Housing Alert: Bed Bugs are Back
I’m sure we’ve all heard our parents warn, “and, don’t let the bed bugs bite”, as we toddled off to bed…but most of us have never considered that bed bugs were real pests, because most of us have never seen a bed bug.
As creepy as it is, Bed Bugs are real and they are back with a vengence. The use of DDT eradicated bed bugs more than 50 years ago, which explains why most of us have never seen one. Today, exterminators use roach traps, instead of insecticide sprays, which do not wipe out the bed bugs along with the roaches. So, the tiny bed bug is making a resurgence in a big way.
How Can You Find Bed Bugs before You’re Eaten?
They hate light and only come out in the dark. They travel quickly to hide in pipes, floorboards, carpet, mattresses, bedframes, furniture, baseboards, inner walls, or any clothing or bedroom clutter. They are most active right before dawn and feed heavily an hour before sunrise.
Look for them specifically in the mattress seams, carpet edges, pillow cases, behind headboards and bed rails. Watch for bloodstains, droppings, eggs. They tend to congregate together, so look carefully at any tiny fold or seam.
They are usually brownish, but the young can be transparent. They are about a 1.4 inch long. About the same size as an apple seed or lentel.
Can They Infest Your Home or One You Are Buying?
Yes. Bed Bugs can be picked up at hotels, be carried in luggage, brought in on infested furniture or used clothing, or even carried in on your person. They also travel from room to room in multifamily buildings, such as condo’s and dorm’s and apartments. They can even ride in on the back of your family pet.
How Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs?
Getting rid of bed bugs can be tough. They can travel up to 100 feet to feed. They can survive up to 1 year between blood feasts and they can hide in places you can’t see. Bed Bug infestation is so bad, it is regarded as “House Herpes” by those unfortunate enough to be infested with them.
- A Fabric Steam Cleaner will kill eggs and bugs. Since steam can penetrate mattresses and furniture, the heat will kill them in a couple of seconds. Repeat steaming once a week until no sign of them remains.
- Spray Rubbing Alcohol on them. It kills them instantly.
- Bed bugs can’t cross Vasoline or petroleum jelly. Crossing Glass and metal is also difficult. One old prevention was to place bed legs in tin cans coated with petroleum jelly. They can’t climb up onto the bed.
- Sticky tape around bed legs also works.
- Call a professional exterminator for bombing and spraying.
After bugs have been successfully treated, enclose your mattresses, etc in “bed bug proof cases” until you are certain they are gone for good.
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Bed Bugs are a big nuisance to deal with. The most effective way to deal with them is to maintain proper hygiene. They find it very difficult to survive in clean environments. Pest Control is another good option.
great blog from beginning to end.
Thanks Mary. But it’s not that easy. While I shower and maintain proper hygiene on a daily basis, clean my room, sheets, etc… they are little devils I’ve found and it’s not always that easy to get rid of them.
Great Blog!!
Exterminating bed bugs requires an integrated approach.
Proper inspection to make sure that you’re treating for the proper insect, correct and professonal application of appropriate pesticide(s) to ensure that the bed bug infestation is erradicated safely and finally, the homeowner must properly treat their laundry articles.
For people suffering from a bed bug infestation in Toronto there is a company that offers full service bed bug extermination that incorporates all of these elements.
http://www.royalpest.ca
A couple side notes about these pest. As far as personal hygiene, the bugs don’t care. As long as they can get to you it doesn’t matter if you are shower on a daily or weekly occurrence. They don’t live physically on you in most cases, however I have seen people that had swarms on them. I work in a high rise apartment building and we currently have a 33% infestation rate. The main problem with these critters is that the residents think that all they have to do is have the exterminators treat their unit. This is farthest from the truth. The exterminators can only do so much, the residents need to do their part, ie. vacuuming all the furniture with a crevice tool, making sure the exterminators can get to the walls to spray the baseboards, and washing their clothing on a weekly basis and placing them in plastic bags afterwards. The chemicals that the exterminators use will only kill the hatched bugs. It has no effect on the eggs.
Now the rubbing alcohol can be misleading. To affect these blood-sucking bugs it must be no lower the 70%, but even at that strength you would have to almost drown them with it. I recommend that you use 90% Alcohol on them and maybe a 90 proof for yourself to deal with them.
If you find yourself exposed to these critters the best thing to do so that you don’t bring them into your home is to strip right at the door, put the clothing directly into a plastic bag and go straight to the washing machine. Wash on the warmest water temp with or without detergent followed by a drying cycle on HOT. The heat is the only way to kill both the hatched bugs and the eggs.
If you find that your dwelling is infested the only true way of guaranteeing that you kill them all is having the home heat treated. This can be very expensive. I’ve received quotes ranging anywhere between $700 and $1300 per unit on one bedroom apartments. The idea is to heat the entire unit/house to 130F or 55C for at least an hour. This will kill the adults instantly and hatch the eggs thus killing the hatchlings.
i think i have bed bugs but idk i wake up with little dots on my back legs or back and they itch like crazy sodo i or not have them??
I agree with John… well, everything except for saving some 90 proof for yourself – that could make you go blind… lol.
$700 to $1300 for bed bug extermination on a one bedroom seems quite steep… In Toronto, a bed bug extermination for a one bedroom goes for around $500 and includes a second follow up spray in the price.
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