Bed bugs extermination
Protecting Your Home and Family from Bed Bugs
The key to eradicating bed bugs is being familiar with the signs and knowing how to get rid of bed bugs. While there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of infestation, Aerex recommends a professional pest control bed bug service if you discover them in your home.
Bed bugs feed on the blood of humans and other mammals. Despite their blood-feeding nature, bed bugs have not been shown to transmit any diseases. However, the fear of bed bug infestations and bed bug bites can lead to emotional distress. Bed bug bites do not hurt, although bites may result in an itchy welt, which causes discomfort and can lead to secondary infection of the bite wound due to scratching. Treating the bites soothes the irritation, but it can still be very distressing when there are multiple bites, which sometimes occur with bed bugs.
Identifying the Presence of Bed Bugs
- Adult bed bugs are 5mm long. Before feeding they are a flattened oval shape and light brown, but become rounder and darker.
- Bed bugs do not have wings, but can crawl relatively fast.
- A bed bug can complete its development from an egg to and adult in as little as 1 month. A single female can potentially produce 200-500 eggs in her lifetime.
- Adult bed bugs can survive approximately 1 year without feeding; immature bed bugs (nymphs) can go 3-4 months without feeding.
- Bed bugs are nocturnal, lured from their hiding spots at night by the warmth of our bodies and carbon dioxide in our breath as we sleep.
Common places for bed bugs:
- Bedrooms - hiding in cracks and crevices during the day
- Bed frame - hiding in crevices or seams of bed mattress
- Behind furniture - surrounding the bed
- Wall - where the wall meets the floor