Bed Bug Management Advice From An Expert

Bed Bugs: A National Epidemic

Posted on March 18, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control

Bed bugs are the best hitchhikers in the world. Unable to fly, these pests have successfully traveled from somewhere else to your home. To get rid of bed bugs, you have to become a little ruthless. They’re tough, and once they travel to your home, they don’t want to travel anywhere else. They live inside walls and your belongings. Sometimes they even travel with you while you’re going about your daily activities.

One or two of these bugs in your home can become thousands in so many weeks. That’s why you can’t wash or throw your belongings out to eliminate the bugs. You have to kill them. Yet, it must occur to enjoy life again. The first step to killing them is to find the places they’re hiding. The next step is to pick your weapon of choice.

Eliminating these bugs can be complicated. You can use pesticides specially made for bed bug removal. Unfortunately, advertisements for pesticides are more effective than the actual product. In addition, trying to treat the problem can be a waste of time. You can use the pesticides, but the bugs hide in places you can’t see or get to. So, you’re not killing all of them.

Top Beg Bug Treatment Options

Hiring a professional, also called a pest management professional or PMP, is an effective beg bug treatment option. The professional gets rid of the bugs and prevents another infestation. Often, the professional inspects your home to find the exact location of the bugs.

Depending on the company you choose, dogs trained to sniff out the bugs may do the hard job of locating the bugs. Before the treatment, pest management professionals provide you with detailed instructions on preparing your home. For example, you may have to clean or launder certain items.

There are several methods available to kill the bugs, such as cold or heat treatments. These are non-chemical treatments. The cold treatment consists of using temperatures below zero for about four days to kill the bugs. The cold treatment often works in two phases. The first phase kills the adult and nymph bugs. The following treatment eliminates the bugs that hatched during the first treatment. Cold treatment does not kill bugs’ eggs.

Heat treatment involves using temperatures over 113 Fahrenheit for about four hours. The treatment process can take less when the temperatures approach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The higher temperatures kill these bugs in any stage of their life.

Non-chemical methods are quicker than traditional chemical treatments. However, your professional may use a chemical treatment like:

Synthetic pyrethrins
Natural pyrethrins
Insect growth regulators
Inorganic materials

Unfortunately, these chemicals won’t get rid of the entire infestation immediately. The professional may use some of the chemicals together to get rid of them. For example, he or she may release one chemical in your home for about seven hours so it can filter through the walls then directly insert another chemical inside cracks to kill the bugs. You will have to go through the chemical process many times over about eight weeks before the bugs are completely gone.

Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs

Posted on March 12, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Extermination

When dealing with a bed bug infestation, you have more bed bug treatment options than the simple, yet controversial, bed bug repellents or the “bug bombs,” which may contain harmful chemicals and toxins. There exists another unique possibility: a bed bug-sniffing dog. While these K-9 scent detection units are usually employed in the search for narcotics, drugs, and chemicals, they can also be used to find bed bugs. The first question asked is usually: Well, are they reliable? And the answer is not always definite. Between the years 2009 and 2010, there was a so-called “bed bug boom,” in which the number of cases of bed bugs spiked and hype over the parasites exploded. Unfortunately, with this hype came an influx of “bed bug businesses,” many of them mere repellents, but also the bed bug-sniffing dogs. The high quantity of business led to lowering in the quality of service, and because of this the business quickly sunk down to unpopularity. To properly train a dog could require two years or more, and the people who used untrained, or weakly trained, dogs never followed these criteria. This is why, today, we rarely hear of bed bug-sniffing dogs, since their popularity peak was three to four years ago.

Anyone seeking the use of a canine in sniffing out the pesky parasites should search for a service that assures the absolute best quality. Because of the lackluster quality in most services, a scent detection unit should always point out the bedbugs visually instead of relying completely on the dog. This nullifies the mistakes that dogs will sometimes make, and ensure that there truly is an infestation. Professional services will have trained the canine to sniff out only one or two bedbugs—this way, when it comes to the real job, it will be done so much easier to find a group of the parasites; professionals, in training, also use the “double-blind” procedure (often a term for psychological experiments), in which neither the trainer nor the dog knows the location of the bed bugs, to prevent any conscious or subconscious maneuvering towards the hidden location.

