Bed Bug Treatment

Yes, you can see adult bed bugs, if you know what to look for but they are small. All five life stages of bed bugs can be found where bed bug activity exists. Bed bug eggs are tiny, white, and appear in clusters that are difficult to see. Bed bug nymphs need a blood meal in order to reach maturity, so when they are fed, they have a white and red or rusty brown appearance, measuring about 5 mm or 1/20” (about the size of a pinhead). Adult bed bugs are roughly the size of an apple seed and measure about ¼”. Bed bug bodies consist of a beak and three segments.

Because bed bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans as they sleep, the most tell-tale signs of bed bug activity will appear as red and brown spots on mattresses and/or in mattress creases and piping as well as in upholstered headboards. In severe infestations, bed bug excrement and molted shells can even be found on draperies, upholstered furniture, and electronics, as well.

Nocturnal creatures, bed bugs hide under mattresses and within creases, tufts, and folds during the day which can make them difficult to spot. Both female and male bed bugs need a blood meal to reproduce. All mature bed bugs, when unfed, are flat, oval-shaped, and reddish-brown. Once fed (with blood), bed bugs turn bright red and swell to three times their size, returning to a reddish-brown color after several days.

If you have seen bed bugs in your South Florida home or suspect a bed bug problem in your home, call the professionals at Petri Pest Control Services immediately. This is a problem that must be addressed as soon as possible, and there is not an effective DIY (Do-it-Yourself) remedy. Our pest control experts are well versed in bed bug control practices.

A common misconception about bed bugs is that they are caused by unsanitary living conditions because bed bug infestations were once prevalent in lower-income housing, where people lived in cramped, over-crowded spaces. Eradicated in the mid-1900s, by the widespread use of DDT, bed bugs have made a comeback in the past few decades.

Most often, the main cause of bed bug infestations is travel. However, another common cause is bringing used mattresses or other upholstered furniture into your home. Bed bugs are commonly found in hotels, dormitories, healthcare facilities, apartments, country clubs, and homes among other places. Bed bugs are also adept at hitchhiking, riding in luggage, on clothing, and even in electronics, such as cell phones and laptops from one place to another. Checking the mattresses in your hotel room at check-in, before you unpack, is a good measure to follow, along with checking to see if your hotel is listed on various bed bug registries, before booking a room. On returning from an overnight trip, clean everything in your suitcase in hot water and vacuum items, like your suitcase that can’t be laundered. Vigilance when traveling and when your kids come home from camp or college can help prevent bed bugs from taking up residence in your home.

Bed bug infestations can occur anywhere humans’ repose or sleep. Attracted to carbon dioxide and other chemicals secreted by humans at sleep, bed bugs hide in the daytime, usually in mattress tufts or creases and in the piping around mattresses. Bed bugs come out at night when their victims are sleeping for a blood meal. Because bed bug bites do not hurt or sting, victims rarely wake up to catch them in the act. Red, swollen bites near the head or neck, that appear later, usually alert victims to the presence of bed bugs in their home.

If bed bugs have taken up residence in your Broward County or Palm Beach County home, it is time to call in experienced pest control professionals that are knowledgeable in bed bug control, such as Petri Pest Control Services. Bed bugs are the most difficult pest to get rid of so time is of the essence – contact your South Florida bed bug control experts today.

While many DIY treatments claim to get rid of bed bugs, hiring a professional pest control company, such as Petri Pest Control Services is essential to actually eliminating bed bugs from your home. It is important to understand that killing bed bugs can often take several weeks or months and is a… Continue Reading »

Bed bugs are hard to get rid of for several reasons.

• Bed bugs are nocturnal making them difficult to detect. Hiding in the daytime in folds, creases, and tufts in mattresses, these blood-sucking pests come out at night to feast on sleeping humans’ blood, because they require blood meals to mature and to reproduce.
• Bed bug bites don’t hurt so bed bug bites can go unnoticed until their bites cause red, itchy welts that irritate victims.
• Bed bug eggs can be difficult to find and eliminate, as they hide in cracks, crevices, wall voids, and other areas that are difficult to get to.
• Female bed bugs lay eggs every day of their lives, bed bugs multiply amazingly fast. Detecting a bed bug issue at an early stage can make a huge difference in getting rid of bed bugs in your home.
• Bed bugs have developed resistance to many pesticides used to control them and heavy use of pesticides isn’t recommended for use in sleeping areas.
• If you determine you have a bed bug infestation in your bedroom, moving to a different room to sleep isn’t advised, as you can transport bed bugs to another part of your home. In apartments, bed bugs are difficult to get rid of because they can travel from one unit to another through holes made to accommodate electrical wiring and plumbing.
• Bed bugs can survive for a long time without a blood meal, hiding in protective harborages where they can survive treatments.

