Bed Bugs Cleanup
Bed Bugs..............................nasty critters have been around for centuries.
These parasites are normally not more than one quarter inch in length at the adult stage.
They will gorge themselves with blood in less than 15 minutes which causes their bodies to
swell up to three times their normal size.
Bed bugs lay between one and five eggs per day, with an incubation period of 10 days in warm weather. These newly hatched bed bugs will need only five large blood feedings to reach adult size. When they bite it is normally in threes. I say they are having breakfast lunch and dinner all at the same time.
Adult female bedbugs will lay as many as 500 eggs during their lifetime. The new generation will immediately seek a blood meal. Normally they will feed at night time when people are asleep. When the bed bugs bite they inject a solution into your skin and the bite area will become swollen and will be itchy. Scratching causes sores which often become infected.
Bed bugs are not known to transmit any blood borne pathogens like misquotes and ticks, but individuals who are or have been bitten often and regularly can become anaemic.
Bed bugs like to hide. In the mattress and box spring around the seams, in the cracks and electrical outlets in the walls, behind wall paper, baseboards and picture frames, in bedding materials (pillows) etc.
Bedbugs are often carried into the houses by clothes, luggage furniture and bedding. They like the warmth and need flesh to feed upon. Most of us shudder at the thought of these critters crawling over us as we sleep.
If and when they decide to invade your home it is almost impossible to excise them. A well fed bedbug may live anywhere from four to six months, while a dormant one might live without feeding for up to eighteen months.
Good sanitation and hygiene habits will help prevent the infestation of bed bugs. Searching the entire room of household frequently for them will help prevent a severe infestation.
It often takes a professional 4 - 6 hours to do a thorough inspection and initial treatment. More than one treat will be necessary. A thorough vacuuming effectively removes both bed bugs and their eggs from mattresses, walls and carpeting.
How to stop the itching:
- Wash the affected area and apply calamine lotion
- Do not scratch the bites.
- Remove the bed bugs!
None of these bugs are disease carriers. The bed bugs generally live for six months but if deprived of food they can enter a dormant state and can last about 18 months until a blood meals becomes available. When food is available they deed every 5 to 10 days.