It seems that the “bed bug epidemic” has died down recently, but they still pose an annoyance to the common household, despite being harmless. Canine scent detection units are a unique option, beyond the simple repellent and bug bombs, and a choice worth consideration.

Bed Bug Repellent

Posted on March 7, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control

Bed bugs: the driving force behind the age-old mantra, “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Also known as cimicidae, bed bugs are small parasitic insects, ranging between 1.5 and 3 millimeters in width, roughly the size of an apple seed. While they are large enough to be seen, they often hide—in carpets, furniture, mattresses, and box springs, giving them the colloquial term “bed bug.” As parasites, they feed off human blood, swelling to a red flush after feeding and capable of surviving up to a year without any sort of sustenance. The biting of the bed bug is painless to a human being, leaving only a small and itchy bump. Luckily, bed bugs do not carry diseases, so it’s not dangerous if you have an infestation; however, they are a nuisance.

Over 300 products are currently registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to allow the consumer to rid himself of bed bugs. Online, the EPA offers a search tool, in which a victim of bed bugs can list the context and circumstances, and receive suggestions about which repellent to employ. The list is quite exhaustive; for example, a simple search for repellents to use when one finds bed bugs under a mattress contains 277 possibilities. Other sources claim that insecticides, such as “Off!” have no effect on bed bugs: this is mainly because the insecticides wear off, and they are not directed specifically at eliminating the problems of bed bugs altogether. Bed bugs are determined creatures, and have been known to simply sit upon insecticides until they die. This, however, will not cure the issue once and for all.

One of the leading brands in bed bug repellent, EcoSMART, claims to be synthesized from natural plant oils; hence it is safer to use in the household and around children, which nullifies the concern prominent among other repellents—that pesticides will do long-term damage to members within the house. EcoSMART is a spray that needs to be applied to the infested areas, killing the cimicidae quickly and efficiently. Many repellents are now enforcing chemical make-ups that are free from harmful pesticides, and this is a crucial piece of research to perform before committing oneself to a certain brand. There is also a lesser-suggested solution known as a “bug bomb,” in which the whole room is filled with a pesticide solution, eliminating the need to apply repellent to the nitty-gritty areas. However, this is a slightly more dangerous solution than organic chemicals.

When it comes down to it, it is best to search for a product that is known to be family-friendly, or to immediately contact an exterminator to seek the best solution. It’s better to do a great amount of prior research than to have your home infected with pesticides, as well as bed bugs. Bed bugs can be a nasty annoyance, so finding the right solution is crucial; whether you need a repellent or an exterminator is up to you.

Benefits of Professional Bed Bug Treatment

Posted on March 2, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control

Waking up each morning with itchy insect bites may mean one thing―bed bugs. Bed bugs are considered as one of the worst insects that ever lived. They may not cause damages to wooden structures like termites or destroy plants and crops like other insects but bed bugs cause damage by biting humans and feeding on human blood. Additionally, there are several disorders which may arise from a bed bug bite. In some individuals, allergic reactions may occur. Infections may also result especially from over scratching. With chronic exposure to the parasite, you may also develop anemia as a result of frequent loss of little amounts of blood. Psychological effects such as anxiety and stress may also result with frequent bed bug exposure.

It is very important for you to eliminate bed bugs in your home before they cause health issues for you and your family. However, eliminating the bed bugs yourself is not easy. If you need an expert’s aid in bed bug treatment, you can just call a bed bug extermination team and let them take care of the problem.

After discovering that bed bugs exist in your home, you may initially think of eliminating them by yourself. However, there are certain disadvantages of managing the problem without the help of the bug extermination team. There are several companies which offer services on bed bug extermination. When you hire a bug extermination team, you will have the following advantages:
-Expert service
Bed bug exterminators are experts in eliminating bugs completely. They are trained and skilled enough to perform elimination methods without causing problems. You can expect high-quality service especially when you hire the best extermination teams in your area. If ever a problem arises, they will surely know what to do since they are experts in this field. It is best to hire professionals to manage the problem so you can have the best solutions.

