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Bed Bugs Pest Control, Bed Bugs Extermination, Bed Bug Exterminators |
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You are here : » » Bed Bugs
Bed Bugs
The bedbug is of widespread distribution around the world, but in earlier times it was much more frequently encountered than it is nowadays. Historically, they are associated with the sleeping quarters of hotels, taverns, inns, hostels and other dormitory type facilities. In domestic residences, an infestation is usually located mainly in bedrooms.
Although bedbugs do not seem to be involved with any serious disease transmission, the bites of bedbugs at night can be very irritating, even unbearable at times. They are blood suckers at all stages of their development, so a substantial infestation can lead to much biting and annoyance.
Structure
Adult bedbugs are usually 4-5mm long, rusty red-brown coloured, wingless and oval shaped. Their piercing and sucking mouthparts are normally present as a proboscis that projects along the ventral part of head and thorax. During feeding, the proboscis is swung forward and downward, impaling the skin of the victim. Body shape is normally flattened, but it can be rather expanded and ovoid after blood-sucking. Nymphs (young) resemble adults in general appearance.
Life Cycle
Bedbugs undergo a gradual metamorphosis. The adult female must have a blood meal before egg-laying. Eggs are cemented to surfaces in batches of up to 10 or more, and sites chosen for egg-laying usually include cracks and crevices (eg in furniture) that are within close proximity to the host’s sleeping area. Typically, most cracks and crevices in an infested bedroom are suitable. A female may lay 200-500 eggs in her lifetime. Eggs usually hatch in 7-30 days, and the nymphs must have at least one blood meal between moults. Typically bedbug nymphs undergo about 5 moults before reaching adulthood. The lifecycle of bedbugs can be as short as 45 days, but may be as long as a year or more in less favourable conditions. Adults may live for 50 days to over a year, depending on conditions. They can survive several months without a blood meal.
Habits
Males, females and nymphs are all obligate blood suckers. Most of their time is spent hiding in cracks and crevices in fairly close proximity to their sleeping host. Temperature is very important in host location, and they usually visit their host briefly in the few hours just before dawn. After taking a blood meal they return to their hiding places, where they may be found grouped closely together. Their most important host is humans, but in some cases bats, cats and other animals may serve for feeding.
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Bedbug as Pests
The activity of bedbugs in premises is usually detected by the irritation caused to sleepers. In infested premises, evidence of activity can include: live bugs hiding in cracks and crevices in furniture, behind skirting and architraves, among books, behind wallpaper, in bedding (especially under mattress buttons) and in other harbourages; eggs cemented to similar surfaces, hatched or unhatched; cast skins; small dark brown marks on sheets, walls and other surfaces on which they may excrete; and, in the case of heavy infestation, an apparently sickly sweet ‘buggy odour’. This odour is caused by body secretions, but it is often masked by other odours prevalent in unclean premises.
In Melbourne, bedbugs disperse largely by being carried by humans in furniture, luggage, clothes and so on. Well established infestations are usually associated with poor housekeeping and low standards of hygiene. When brought into even the cleanest premises, however, they may find suitable hiding places and hosts and thus commence an infestation. Although their mobility is restricted to crawling within buildings, they may infest adjacent rooms or apartments, and even neighbouring houses can be infested by their crawling habit.
When the bedbug bites its victim, saliva with anticoagulant properties is injected. The bugs have a tendency to ‘test bite’, which often results in a line of bites. For some people the bite is painless and there is no allergic reaction. However many people react with local swelling at the site of the bites, followed by mild to severe irritation. Movements of the bugs or scratching may facilitate infection of wounds. In severe infestation, sleeplessness may result; and in India, cases of iron deficiency have resulted from severe attacks. To date, the bedbug has not been implicated with any serious disease transmission.
Bedbug Control
When a well-established bedbug infestation is troublesome, it is likely that improvement in standards of hygiene will be a necessary backup to any chemical treatment. Where normally hygienic premises have become infested by the importation of bugs in secondhand furniture or by some other means, it is likely that a thorough treatment of the premises with careful attention to cracks and crevices will give total eradication, which may last until any future importation.
An essential first step in the control of bedbugs in buildings is to determine the extent of infestation. By questioning the occupants and, more importantly, by carefully inspecting the premises, the pest control technician can establish the extent of the infestation and thus be more certain that potential sources of reinfestation are not overlooked during treatment. All possible hiding places should be inspected, including furniture, wall linings, skirtings, architraves, curtain rods, light fittings, picture frames, picture railings, shelves, appliances and bedding, including the mattress.
Non-chemical methods for Prevention and Control
Thoroughness in housekeeping is likely to make rooms less favourable for bedbug infestation. As well, a reduction in potential harbourage areas (eg. cracks behind skirtings, loose wallpaper) may help to make premises less suitable. Thorough inspection of second-hand furniture before it is brought into the house may avert possible infestation. This particularly applies to bedroom furniture such as wardrobes and beds, and especially mattresses.
Bedbugs are very sensitive to heat and are rapidly killed when exposed to temperatures over 45oC.
If heat is used for bedbug control, it is important that the high temperatures are applied suddenly; a gradual rise in temperature will cause the bedbugs to disperse, thereby potentially spreading an infestation. Thus using heaters to heat up a room to a lethal point for bedbugs is inappropriate. Placing infested materials into black plastic bags and putting them in the sun for several hours on a hot day may kill the bugs. However, scientific investigations have shown that this is ineffective with large items such as mattresses.
The most practical method of exploiting extreme heat is through the use of steam. The great advantage is that it will kill all bedbug stages, including the eggs. As steam is composed only of heated water, some people favour this treatment over chemicals, particularly for their mattress and bed. However, control cannot be achieved with steam alone, and studies have shown that a program of steam followed by insecticides provides better long term control than by using steam alone. Like any tool, steam machines are only as effective as the operator. To achieve anywhere near control, an intimate knowledge of the bug and its ecology are essential. Inspections must be diligent, and the treatment process must be meticulous, using the correct type and settings on the steam machine, to avoid dispersing the bugs further. Also, the limitation of using steam is the wetting of items, thereby making it unsuitable for items such as light fittings, electrical sockets and appliances.
An alternative to extreme heat is extreme cold, ie. freezing the bugs. This has the advantage that heat sensitive materials will not be damaged. While this method can not be directly used by pest control technicians, it can be recommended to the home owner for small items. Any item for freezing should be placed loosely into a bag, and as always, this must be done in the infested room prior to removal. The amount of time in the freezer would be dependent on the size of the item; the larger the item, the longer in the freezer. A few hours (>2) would be sufficient to kill bugs in small items, assuming that the freezer is operating at or around -20oC. Dense items may take several days for the centre to cool to kill the bugs and the longer an item is kept frozen, the more likely the bugs will be destroyed.
Chemical control
In Australia, the chemicals mostly used for control of bedbugs are Carbimate products.
The proper and effective application of insecticides to control bedbugs relies on proper inspection and knowledge of harbourage areas. Thus equipped, the pest control technician can ensure contact of the bugs with the insecticides. Careful application to cracks and crevices is usually necessary. Broadly, the methods of application involved may be surface spraying, space spraying and, where appropriate, dusting.
Where possible, particularly in conditions of poor hygiene, a clean up prior to insecticide application can be most beneficial. Follow up inspections are necessary to evaluate effectiveness of initial treatment, and due to the possibility of eggs hatching after the initial treatment, the possibility of re-treatment should be addressed to ensure reinfestation doesn’t occur.
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