Bed bug spread is on the rise mainly due to global travel and an increasing pesticide resistance. On their own, bed bugs crawl about a yard a minute. But they are good hitchhikers and often travel with their host, hidden inside a handbag, purse, or suitcase, or attached to shoes, clothes, or other items of daily usage.
Bed Bug Symptoms
Most bed bug bites are painless at first, but later begin to itch and swell. They can be mistaken for mosquito or ant bites. To confirm bed bug bites, you must find and identify the bugs themselves. Look for bed bug excrement spots (i.e. little blood stains on your bed linen), egg shells, or shed skins in areas where bed bugs hide. They can hide anywhere near the bed area and near other soft furniture, like couches for example. It is important to find the place where they nest.
Each bed bug lays approximately 50-200 eggs during its lifespan. Each egg takes 10 days to hatch and another five to six weeks for the nymph to develop into an adult. Bed bugs go through five stages of maturation before becoming an adult. With each stage, they shed skin. They must feed on blood before each molt.
Bed Bug Treatments
Mostly it is safest and most effective to hire an experienced pest control professional for bed bug extermination. According to the 2015 Bugs Without Borders survey, conducted by the NPMA and the University of Kentucky, bed bugs remain the most difficult pest to treat - more difficult than cockroaches, termites, and ants! Relying strictly on chemicals is generally not a good solution. Scientists are diligently pursuing other strategies, including freezing and developing bait similar to that used for cockroaches. Bed bugs can withstand a wide range of temperatures, from nearly freezing to 122 degrees Fahrenheit for short periods of time.
In past times, mainly the "lower classes" of the population were infested, but nowadays anyone can be affected, regardless of the level of cleanliness in the occupied areas.