-Adequate materials
Since extermination of bed bugs is their job, you can expect the exterminator team to have a complete set of materials. If you manage the problem alone, you will have to spend for the materials that you will need and since you are not used to the job, you may end up purchasing unnecessary equipment. Members of the extermination team know the materials they need and when to use it. They also have the best pest control products to manage your case.

-Lesser expenses
You will also spend less when you hire the extermination team. Instead of finding a solution yourself and spending on things which are not necessary, you can just call them to fix the problem. Different companies usually offer their services with different prices but if you want to have the best, you should not settle for those that offer the service at very low prices as the quality of service may also be of low quality.

Hiring a bed bug extermination team is highly recommended. You can simply call for extermination and they will be providing service in no time. Many companies also have online websites that you can visit to schedule an appointment.

Bed Bugs Symptoms: What to Look For

Posted on February 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bugs

So if you went to bed feeling fine and woke up with tiny bumps all over your skin, you might be thinking, “What the heck happened?” The idea that you can go to sleep and wake up like this is terrifying, and quite honestly it’s happening everyday almost everywhere you can think of! You may have bed bugs. If you’re waking up with itchy sores or bites and they are in more than one spot, you more likely than not have bed bugs. You might wondering about bed bug symptoms, and below I’ll be giving you a list of common issues people tend to experience with bed bug bites.

Bed Bug Symptoms

Inflamed bites or sores that are red in color.
Excessive itching.
Grouping of sores or red marks
Multiple bites all over that look like mosquito bites.
Red dots

It’s common that most people will experience a multitude of bites, not just one here or one there. It’s also common that beg bug bites don’t show for a few days so if you went to a hotel and four days later you see bumps or red spots you may have been bitten at the hotel. Check your luggage and wash any clothing you took with you on your trip, make sure you wash and dry them in temperatures at least 120 degrees. Hopefully you didn’t carry any of them home; if you did, well, you’re in for a nightmare!
If you have red spotting or bites and are still wondering whether or not this could be bed bugs, the easiest way to find out is by putting two and two together. Do your diligence and check your mattress and furniture for the signs of beg bugs. You can usually tell by blood spotting on your mattress, usually on the sides where they like it the most. There will also be an indication of their presence if you find skeletons, egg sacks, and feces. Though you might not see one running across your mattress, if you see blood spots or any of the other signs I mentioned you most likely have a bed bug infestation.
Having a bed bug infestation isn’t only annoying; it’s downright life-changing. If you have a phobia of bugs like I do, I can tell you the idea of even shutting off the lights after living through something like that is difficult. The idea of a bug crawling onto you and feeding off of your blood is disturbing to say the least! If you think you may have a bed bug infestation and are seeing bites or bed bug symptoms you need to call a professional bed bug exterminator! Don’t wait because if you do it may be harder to eliminate these guys, since they can hide just about anywhere: outlets, floor boards, mattresses, clothing, and carpet. It is a fight to the end to get rid of them. Be prepared have the exterminator come treat your home a few times. Since they are such good hiders and can move from one area to another practically undetected. multiple treatments will be necessary.

Link: Green Pest Control Tips

Posted on February 16, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control

Looking to protect your home from pests, but not at the expense of Mother Nature? Click the image above to read about some great green pest control methods! Pests are a big burden on a home, but it’s important to remember to protect the environment too!

Identifying and Eliminating Bed Bugs in the Home

Posted on February 5, 2013 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control, Bed Bug Extermination, Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are irritating parasitic insects that feed on blood. They look like tiny cockroaches. Increased global travel has made them very common. People pick them up from hotel room and public transportation. You can carry them in your luggage or clothes. They are nocturnal and they usually bite people while sleeping. They cause red itchy bite marks on the skin. These human parasites are not only disgusting but also hard to eliminate once they infest your home. However, with diligence and tedious care, you can get rid of them.

