Bed Bug Control and Services in & near Menifee, California
Bed Bug Control in & near Menifee, Ca
Bed bugs are one of the peskiest pests we ever have to deal with at Activated Pest Solutions. These bloodsuckers invade your home and can find refuge in your bed and other furniture. They only come out at night and prefer human hosts. The bites they leave have a certain order to them, and the only sign of infestation might be rusty flecks left in the crevices of your mattress, which are remnants of the insects’ blood-tinged droppings.
If you suspect you have a bed bug infestation, it is important to act quickly. Once they have found a way inside your home and set up shop, it is very difficult to get rid of all the bugs, their eggs, and their young. Activated Pest Solutions can help to EXECUTE your pest problem quickly, but first, we need to know what type of infestation you are facing.
Here is more information on the nasty little bed bug so that you can become better informed the next time you call for bed bug control.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like? – Menifee Bed Bug Control
Bed bugs are tiny and measure only about an eighth of an inch in length. They have a reddish-brown color, and their bodies are oval-shaped and flat. Their small size allows the insects to hide within the confines of your bed, clothing, and furniture. Aside from being excellent hiders, bed bugs are quite frequent travelers. Bed bugs can enter your home by hopping a ride on your clothing or inside your luggage, which is one of the reasons these pests are prevalent in hotels.
You Don’t Have to be Dirty to Have Bed Bugs!
It is a misconception that only people who keep an unclean home get bed bugs. You could have a very clean home, but bed bugs can still find a way to inhabit your mattress if you carry one home in your clothes from work or while on a trip locally or abroad.
Believe it or not, bed bugs were almost eradicated in the mid-20th century, mostly due to long-lasting and highly effective (though also highly toxic) pesticides like DDT. However, after WWII, air travel became more popular, and pesticides became more regulated, leading to an explosion in bed bug populations. The problem has become so bad that bed bug numbers double every year across the United States, and Menifee and the surrounding areas are no exception.
Life Cycle and Egg Production
A female bed bug can lay up to five eggs a day and up to five hundred during her entire lifespan. The eggs are white in color and incredibly small (about the size of a speck of dust). Once they are laid, the female will pack the eggs into cracks and crevices with a sticky glue-like material.
Once hatched, the nymphs will shed their skins five times before reaching adulthood. The nymphs require a blood-feeding each time they molt. Under favorable conditions, a bed bug nymph can develop fully within a month and produce as much as three or more generations per year.
Once bed bugs begin breeding, they speed up and hardly slow down. In fact, a population of bed bugs can reproduce exponentially, which means that early detection is the best and fastest way to get them eradicated from your home.
How Do Bed Bugs Bite and Feed?
Bed bugs will hide during the day and only come out at night to feed. You may have bed bugs hiding in your clothing, luggage, couches, and beds. Their flattened bodies let them hide in the unlikeliest of places. The insects don’t keep nests like other bugs. Instead, bed bugs like to live in small groups, and their likeliest hiding places are in your mattress, box spring, and bed frame.
Bed bugs cannot fly but move quickly over your walls and floors, and across your ceiling. When they find a host, such as you sleeping in your bed, the bed bugs will begin to feed. They pierce human skin and withdraw blood through an elongated beak. The feeding will take about three to ten minutes before the bed bug is engorged. The bug will then crawl away unnoticed.
Bed bug bites are painless initially, and, fortunately, the insects are not known for spreading disease. Later, the bites can turn into itchy welts. You can find bites on any area of skin that is exposed while asleep.
The bites can resemble flea and mosquito bites but are quite characteristic on their own. For one, bed bug bites don’t have a red dot in the middle like flea bites. The insects also tend to leave several welts that have a particular order to them, while mosquitoes tend to bite just a single time.
You can also identify bed bug bites by bloodstains on your pillowcase or rusty spots on your sheets, mattresses, and bedclothes.
If you look closely around your mattress and box spring, you might also notice reddish fecal spots, eggshells, or even discarded skins where the bed bugs hide. The insects also leave an offensive and musty odor from their scent glands.
5 Steps to Take if You Suspect an Infestation
If you think you have an invasion of these blood-consuming insects, here are the steps to take.
- Clean Bedding: If you notice bed bugs hiding in your mattress, it is important to clean all bedding thoroughly. Depending on the extent of your infestation, you might also have to clean linens, curtains, and clothing. Wash everything in hot water and dry the items on the highest heat setting. In some cases, it helps to put stuffed animals, shoes, and other items that can’t be washed in the dryer on high for thirty minutes.
- Scrub & Vacuum: Take a stiff brush and scrub your mattress and bedding to remove any remaining bedbugs and their eggs. Then, vacuum your bed and surrounding areas several times, ensuring you empty the reservoir each time into an outside trash can.
- Encase Your Mattress & Box Spring: Take a tightly woven, zippered cover and encase your mattress and box spring inside. This keeps the insects from entering or escaping. Keep in mind that the insects can live for up to a year without feeding. This means that if you are going to cover your mattress, you will want to keep it on for a year to ensure all the bugs are dead.
- Keep Bed Bugs Out: Take a caulk gun and repair any holes or cracks in the plaster. While you’re at it, glue down any wallpaper that may be peeling to get rid of all of the insects’ hiding places.
- Keep a Clean Bedroom: Make sure you keep bedding off the floor and that you get rid of all the clutter around your bed. This prevents any bed bugs that are roaming around your room from getting into your bed, allowing them to feed on you while you slumber.
