug cities in America. But with less population, less travel, and colder winters than many other cities on the list, how does Columbus keep coming up as number 1?

Like with other cities, the popularity of Columbus is definitely a factor. As one of the fastest-growing cities in North America, Columbus features both a bustling urban populace and a rapidly expanding metro area made up of suburban communities. This means that both urban pedestrians and local commuters face a risk of crossing paths with bed bugs in the citys many public places.

While not as warm year-round as the southern bed bug cities on this list, Ohios capital still has long, hot, and muggy summers thanks to its humid continental climate. The average daily high is over 60 degrees Fahrenheit for more than half of the year, and the cold and dry winter period tends to come on gradually rather than snap in overnight. This works out favorably for bed bugs that have grown accustomed to the same temperatures that humans are comfortable in.

Did your city make the list? Do your part by reducing the risk of infestation! Early prevention is key, so check out our guide on how to prevent bed bugs, both at home and on the go.

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10 Worst Bed Bug Cities in America - Did Your City Make ...