Bed bugs tend to hide around the bed since they rely on human blood to survive. You can see them in mattresses, headboards, box springs, cloth piles and baseboards. They are also common in couches where people usually sleep. You can know that you have them in your home when family members start seeing bites on their skin that are intensely itchy. These parasites bite humans on the hands, ankles and feet and other parts of the skin. Their bites look like tiny pimples or welts. There are times when these bites appear in a cluster. Only 30 percent of people do not react to bed bug bites. This implies that they do not have red reaction or itchy reaction after the bite.
Other signs of these parasites in your home include dark spots on the mattresses, dead bugs, shed skin, and eggs. They also deposit their waste on box springs, mattresses, linens and headboard. You can also find them in the creases of the pillows and mattresses during the day. Once you have identified them in your home, it is important that you take appropriate measures of dealing with them. Some people move to a chair or couch after knowing that they have these parasites in their homes. This is not the right approach since moving to a chair or couch will spread them further in your home.
The best way of dealing with bed bugs is by calling a professional exterminator or landlord. Your landlord should take care of the problem of these parasites. However, if you are in your home you should look for a professional who is experienced in dealing with them. To get rid of these insects fully, several treatments are required. If you choose to deal with bugs without the help of an exterminator, make sure that you have sufficient information to guide you. Internet has a lot of information from experts and other people who have suffered similar problem in their homes.
High heat is essential in dealing with these parasites. Therefore, wash your linens and clothes in hot water. You should also dry them in high temperatures and bag them in clean and fresh bags. Make sure that you store them in a place that is not infested with bugs. Once you have cleaned linens and clothes, clean and then vacuum the pillows, mattresses, box springs and headboards. Wash your furniture using appropriate chemicals. Squish or vacuum eggs if you find them. If there are items that you choose to throw away, make sure that they are not near your home. Basically, before you start dealing with this problem you have to be prepared. This is because the exercise can be tedious and time consuming. Nevertheless, with sufficient information and effort you can get rid of bed bugs in your home.

Why Are Bed Bug Extermination Worth Investing In?

Posted on December 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Extermination

Do you have a bed bugs extermination going on right now in your home or hotel? Want to get rid of them easily? Bed bugs extermination are extremely powerful to use. There are some people who want to get rid of those bed bugs but don’t have any knowledge on what to do in order to get rid of them. Sometimes they lay eggs or hide in extremely small areas, which makes it tougher and tougher to actually get rid of all of them. This is when you need bed bugs extermination services to take care of this for you.

hire an exterminator for your bed bug problem

Why are bed bugs extermination worth getting?

It is worth it because you can save yourself a lot of wasted time. If you bought specific sprays and other insecticides for your home which can help rid your home of bed bugs, it may not be as powerful or useful as other forms of exterminations available. Some people often believe that exterminations are not needed since you can find natural ingredients you can end up using. If you want to save yourself time in the long run, all you have to do is get exterminators to do everything for you. They have every single thing you need to get rid of those bed bugs.

What do exterminators do?

These people usually use a form of different techniques to remove those bed bugs. They can even remove all of the annoying bed bugs with no problem at all and help you clean up all of the annoying kinds of legs that may lay inside. It is definitely tough to see if they are worth the cash, but you should remember that the last thing you want to do is try removing them on your own and never getting rid of them at all.

How to choose the right bed bugs exterminator to hire

- Accredited and Experience

Make sure that they are simply accredited and can actually offer you good service. The truth is that there are some exterminators who may try and steal a buck from you whenever they can without offering good service. They may remove those bed bugs for you with ease at first, but you should remember that not all companies can remove every bit of those bed bugs. They should also have experience and professionalism.

- Wide range of services

Try to find a company who can offer different packages at a wide range of prices. There are some people who oftentimes forget about looking out for this. Some services may only offer one big service in the end, costing them hundreds of dollars in the end.

It is worth the investment to buy these services to prevent those bed bugs from growing. Even if you aren’t so sure if they exist in your home, you can be sure that there are people who will examine and inspect your home to make sure if there are any. This usually should be free, and you can be sure to save yourself a lot of time when you take advantage of this offer from some people.

Steps to Consider When Trying To Get Rid of Bed Bugs

Posted on December 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control

Bed bugs are not the easiest to deal with on a daily basis. They can be tough to have in the bed because most of them enjoy going outside of their hiding spots in your bed and walk around during the night. There is, however, a treatment for bed bugs to help prevent them from coming back and even killing them to make them stop hatching eggs. In this article, you will learn about different ways to help treat those bed bugs.