Because bed bug infestations are notoriously difficult to get under control, it is important to contact a professional pest control company at the first sign of an infestation. Controlling a bed bug problem can take several weeks and even months. In South Florida, Petri Pest Control Services is your go-to bed bug control service. Contact us today!

The short answer is, yes, but it takes vigilant awareness and monitoring of your home. Bed bugs can hide in harborages protected from treatments for a long time. As these blood sucking pests can live without a meal for 6-7 months, you’ll want to keep an eye out for them after your treatment or treatments to detect additional bed bugs.

The treatment for one bed bug infestation is good for that situation. However, bed bugs can enter your home again when your college kid comes home for a visit, when you return home from a vacation, or when you have overnight guests. Vigilance for these situations is essential to keep bed bugs out of your home, performing these precautionary measures:

• Inspecting the mattress and headboard when you check into a hotel or vacation rental for bed bugs before you unpack your luggage
• Vacuuming everything that enters your home after a vacation or overnight stay. This includes electronics, phones, suitcases, shoes, handbags, backpacks, and other non-washable travel items.
• Laundering all washable clothes, bags, shoes that enter your home after vacation or an overnight stay.
• Getting a preventative pest control treatment for all the cracks and crevices in your bedrooms

Bed bugs are difficult to get rid of on your own, which is why you should consult with a professional, like Petri Pest Control.

While bed bugs don’t transmit any human pathogens, their nasty habit of feeding on humans while they sleep can create an extremely uncomfortable scenario for victims. Scratching at bites can cause secondary infections and the stress caused by the persistence of bed bug infestations can cause sleep deprivation and immune systems to weaken among other things.

Because bed bugs are nocturnal, they can be difficult to detect and victims often don’t realize they have a bed bug problem until bed bugs are quite established in their homes. Red, itchy bites on your arms, neck, and shoulders can also be misdiagnosed as hives. Also, not everyone is bothered by bed bug bites, so some people may not know these pests are infesting their home.

Another bad thing about bed bugs is that female bed bugs can store sperm and use it later, so one fertilized female bed bug can produce 2-5 eggs every day. At some point, if left unchecked, bed bug populations can infest not only your bed but everything in one room, including curtains, paintings, carpeting, clocks, lamps, and other furniture in the room.

Bed bugs can go for a long time, 6 or 7 months, without a meal. This means that when treatment for bed bugs is performed, some bed bugs can remain in their protected harborages in cracks and crevices until it’s safe for them to come out and feast on your blood as you sleep.

If you discover bed bugs in your bedroom, moving to another room to sleep can transfer bed bugs to that room, as well. It’s important to set up a consultation with a pest management professional like Petri Pest Services so that you can prevent the spread of bed bugs in your home.

Bed bugs can be difficult to get rid of and it may take a few treatments to totally eliminate them from your home. In addition to covering your mattress, box spring, and pillows in bed bug proof, escape proof encasements, you may want to install monitoring, detection, and trapping devices to alert you to any bed bug activity. Because bed bugs can’t climb smooth surfaces, placing glass plates under your bed’s legs can keep bed bugs from climbing on your bed.

Additionally, you can sign up with a trusted pest control service, such as Petri Pest Control Services to create a pest barrier around your property and ask them to perform pest prevention treatments for all of your bedrooms where materials are sprayed in cracks, crevice, and voids.

However, even if your home is protected by perimeter pest control barriers, bed bugs can hitchhike into your home on your college kid’s clothes, in backpacks, in mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Bed bugs can also get into your home, by hitchhiking on your clothes, in luggage, handbags, and purses, when you and your family return home from a vacation or other overnight stay.

To permanently get rid of bed bugs, proactively preventing them from coming into your home is essential. While it may feel to some like overkill, it’s worth it. Here’s some ways to prevent bed bugs from entering your home:

• Inspect hotel room or vacation rental beds for red spots under the mattress and box springs. Taking a small flashlight with you when you travel can help with this inspection.
• Vacuum everything you can that you bring back with you from your vacation. This includes luggage, handbags, purses, electronics, books, and other travel items.
• Launder in hot water and dry on high heat everything that you packed for your overnight stay that is washable, including cloth bags, the contents of your suitcases, and the clothes on your back.

When your college kids come home to visit or to live with you at the end of a semester, repeat the same procedures for returning home from overnight stays.