BED BUGS
Family: Cimex lectularius
Appearance:
- Bed bugs are around 5 to 6mm long before a blood meal extending to about 7mm when fully engorged.
- Oval and flattened from back to underside with thick, well-developed legs. Bed bugs do not have wings.
- Their mouthparts are modified for piercing and sucking.
- Adult bed bugs are rusty red-brown in colour.
- Eggs are whitish cream, getting darker as they hatch to larvae.
- Their shed skins are lighter brown and look like flaky exoskeletons.
Life cycle
- Bed bugs lay 200 – 500 eggs over a 2 month period in batches of 10 to 50.
- The adult female must have a blood meal before egg-laying.
- The eggs are usually laid in crack and crevices and can be attached to items of furniture or fittings in clusters by a transparent substance.
- There are 7 stages to the life cycle from egg to fully grown adult which can be from 45 days but may be up to a year.
- The typical lifespan of a bed bug is about 6 months over a year depending on favourable conditions.
- They can survive for weeks to months without feeding.
Habits
- Bedbugs feed on human blood and are attracted to body heat and CO2 from sleeping humans.
- They inject an anaesthetic when they pierce the skin, so the bite can go unnoticed at first.
- They are found in cracks and crevices, headboards, behind peeling wallpaper, broken plaster, light switches, under carpets and skirting boards etc. so they are near to people for feeding.
- Bed bugs usually visit their host for a blood feed just before dawn. When alarmed they move quickly and emit an odour.
Signs of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs hide in tiny cracks and crevices and usually visit their host for a feed briefly in the few hours just before dawn. To an expert pest controller, signs of bed bugs are easy to spot. To an expert pest controller, signs of bed bugs are easy to spot but can be a little harder for the untrained and inexperienced eye.
Here are a few of the common signs that there may bed bugs in one of your rooms.
Bed Bug Infestation Signs
- Dark/black stains – on the mattress and surrounding area from bed bug excreta.
- Sweet scent – An unpleasant, sweet, sickly scent.
- Small dark spots – Small dark blood spots on bedding known as ‘faecal pellets’.
- Live insects – despite being small (adult are only 4-5mm long) it’s possible to spot live bed bugs and shed skins.
- Blood spots – on the sheets or mattress.
Where Will I Find Bed Bugs?
- Bed frames and headboard crevices
- Mattress seams
- Carpets and underlay
- Skirting boards
- Between timber floorboards
- In cracked or broken plaster, behind peeling wallpaper
- Inside electrical sockets and fittings
- Drawers and cupboards
- Wardrobes
- Bedside cabinets
- Bed Bug Bites
How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs hiding in the tiniest creak and crevice makes it a challenge to spot these flat and brown crawling bloodsuckers. Sometimes, bed bugs have been mistaken as cockroach nymphs or even beetles.
In this case, you would need to be sure if your place has been infested with bed bugs to quickly take action and prevent an infestation that can get out of control in a matter of just 10 weeks!
The situation can be more challenging with bed bug surviving for up to a year without a meal. An infestation can happen quickly as an adult female bed bug lays an average of 5 eggs per day which is about 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime.
Knowing the signs of bed bugs is critical to adequately and accurately identify the pest. As they usually come out at night, typically an hour before dawn, it is quite not possible to see a bed bug coming out to bite you when you are already sleeping.
Did you know? Bed bugs don’t just live and hide in bedrooms. They can be found anywhere in the house!
Contact Better Care today to get rid of your bed bug problem and eliminate any stress or pest concerns you have in your home or business.