The best treatment for bed bugs

- Low-odor sprays

There are many sprays available via the net and several pest control stores that offer low-odor sprays and other forms of sprays which are used to specifically kill the bed bugs in your home. Most of them may be hiding in your bed and the mattress, so you must make sure that you look through every corner and space. What most people like to do is actually try to open up their beds and break open their furniture if the bed frame is somewhat big. They will then try to spray in those areas to get the bed bugs who are hiding in those places.

- Thick Fogs

There are many pest control services who will use a special form of fogging to help kill the bed bugs. This fog should be able to get inside of the deepest parts of your mattress. They may die inside of your mattress, but it is going to be impossible to take them out once they die.

- Srubbing

A very powerful treatment for bed bugs is to place the spray which you buy for the bed bugs and spray it upon a very stiff or somewhat old brush. You should then scrub almost every area possible to remove eggs which may try to stay in the walls or in the small cracks of the furniture. Nearly every part of your bed can be a place for them to hide, so try to find the places where they go to and start scrubbing there whenever you can.

- Throw away the bed

There are times when you may have to throw away a nice looking mattress because of the fact that it cannot get rid of the bed bugs. Most bed bugs may even try to leave eggs inside which will soon hatch, so even if you get the thousands already in your bed, there are still big chances that there are many other eggs which will hatch soon with more bed bugs to deal with. You might as well replace the mattress if it seems like a viable option. Not all beds can be treated with insecticides, so throwing it away is sometimes a better choice.

Bed bugs are just like ordinary bugs which you may see, but the truth is that they seek comfort in a home. They enjoy laying eggs in a mattress, but if you take action and implement the right treatment for bed bugs, you will find them disappear in no time at all. When you get the new replacement mattress be sure to equip it with a reliable bed bug mattress cover. This will ensure bed bug prevention from here on. It would be waste not to take an extra step to avoid these bed bugs.

What Do You Know About Bed Bug Treatment?

Posted on December 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment | Bed Bug Control

When it comes to bed bug treatment, there are many things that need to be taken into consideration. Bed bugs are considered one of the hardest pest infestations to deal with. To find out how to get rid of bed bugs, a lot of homeowners employ various techniques and consult different resources to get their answers. This article would help you know how to identify the problem and treatment methods.
First of all, it is important to identify the bed bug infestation. Once you have done that, the treatment can be carried out easily. There is not just any specific treatment method, as different methods have to be adopted one after another. If you want to make sure the best results, it is recommended that you call for the professional pest control services for their support. In the past, such pest infestations were treated by using DDT on infested furniture and space. However, this bed bug treatment is no longer in use owing to the safety issues posed by it. Nowadays, these treatments have become more targeted. To be able to treat this problem effectively, thorough inspection of the property is required. To ensure proper inspection, cluttering items need to be reduced from the property.

laundering bed bugs

To begin with the cluttering process, the infested linen and garments need to be removed and launder with at a temperature of 120 Fahrenheit. If you are unable to launder the garments due to some reason, then a cloth dryer may be used to heat them to remove the bed bugs. Another efficient method is to wrap the garments in plastic and leave them in the sun for some days. Bed bugs are also severely affected by low temperatures that are around 32 degree Fahrenheit mark. However, this method requires that the temperature needs to be maintained at that level for at least a couple of weeks. Carpets and other items need to be steam cleaned. The items that cannot be treated by using these bed bug treatment methods should be removed.
Vacuuming the house is considered an efficient bed bug treatment technique to physically damage the bugs. While vacuuming your house or room, the suction opening will have to be applied on infested areas, crevices, seams, and other areas. This step is crucial to remove bugs as well as dislodge their eggs. Do not forget to properly seal and dispose of the contents of the vacuum bag.
After the application of these bed bug treatment methods, proper inspection needs to happen and the infested areas must be exposed. The remaining infested areas should be treated by applying insecticides. Insecticides come in different types and forms including sprays, powders, etc. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not these methods will prove effective against bed bugs. Make sure to adhere to the instructions issued with insecticides. No matter what specific method you apply, it is always important to carry out proper inspection procedures to determine what sort of measures and precautions you need to undertake. Consult professionals for that matter.

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