Bed bugs are small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. Bed bugs are reddish-brown in color, wingless, range from 1mm to 7mm and can live several months without a blood meal.
Bed bugs are small, nocturnal, wingless insects that belong to the family of Cimicidae. They feed on human blood and other warm-blooded hosts. Their skin color is rust brown to a deeper red brown. Bed bugs are also known as “mahogany flats,” “red coats” and “chinches.” The adult bed bug does not have wings and has a flattened body.
Common Ways you become Infested with Bed Bugs:
• Bugs and eggs inadvertently brought in from other infested dwellings on a visiting person’s clothing or luggage;
• Infested items (such as furniture, clothing, or backpacks) brought in;
• Nearby dwellings or infested items, if easy routes are available for travel, e.g. through ducts or false ceilings;
• Wild animals (such as bats or birds) that may also harbour bed bugs or related species.
• People visiting an infested area (e.g. dwelling, means of transport, entertainment venue, or lodging) and carrying the bugs to another area on their clothing, luggage, or bodies. Bedbugs are increasingly found in air travel.
Detection
Bed bugs are elusive and usually nocturnal (peak activity usually occurs between 10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.), wich can make their detection difficult. They often lodge in dark crevices, and the tiny adhesive eggs can be nestled by the hundreds in fabric seams. Aside from bite symptoms, signs include fecal spots (small dark sand-like droppings that occur in patches around and especially beneath nests), blood smears on sheets (fecal spots that are re-wetted will smear like fresh blood), and the presence of their empty molted exoskeletons.
Although bed bugs can be found singly, they tend to congregate once established. Although they are strictly parasitic, they spend only a tiny fraction of their life cycles physically attached to their hosts. Once feeding is complete, a bed bug will relocate to a place close to a known host, commonly in or near beds or couches in clusters of adults, juveniles, and eggs which entomologists call harborage areas or simply harborages to which the insect will return after future feedings by following chemical trails. These places can vary greatly in format, including luggage, inside of vehicles, within furniture, amongst bedside clutter, even inside electrical sockets and nearby laptop computers. Bed bugs may also nest near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, birds, or rodents.
Feeding Habits
Bed bugs are bloodsucking insects. Most species feed on humans only when other prey are unavailable. They obtain all the additional moisture they need from water vapor in the surrounding air. Bed bugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals.
Their bites are not usually noticed at the time. They develop slowly to low itchy welts that may take weeks to go away. They prefer exposed skin, preferably the face, neck and arms of a sleeping individual. The neck and jaw line are particularly favored places to feed.
Although under certain cool conditions adult bed bugs can live for as long as a year without feeding, under typically warm conditions they will try to feed at five to ten day intervals and adults can survive for about five months without food. Younger instars cannot survive nearly as long, though even the vulnerable newly hatched first instars can survive for weeks without taking a blood meal.
Reproduction & Life Cycle
Bed bugs have six life stages (five immature nymph stages and a final sexually mature adult stage). They will shed their skins through ecdysis at each stage, discarding their outer shells which are clear, empty exoskeletons of the bugs themselves. Bed bugs must molt six times before becoming fertile adults and must take a blood meal in order to complete each molt.
Females can deposit one to five eggs a day, and may lay 200 to 500 eggs in a lifetime. Under normal room temperatures and with an adequate food supply, they can live for more than 300 days.
The Value of Discretion
We understand the value of discretion, when treating for bed bugs our technicians arrive on time, and without drawing attention. We understand that there is a negative stigma to having this service provided. We strive to fly under the radar, not alerting fellow guests or clients of our presence. Example: If treating a hotel room or apartment in a busy building our technicians appear to just be guests checking in or friends visiting.
Erdye’s Method
Our treatment methods are typically a combination of the following.
• Intense Cleaning
This is done to quickly contain bulk of infestation.
• Heat Treatment
Steam Treatment (180 degrees F and above)
Eliminates all stages of the bed bug, from the egg to adult.
• Intense Cleaning
This is done to ensure all bed bugs are removed.
• Chemical Treatments
Residual sprays are applied to reduce the chance of reintroduction
• We Offer a Full Line of Protective Devices:
Mattress/Pillow Encasements
Bedbug Detection Supplies