BED BUGS

What are we dealing with?
 
People use to think of bed bugs as a cute, make believe bedtime cliché–”Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” The truth is they are quite real and far from cute! Bed bugs have been a known human parasite for thousands of years and have been in the United States since the 17th century. By the 1940s, bed bugs were all but eliminated, but due to the banning of effective but harmful chemicals and increased international travel, bed bugs have made a big time come back.

Bed Bug Basic Biology

  • Adults are flat, reddish brown in color, and about ¼ inch in size, (about the size of an apple seed, or lady beetle).
  • Female bed bugs lay 5–7 eggs per week.
  • Up to 500 in a lifetime. A single female can be responsible for over 30,000 offspring per year!
  • Eggs hatch within 6–10 days and can become an adult in 35–48 days.
  • They feed on the blood of humans and some small animals.
  • Mostly nocturnal and will normally feed for 3–10 minutes while you sleep.
  • Will feed on exposed skin and will often bite in a pattern of 3 bites that can leave itchy red welts.
  • Average life span is 10–12 months but can live between 12–18 months without feeding.
  • Bed bugs can carry but do not transmit diseases.
  • Bed bugs are extremely difficult to eliminate.

 

Commercial Inspection Plan

For businesses such as hotels, motels, hospitals, apartments and dorms, we recommend adding a regular schedule of bed bug inspections throughout the year. These kinds of business are especially susceptible to bed bug invasion because the business hosts a relatively transient population—people come and go often.

Bed bugs find new locations to invade by “hitchhiking” from one location to another on luggage, clothing and people. It’s important for businesses with transient populations to keep a regular schedule of bed bug inspections because new people are coming in constantly. Every new visitor is a potential bed bug carrier, and new invasions are possible at any time.