Education Is Half The Battle With Bed Bugs

By Author: Mike Ristics
Total Articles: 3
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What was once primarily a city problem has shown up in small towns and suburbs throughout the country: bed bugs. The name alone is enough to give most people the shivers or to cause them to spontaneously start scratching everywhere. While nearly everyone fears a bed bug infestation, it is important to understand how to recognize the signs of bed bugs so that a professional bed bug exterminator can be called.

For many bugs, like ants or bees, the first indication of their presence is actually seeing them flying or crawling around. For bed bugs, the first sign may be seeing their fecal matter on bedding. It is dark brown or red spots that you can easily see. Unfortunately, another common first indication of a bed bug infestation is bed bug bites. These bites will seemingly come from nowhere and will likely appear in the morning after the bugs have bitten throughout the night. These red, itchy bites are most commonly found on the arms, legs and torso, but can really appear anywhere. Some people may mistake the bites for a rash or a skin irritation, without realizing that they came from bed bugs.

Red splotches that ...
... appear on the skin out of nowhere after a night’s sleep should be presumed to be bed bugs unless it can be ruled out. After the bites appear, a thorough search of the mattress by removing the linens and even moving the mattress off the frame should uncover the bugs. If there is a presence of bits of fecal matter, there is a bed bug infestation. This will most likely occur on the side of the bed near a wall, as the bugs often crawl up walls. Keep in mind that bed bug problems are likely not confined to just the bedroom and the bugs can appear on other furniture like couches and armchairs. For this reason, a search of the whole home may be necessary to uncover all the pests.

The bugs themselves are reddish brown in color and have an oval shape. They are flatter than many other insects and are unable to fly. For that reason, keeping beds and other furniture away from the way and using a preventing measure to prevent the bugs from crawling up the bed post legs can go a long way toward prevent bites. One preventive measure is to put the bed post legs into a low container with a liquid or vinegar. In most cases, the bugs will be unable or unwilling to attempt to climb the bed with the liquid present.

If bed bugs are located, or strongly suspected without the ability to actually locate them, a professional needs to be called in. While any exterminator may be able handle bed bugs, there are certain companies that specialize in bed bugs and may be more up to date on the new techniques for eradication. This is a quickly changing area of extermination and new ideas are coming into the forefront all the time.

One great company that really knows how to rid a home of bed bugs is House-Tech Pest Control. This company is located in New York and Pennsylvania and serves the upper Delaware River Corridor. Homeowners in this area would be wise to contact this company at the first sight of bed bugs. The faster a professional is called in, the more likely the problem can be resolved quickly and effectively. No one likes to have to deal with pests, but having a company such as House-Tech Pest Control that can be trusted to get the job done makes the issue easier to handle.

Article Source: House-Tech blog