Bed Bugs

Bed Bugs: The Down & Dirty

Cyber security breaches, digital espionage, and corporate hacking that renders companies helpless are all very real and occur daily to businesses across the globe. These new threats began as a software bug and have evolved into more sophisticated attacks. Something that has not evolved, but has maintained its lethal threat to the hospitality industry is a different type of bug: the bed bug.

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Bed Bug Infestation Facts and Statistics

According to the National Pest Management Association:

• It’s a Growing Problem – 99.6% of pest professionals have treated for bed bugs in the past year. That number – which has been consistent for the past few years – is significantly higher than 15 years ago, when only 25% of pest professionals reported treating for bed bugs.
• It’s Impacting More People – 1 in 5 Americans has had a bed bug infestation in his or her home or knows someone who has encountered bed bugs at home or in a hotel.
• It’s Impacting Homes – The top three places where pest professionals report finding bed bugs are:
  • 95% – Apartments/condominiums
  • 93% – Single-family homes
  • 75% – Hotels/motel

What is a Bed Bug?

The common bed bug, or Cimex lectularius, is a part of the cimicid family which contains many different species of blood-sucking insects that are very similar to the common bed bug. There is a common misperception that only individuals with dirty homes will attract bed bugs, but even individuals who keep their homes immaculate can get bed bug infestations. Bed bugs are a very difficult pest to identify and get rid of once they take up residence in your home, but knowing what to look for can help you know when to call a bed bug exterminator to help you out.

This simple pest can cause cancellations of room reservations with one online review warning other potential guests. Nothing trends faster than bad news, placing your crisis management team into overdrive.

While the best defense is a good offense, in this case, prevention is key. Avoiding devastation doesn’t have to be complicated. A good preventative plan for treatment of all threatening pest infestations creates your firewall, which even the most determined bed bugs can’t penetrate.

Where do bed bugs come from?

Bed bugs can virtually come from anywhere and everywhere.Often times, bed bugs come from airplanes, hotels, used furniture, gyms, and public transportation. These insects have mastered stealth modes of transportation in luggage, boxes or shoes to be near their food supply, which is, sadly, humans.

Bed bugs resemble vampires in that they do prefer human blood and are nocturnal. Hidden away in small cracks and crevices, bed bugs may be hard to detect. If you have any doubt about whether or not there is evidence, call a professional like us to assess.

What do bed bugs look like?

Bed bugs are exceptionally small insects that can be as thin as a credit card. Full grown adults will look like an exceptionally skinny apple seed. They typically take up residence in the edges of your mattress or box springs in order to have easy access to a food source, but they can quickly spread around the bedroom and even house. They will hide in small crevices or other hiding places, especially during the day. Bed bugs are most active at night while you are sleeping in order to acquire a meal.

Bed bugs signs and symptoms – how would you know you have a problem?

Some visible signs that you have a bed bug problem include small amounts of blood on your bedsheets, small brown clusters around mattress and box springs that serves as evidence of an unwanted occupation.

Bed bug bites – what do they look like and how to treat them?

The bite of a bed bug resembles a mosquito bite, and may itch. The upside is that they are not known to carry disease and if a bite becomes infected, it is due to scratching it. Treatment of a bite involves keeping the area clean and may treat with a steroidal anti-itch over-the-counter cream.

Photo compliments of Perdue

How do you get rid of bed bugs?

What makes bed bugs so difficult to identify are the facts that they’re mostly nocturnal, they’re very small, and their bites look like those of a mosquito or flea. You have to be able to identify the bite or the insect itself in your home to be able to resolve a bed bug infestation.

The first step in taking care of these pests is thoroughly inspecting your property to make certain bed bugs are your real problem. If, in fact, they are, we will determine how bad the infestation is and inform you about our safe and effective treatment process. In addition to our initial treatment service, we can come back routinely to ensure your problem doesn’t return.

Our process of extermination has proved to be effective, not only stopping reproduction but eliminating them altogether.

What happens when you don’t get rid of bed bugs?

Bed bugs are resilient and need the help of a professional bed bug exterminator if you want to make sure you’ve truly rid yourself of these pests. Instead of being dominated by the eradication process, we highly recommend investing in preventative methods. Hotels, rentals, and residential properties are best treated by pest controlling methods on a regular basis to avoid such attacks.

Treat your business and your rental properties as you would your home and family.

In the age of DIY, it seems that everything you could possibly need may be found at your nearest hardware superstore. As a professional extermination company, we encourage prevention but if an infestation manifests itself in your home, we recommend quick action. With elaborately-detailed 14-step DIY eradication list, many of our clients opt for professional extermination instead of attempting it themselves.

Download our free pre-treatment checklist:

Download our Bed Bug Pre-Treatment Checklist

It’s your time and money, and we want you to be pest-free. You will sleep better knowing you (and your guests/tenants) are bed bug-free. If you are infected with best bugs, we highly recommend you select a bed bug specialist like Freedom Pest Control and outsource the eradication of them.

At Freedom Pest Control, we do not take bed bug problems lightly. Our goal is to help our customers find relief from these frustrating, biting, and unwanted pests. Although the process can seem daunting, with us on your side, you can have the freedom from pests that you desire. In order to do so, it’s important for us to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques and treatments in the industry; maybe even more so, when it comes to bed bugs because of their resistance to a majority of pest treatments.

Be sure to check out our infographic on top cities for Bed Bug infestations, factors involved, and how to inspect for them!