Recently, bed bug infestations have dramatically increased in the USA and worldwide. This is thought to be due to a number of reasons. International travelers, immigration from infested areas, second hand furniture, used clothing, decreased use of residual pesticides for structural pest management in residential areas and lack of bed bug education. Bed bugs can not fly, but they can survive without a blood meal and distribute in suitcases and any common types of transportation.
Description
The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. is a small insect (adult about 1/4 inch long). It usually has reddish brown color, flattened body from top to bottom and reduced wings. It has piercing, sucking mouthparts and feeds externally on warm blooded animals, including humans.
Importance Although the common bed bug is a parasite of humans, it has never been proven to transmit infectious pathogens. The bed bug bite is painless, but to prevent blood from clotting, it injects an anticoagulant substance with its saliva while feeding. This substance can cause reddish, irritated itchy skin marks in 80% of people, and occasionally blisters and necrotic spots of the skin. Conversely, few people do not react to bed bug bites.
Lifecycle
Understanding the lifecycle and the ecological interactions of bed bugs and their surrounding environment is a vital aspect in their management protocol. The lifecycle and feeding behavior of bed bugs depends on temperature conditions, i.e., bed bug nymphs and adults stop feeding at temperatures of 56°F (13°C) or below and thermal death point is 112°F (45°C). At room temperature, the complete bed bug lifecycle takes about two months and adults can live for almost four and a half months. In colder temperatures, they may live for up to two years even without a blood meal. The female bed bug lays 2-3 eggs a day throughout its life span. Eggs are very tiny, 0.03 inches long, creamy white in color and hard to see with the naked eye. The eggs are laid in sheltered places. They are sticky when first laid and are difficult to remove by vacuuming. At room temperature, they hatch within nine to ten days. Their hatching period may be expanded to a longer time in colder temperatures. The colorless newly emerged nymph goes through five nymphal developmental instars feeding only on blood. Each nymph requires at least one blood meal to develop to the next developmental instar. It needs 3-5 minutes per meal for a complete engorgement of blood. At room temperature, nymphal instars usually last one month.
Behavior, Symptoms and Habitats The bed bugs tendency to hide allows them to go undetected for long periods of time. They normally hide during the daytime and feed at night; however, being nocturnal insects does not necessary mean that they can not feed during the daytime. A careful inspection should be carried out to locate bed bug symptoms which include any brown to black spots of dried blood that may be accompanied by a sweetish odor, molting skins, feces and live insects stages in mattresses, box springs, cracks, crevices, holes, loose materials such as wallpaper or paint and all other hiding areas.
Related Species
Bat bugs and bird bugs belong to the same family as bed bugs. They can also attack humans when their primary hosts are not available. These insects should also be excluded from the buildings.
Guardian Services
Guardian has two service protocols for bed bug management. Service for primary rooms (rooms with bed bugs present) and service for secondary rooms (rooms adjacent to the primary rooms where a bed bug infestation is more likely to happen). Guardian will act promptly with trained Service Specialists to conduct bed bug management procedures.
Client Pre Treatment Preparation
Make rooms accessible, take beds apart, have the mattresses and box spring accessible for inspection by the Guardian Pest Control Service Specialist. DO NOT remove them from the infested room.
Remove all wall hangings i.e. pictures, clocks, mirrors etc. and place them in a secure area of the room to be inspected.
Collect all bedding, curtains and clothing, then bag them firmly in double plastic bags. These items cannot be treated with insecticides and must be laundered separately at a minimum temperature of 120°F and dried in a hot dryer.
Carefully vacuum the bed bug infested room. Pay particular attention to hiding areas in seams, tufts, edges of head boards, night stands, behind and on pictures, mattresses, box springs, furniture, carpet edges, floorboards, loose wall paper, light switches, doors and window frames. DO NOT use the same vacuum in adjacent rooms.
Immediately collect the vacuum contents and carefully place them in a tightly sealed double trash bag. These bags should be disposed of outside the building in a proper dumpster.
We recommend throwing infested mattresses and box springs away. In this case,
After the Guardian Pest Control Service Specialist treats these items with an EPA registered fast knockdown capability product to eliminate bed bug distribution, carefully place mattresses and box springs in tightly sealed double plastic bags or disposable encasements (encasement can be purchased through Guardian) then discard outside the building in a proper dumpster.
New mattresses and box springs should be encased before use with special encasements manufactured to help in the prevention of bed bug infestations (encasements can be purchased through Guardian).
If clients choose to keep their mattresses and box springs, they should be treated with EPA registered residual insecticides, labeled for this purpose. When rooms are bed bug free, the following steps should be followed by the client:
Make sure mattresses and box springs are completely dried.
Carefully vacuum mattresses and box springs (use rubber gloves to protect your skin from pesticide contact).
Use mattress and box spring encasements (these can be purchased through Guardian) to avoid direct contact with the residual insecticide and to trap any bed bugs that may have been missed or will hatch after the treatment.
Mattresses should be covered with clean linens before use.
Precautionary Measures
During the treatment, no people, food, or pets should be present in the room to be treated. Fish tanks should be covered and the air shut off. Plants will not be affected.
Do not enter the treated room for four hours after the treatment. Do not reoccupy and/or use before 14 days.
Anyone with a respiratory condition should notify property manager and the Guardian Pest Control Service Specialist
Post Treatment Information
Follow up evaluation is necessary 7-10 days after the treatment to ensure that the bed bugs have been eliminated. A third inspection may also be necessary. The necessity of this inspection will be determined by the results of the second inspection.
Primary rooms should not be reoccupied for a minimum of 14 days at room temperature of 70°F.
If bed bugs are seen, please be very accurate as to where you are seeing them, how many you see, what stages you are seeing and if they are dead or alive.
Although the common bed bug is a parasite of humans, it has never been proven to transmit infectious pathogens. The bed bug bite is painless, but to prevent blood from clotting, it injects an anticoagulant substance with its saliva while feeding. This substance can cause reddish, irritated itchy skin marks in 80% of people, and occasionally blisters and necrotic spots of the skin. Conversely, few people do not react to bed bug bites.
The bed bugs tendency to hide allows them to go undetected for long periods of time. They normally hide during the daytime and feed at night; however, being nocturnal insects does not necessary mean that they can not feed during the daytime. A careful inspection should be carried out to locate bed bug symptoms which include any brown to black spots of dried blood that may be accompanied by a sweetish odor, molting skins, feces and live insects stages in mattresses, box springs, cracks, crevices, holes, loose materials such as wallpaper or paint and all other hiding areas..jpg){kind=link}
