More than you ever wanted to know about Bed Bugs
History of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs, to some Americans, are merely a part of a bedtime story. To others, they are the cause of an exhausting and never ending nightmare, and some Americans are not even sure bed bugs are real. THEY ARE VERY REAL!
There is speculation that bed bugs date back to 400 BC, and have been in America since the 17th century, when they were brought over aboard colonial ships. The bed bug problem continued to grow until the mid-1950’s, when the famous and equally dangerous pesticide DDT was used in the eradication of bed bugs. The use of clothes dryers and vacuums were becoming more commonplace during that era, and contributed largely to the eradication process. By the late 1950’s, America was basically bed bug free.
However, that is no longer the case. Bed bugs are making a comeback in a big way. It is impossible to state one reason for the resurgence, but many experts point to the increase in international travel and the ineffective pesticides we have today. Additionally, due to the lack of awareness, people tend to overlook the early signs of a bed bug infestation, allowing the infestation to spread, thereby increasing the chance of transporting bed bugs to other locations.
Appearance of Bed Bugs
Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, are reddish/brown in color, and have a triple segmented beak that both pierces the skin and sucks blood from its host. The male has a slightly pointed body, while the female has a rounded body. Bed bugs do not fly or jump, but can move rather quickly. They have six legs and an adult bed bug can travel about four feet per minute.
The female lays eggs daily. The eggs are pearly white, barrel shaped and about the size of several grains of salt. When the eggs are laid, they are covered with a sticky substance allowing them to be “cemented” to whatever surface they are on. Nymphs (babies) resemble adult bed bugs in shape, however, they are clear until they feed. When a nymph feeds it will turn bright red with blood. The nymph will go through five nymph stages, each stage resulting from a feeding. The nymphs will shed its exoskeleton as it grows and darken in color to resemble the adult bed bug. Both adults and nymphs will change color and shape after feeding.
What is the Best Way to Find Bed Bugs?
It is proven that the most reliable way to find bed bugs is with the use of a bed bug detection dog. A trained and certified K9 detection team can conduct a thorough search of your home, business or luggage with far more accuracy than any other means known at this time. K9 detection dogs complete several hundred hours of detection training and are capable of detecting even early signs of an infestation.
How Bed Bug Infestations Grow
Bed bugs usually “hitchhike” a ride on personal belongings like backpacks, luggage, even shoes and clothing. Bed bugs can be brought home by your college student, someone returning from a trip, or even from a hospital stay. Bed bugs do not discriminate. They are not an indication of a dirty home or room. They can be found in low budget hotels as well as five star resorts, hospitals, libraries, movie theaters, airplanes and private homes. All a bed bug needs to survive is a crevice no larger than the thickness of a business card and a host to feed off.
Many times bed bugs are brought into the home via used clothing or furniture. Often a new looking couch put out to the curb is there because of a bed bug infestation; this is especially true of used mattresses.
Due to their small size and flattened body shape, bed bugs can travel quite easily. They can move from room to room and floor to floor through interior wiring and plumbing, elevator chutes, dumbwaiters, and laundry and mail chutes.
Bed bugs will migrate when the room they inhabit becomes empty for a prolonged period of time. They will move to another room, or even another floor, seeking a new host. Bed bugs will also relocate due to overpopulation. The female will sometimes relocate, seeking a rest from her male counterparts.
Bed bugs tend to spread more easily in high traffic areas like hotels, airports, airplanes, theaters, apartment buildings, ships, trains or even schools and hospitals, than they do in private homes. However, an infestation in your home is definitely something you should make every effort to avoid.
Bed Bug Reproduction
Bed bugs reproduce in a way that is far more uncomfortable than the conventional method. They produce in a way that is known as Traumatic Insemination. Rather than use the female genital tract, the male will pierce the abdomen of the female with his genitalia and inject his sperm through the wound. The sperm travels through her abdomen until it reaches the ovaries.
Because this process is so painful, the female will often move to an isolated area to avoid mating. Based on the reason for this isolation, the “hitchhiker” that is transported in backpacks, purses or luggage will most likely be a pregnant female. The female bed bug will carry sperm for 4-6 weeks, increasing the odds that the bed bug you bring home will be a pregnant female. A single pregnant female bed bug is capable of producing an infestation of 5,000 bed bugs within six months ~ a widespread infestation! If half of that infestation population is female, and each of them is capable of producing the same results, you will have a catastrophic infestation on your hands.
A female bed bug will usually live 12-18 months and is capable of laying 1-12 eggs per day, providing they have a blood host. The female bed bug can lay 200-500 eggs over the course of her lifetime.
Bed bug eggs will hatch in about two weeks, and the nymphs can start feeding immediately. The nymphs must go through five nymph stages before they are capable of mating. Each nymph stage requires a blood meal and molting of their outer shells. The time from egg to adult will vary according to temperature. The warmer the harborage, the quicker the process. At a temperature of 85 degrees, it will take about 21 days from egg to adult; at 68 degrees, it will take considerably longer.
Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation
There are several indications that you might have bed bug activity. The first sign, and not always the most obvious, is bed bug bites. Some people do not even take into account that the bites could be from bed bugs. They will assume the bites are from mosquitoes, spiders or other insects. To complicate matters, bed bug bites sometimes do not surface for up to two weeks and some people show no reaction at all. Two people sleeping in the same bed could have totally different reactions. If one person reacts and the second person has no reaction, chances are you will focus on where the person with the reaction has been. This often leaves an undetected infestation.
Another sign of bed bug activity is fecal spotting on the sheets, mattress or box spring. After bed bugs feed they will often defecate on the sheets or bedding. Fecal spotting resembles small black dots like those left from a fine pen or magic marker.
You may also find blood spotting in your bed if you happen to crush a bed bug while it is feeding, or a shell casting which occurs after a bed bug feeding.
Bed Bug Feeding Habits
Bed bugs feed on blood, and only blood. They prefer human blood, but will also feed on household pets and birds. Bed bugs use their beaks to pierce the skin of their hosts. Inside their beaks are two tubes: the first tube injects an anesthesia and an anti-coagulant, the second tube is used for sucking the blood from the host. This combination allows the bed bug to go undetected while feeding. Bed bugs prefer to feed at night and every 3-7 days, but they can exist for 4-12 months without feeding. Going on vacation to wait them out, or expecting them to move on, will not resolve an infestation.
Bed Bug Bites
Bed bugs prefer to feed at night, but will feed during the day. People react to bed bug bites differently. The reaction will depend on the level of allergic reaction to the protein in a bed bug’s saliva, and is generally confined to a skin reaction, varying from person to person and ranging from a small reddish skin rash to large welts. The duration of the reaction also varies from person to person. Most bites will only last a few days, but some could itch for several weeks. Scratching the bites could result in prolonged discomfort and possibly a secondary infection.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide?
Bed bugs can hide almost anywhere. Their flat body allows an adult bed bug to fit anywhere you can fit the thickness of a business card, while a nymph will need only half that thickness. They prefer to stay near their host; if the host is a human this could be in or near a bed, couch, chair, playpen or anywhere else a human might sleep or nap. Bed bugs are nocturnal and usually feed between midnight and 7 a.m.
In larger infestations, bed bugs will branch out to avoid overcrowding, but still stay as close as possible to the host. In a larger infestation, bed bugs will be found in the mattress, box spring, bed frames, drapes and curtains, headboards, molding, pictures, electrical outlets, drawers, and anywhere else they feel safe.