Tips for Recognizing Bed Bugs

One of the first steps in any pest control situation is the recognition and identification of an infestation. At Greenside Pest Control, our exterminators are here to rid your home or business of any unwanted infestations – once we know what there is to get rid of, of course.

Our professionals will help here, but there are also several areas where you can keep a keen eye out. One of these is bed bug control – with the right knowledge, you can spot these crawlers early and get them removed before they become a more serious problem. Here are a few good tactics for picking bed bugs out.

Signs

There are a few specific signs you might find that signal bed bugs in the home:

• Rusty or red-colored stains on bed sheets or mattresses. These are usually the result of bed bugs that get crushed.
• Dark spots about the size of one of these listed dots to the left of this sentence. This is bed bug excrement, and can bleed on fabric like a marker.
• Eggs and eggshells about 1 millimeter in size, with pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow.
• Live bed bugs

Hiding Places

When they aren’t feeding, bed bugs can be found in a variety of locations:

• Near piping
• Seams and tags of the mattress, or box springs
• Cracks on the bed frame or headboard
• In the seams of chairs and couches
• In drawer joints
• In electrical appliances
• Under loose wall paper or hangings
• At the junction where walls and ceilings or floors meet

Behavior and Habits

Bed bugs behave in a predictable pattern:

• Feeding: Bed bugs prefer to feed on humans, but will feed on other mammals or birds. They will travel up to 20 feet, and are primarily active at night.
• Stages/mating: Bed bugs need at least one blood meal before they can develop on their life stages, but they can feed more than once. They need to feed at least once every 14 days. Each female lays around one to three eggs per day, and up to 500 eggs in her lifetime.
• Living: Bed bugs can survive at temperatures as low was 46 degrees Fahrenheit, or as high as about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Common bed bugs are found almost anywhere their host can live.

For more information on bed bugs, or any of our exterminator services, speak to the experts at Greenside Pest Control today.