Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are small, wingless, parasitic insects best known for their love of feeding on blood (usually human) and making homes in warm, quiet, enclosed spaces like mattresses and bedding. Adult bed bugs are usually between 4 and 5 mm long and are reddish-brown in color. Blood is all they eat, and they don’t need a lot of it to survive. That means that they’re able to hide away for long periods of time, only coming out of hiding during cool nighttime hours.
They’re slower to reproduce than comparable insects. A typical adult female lays one to three eggs per day, with each egg taking two months to produce an adult. Even with slow reproduction, because they’re good at hiding, it’s easy for bed bugs to increase their numbers.
Most people first notice signs of bed bugs before they ever see the pests themselves. Minor blood stains on sheets, dark spotting on mattresses, shed skins, or a musty smell are all signs of an infestation. If you’re unsure, a professional inspection is the most reliable way to make a bed bug ID.
Because of their ability to hide and their quick breeding cycle, bed bugs can quickly become a major issue. Once they take hold in a home, they’re hard to eliminate without professional help.
How Dangerous Are Bed Bugs?
Whether bed bugs are dangerous is a fair concern. While these insects are not known to transmit disease to humans, they can still cause many problems. Bed bug bites may result in red, itchy welts. For some, the itching is mild. For others, it can be intense and lead to scratching, which may cause secondary skin infections.
Some people also have allergic reactions to bed bug bites. These can vary in severity and may require medical attention in rare cases. If you experience swelling, rashes, or other symptoms, it’s best to consult a healthcare professional.
Beyond physical symptoms, the emotional and psychological impact of a bed bug problem can be just as serious. Dealing with an infestation can lead to anxiety, stress, and sleep loss. Many people report feeling uneasy even after the bugs are gone.
How Do You Get Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs don’t show up because a space is dirty; Bed bugs are consummate hitchhikers and move from place to place by clinging to personal belongings. You can pick them up just about anywhere and once they’re inside your home or business, they’ll start to establish nests. A common way bed bugs enter your home is by grabbing a ride in your luggage while you’re traveling, but they can also latch on at the office, gym, secondhand furniture, or even from a taxi ride.
Once inside, they hide near where people rest or sleep. They’re drawn to body heat and carbon dioxide, making beds and couches ideal locations.
These pests are small but persistent. Because they can survive for weeks without a meal, they may go unnoticed until their numbers grow. Regardless of where they came from, once you discover them, you need fast and effective bed bug treatment to get rid of them. That’s why early identification and treatment are so important.
How Can I Prevent Bed Bugs?
Preventing bed bugs starts with awareness. If you’re traveling, check your hotel room by lifting the sheets, looking under pillows, and checking cracks and crevices before settling in or opening your bag. If you see small, rust-colored spots or live insects, ask for another room, not adjacent to the current one, or consider a different place to stay.
Keep your luggage on hard surfaces, not soft furniture or carpeted floors, and inspect it before bringing it back into your home. Once home, unpack directly into the washing machine and run clothes through a high-heat wash and dry cycle.
Be cautious when bringing used items into your house. This includes furniture, clothing, books, or even electronics. Carefully inspect these items, especially around seams and crevices. A quick inspection can help you avoid a long-term issue.
Reducing clutter in sleeping areas can also help. Bed bugs like to hide, so fewer places to hide means better chances of early detection. Regular cleaning, vacuuming, and checking your mattress and box spring can go a long way.
Even with the best efforts, bed bugs can get in. If they do, professional pest control is the most effective way to deal with the problem.
Where Can I Get Help With Bed Bugs?
Nobody wants a pest problem. Bed bugs aren’t welcome roommates, after all. Neither are any of the other insects, wildlife, and rodents we help remove from homes and businesses. DIY options might offer temporary relief, but they rarely solve the root cause. Treatments performed by professionals reach every hiding place and help reduce the likelihood of re-infestation.
At Gregory Pest Solutions, our goal is to help protect your home and restore comfort. Whether you’re dealing with a new problem or have been fighting bed bugs for a while, the professionals at Gregory Pest Solutions are ready to help you take the next step toward control.
How Does Gregory Pest Perform Bed Bug Control?
At Gregory Pest Control, our bed bug treatment process is designed to tackle infestations quickly and thoroughly. We use a combination of inspection, detection, and targeted treatment methods to help get bed bugs under control.
To identify and remove bed bugs from your home or business, we often uses bed bug-sniffing dogs. They work well to pinpoint infestations in multiple apartments, hotel rooms or large buildings. Their keen sense of smell allows our experts to find bed bugs and destroy them quickly and efficiently.
Once we confirm an infestation, we recommend a treatment plan based on the severity and layout of your space. Our leading method is heat treatment, known as Thermal Remediation®, which uses high heat to eliminate bed bugs at every life stage.
Our Thermal Remediation® Heat Treatment equipment is a self-contained system that utilizes space heaters and monitoring devices to achieve a safe and effective level of heat within the treated areas. The heat kills all stages of bed bugs: eggs, young, and adults.
How Gregory’s Thermal Solutions For Bed Bugs Work
- The entire treatment area is heated to 120° F. or higher. Once the heat in the treated area reaches the optimum temperature, it is maintained for 4 hours in order to ensure complete eradication of the infestation. The hot air is circulated using fans, and temperatures are monitored throughout the treatment area(s) during the process.
- An application of residual insecticides may be made into the cracks and crevices where any surviving Bed Bugs might have crawled. In most cases, this process eliminates all Bed Bugs within the treated area(s).
- After the treatment is complete, the Gregory Specialists will disassemble and remove the equipment and do a final inspection to make sure all Bed Bugs have been exterminated.
Thermal Remediation® and related logo is a trademark owned by TEMP-AIR, Inc. and is used by permission. Call Gregory Pest Solutions for help with bed bug Thermal Remediation® treatment at 1-(866) 349-3752 or use our email form to contact us today.
Bed Bug FAQ
Do Bed Bugs Fly?
No. Bed bugs can crawl quickly but they don’t fly or jump. Carpet beetles are a small pest that is very similar to bed bugs and can fly. It’s easy to confuse the two.
How Do You Find Bed Bugs During The Day?
Bed bugs prefer small quiet places during the day. Look along the seams of your mattress, behind your headboard, in cracks and crevices and under pillows. A bed bug sniffing dog can’t help locate pests in your home or business.
How Do You Know If You Have Bed Bugs?
Waking up with bites on your hands, arms, feet and ankles is a good sign of bed bugs. Also look for dark and rust colored stains on your mattress or bedding.
Where Can I Find A Bed Bug Exterminator?
We’d love to be your trusted provider for pest control. Bed bugs can be difficult to identify and eliminate but we’ve been doing it for over half a century. In that time, we’ve learned the best techniques to get rid of bed bugs and other pests from homes and businesses like yours.
Are Bed Bugs A Health Threat Or Just A Nuisance?
Bed bugs are mostly a nuisance, but can lead to health concerns. Their bites may cause itching, allergic reactions, or skin infections from scratching. They also affect sleep and can create stress for people dealing with an infestation.
Gregory Pest Solutions in South Carolina offers the pest and bed bug solutions you need to keep these unwanted visitors away.
Don’t let pests cause you problems. Instead, get in touch with Gregory Pest Solutions. You can schedule a service, give us a call, or request a quote below.