Where do Bed bugs Come From, What Causes,Pictures and How to get rid of them

September 16, 2016

Where do bedbugs come from? A critical look at where do the bed bugs come from, causes, pictures, how they look like, and how to get rid of them.

where do bed bugs come from

Where do Bed Bugs Come From?

As the name suggests, bed bugs are normally found in the close proximity of the beds. They are mostly attracted to and also feed on the warm-blooded animals so as to survive. This might be the humans or even animals, but little is understood on what leads to bed bugs to have a preference for people.

To feed on the humans, bed bugs would want a very close proximity to the host. Box springs, headboards as well as bed framing are the most favorite harborage sites for the pests. They can as well settle into the furniture including the fixtures that are very close to a bed.

Bedrooms are just some of the places where bed bugs may be a concern though. Where do bed bugs come from? Bed bugs are the consummate hitchhikers. Thus, they are basically moved by people and human belongings such as the suitcases.

If bed bugs or even the evidence of bed bugs are found out, then you should leave the area and call a pest management professional to help.

Bed bugs can move to all other areas that they are disturbed. This can lead to other areas to be heavily infested which can be much difficult to inspect or even treat.

Where do bed bugs come from? Bedbugs are active normally at night and bite people when we are sleeping. They usually feed by piercing the skin and then withdrawing then blood using an elongated beak. The bugs then feed from four to fifteen minutes so as to become engorged and then crawl away much unnoticed.

Most of the bedbug bites are much painless at first, but they later turn into very itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are usually around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any skin spot exposed during sleep. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like the ones done by the flea bites.

People who don’t understand that they have a bedbug infestation can mostly attribute the itching and also the welts to other causes, like the mosquitoes. To confirm the bedbug bites, you should find and identify the bugs themselves.

What Causes Bed bugs

Where do bed bugs come from? Bedbugs are normally found in temperate as well as the tropical climates worldwide. They are most mostly found in the living quarters where their host especially people resides.

Bedbugs usually hide in the seams as well as the crevices of the mattresses and the box springs, headboards, and in spaces below baseboards or even behind the loose wallpaper. Clutter and also disarray also give additional hiding places for the bedbugs. Bedbugs can be transported from one place to another through the luggage, clothing, and also used mattresses. Although they are normally associated to unsanitary living conditions, the bedbug infestations also happen in a very clean, well-maintained living quarters, including the five-star hotels as well as resorts.

Bedbug infestations have in the recent past been increasingly reported in hotels, apartments, jails, nursing homes, dormitories and hospitals. There have been many cases reported in the U.S. which involves litigation due to the bedbug infestations.

Before the World War II, bedbug infestations were very common; but, after the widespread introduction of the application of the insecticide DDT, bedbug infestations reduced and became much less common. The recent resurgence in the bedbug infestations globally is said to be related to many different factors, such as the increase in international travel, insecticide resistance, and ineffective pest-control measures.

Once in the home, bed bugs may scurry very fast to a new hiding place: usually behind the baseboards, under wallpaper, inside the switch plates, or even in furniture seams. Then it’s just a matter of time before they start to multiply.

One female can arrive at the doorstep when already having enough eggs to lead to hundreds more offspring. And while filth does not have any importance to bed bugs in any way, the clutter does. The more cluttered the home, the increased number of hiding places for the bed bugs, and the harder it will be to do away with them.

Where do bed bugs come from? Because bed bugs normally travel by hitchhiking, infestations are very common in places that has high rates of bed bugs turnover amongst the human population: apartment buildings, homeless shelters, hotels and also the military barracks.

Any time you’ve got several people coming and going, there’s an increased risk that a person will carry a few number of bed bugs into the building. In general therefore, bed bugs are usually transported within luggage, thus allowing them to spread to any places that humans settle. Because of their small size as well as propensity to hide within the mattresses and also the furniture, controlling a bed bug infestation might prove to be very difficult.

The presence of only a single fertile female bed bug that is staying in a friendly environment like a single or multiple family dwelling is an infestation that is already waiting to occur.

Since a healthy, blood-fed female bed bug may produce from 300-500 healthy eggs during her lifetime and can also lay from 3-7 eggs per day, the likelihood of an infestation of the bed bugs is very high unless the bed bug control efforts by the pest management professional are used to get rid of the infestation.

Where do Bed bugs Hide

bedbugs bite picture

Prefers dark, undisturbed areas that are mostly near host
Hides in the crevices of the furniture as well as the baseboards near beds
Is normally attracted by the carbon dioxide as well as the warmth that humans emit
Being active at night time; not normally seen in light, more especially when few in number
A potential problem in the dwellings that has a high turnover (e.g. the hotels as well as the motels)
Ability to move to several rooms in the multi-unit buildings
Normally brought in on the luggage or even used furniture

Bedbugs are the small, nocturnal, wingless insects belonging to the insect family of Cimicidae. They feed on humans and other warm blooded animals. They are an oval shape and are up to 4-5 mm long when fully grown.

Adult bed bugs appears to have a flattened body and also their skin colour is either rust brown or even a deeper red brown. Nymph bed bugs are very clear or sometimes a yellowish colour and are usually about 3 mm long. Bed bugs have two antennae and also have six legs.

Where do bed bugs come from? Bed bugs have been known for long period of time to travel over 25 feet from hiding so as to feed but can generally hide within the 6 feet of their host.

Due to their flattened body, they can easily hide in smaller places like the baseboards, under carpets, behind loose wallpaper, sofas, behind the picture frames and several other places which makes them much difficult to detect. They also tend to stay together and large infestations normally give off a sweet but very unpleasant smell.

How do Bed Bugs Look Like

Has seen a resurgence over the past few years
Adults are about 4 to 6 mm long, which is the size of an apple seed
Does not have wings; does not fly
Colored red brown, having abdomen darker as the blood is digested
Males have a much more tapered abdomen than the females
Reaction to the bites vary from one person to another, ranging from none to mild to severe

Signs of Bed bugs

If you wake up having itchy skin spots you didn’t have when you went to bed, then you may have bedbugs, especially if you bought a used bed or any other used furniture around the time of the bites started. Other indications that you have bedbugs are:

Blood stains on the sheets or even the pillowcases
Dark spots of the bedbug excrement on the sheets and mattresses, and walls
Bedbug fecal spots, or shed skins in places where bedbugs hide
An offensive, musty odor that emanates from the bugs’ scent glands

If you suspect any form of infestation, get rid of all bedding and check them carefully for any indications of the bugs or even their excrement. Do away with the dust cover over the bottom of the box springs and carefully examine the seams of the wood framing. Peel back the fabric where it is stapled to the wood frame.

Also, check the place around the bed, including the inside books or radios, and even in electrical outlets. Check the closet, as bedbugs might attach to the clothing. If you are not sure about the signs of bedbugs, then you should call an exterminator, who will understand what to look for.

How to Get Rid of Bedbugs

how to get rid of bed bugs

Recognize signs of bedbug infestation. You more likely understand a bedbug infestation by a rash that usually looks like a mosquito bite. Most often these appears at night but in a serious infestation they can happen during the day. A bedbug bite unlike the mosquito bite normally swells and then spreads out. Also the bites may come in several lines and can also burn unlike a mosquito bite. A mosquito bite stays round and is neat looking.
Watch for other indications of bedbugs. Things to look for are the bed bugs themselves and the light-brown, molted skins of the nymphs. Dark spots of the dried bed bug excrement are normally found along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have once resided. There’s also a smell of the rotten raspberries, or even dried blood.
Don’t let the name fool you. Bedbugs are able to be found any place that people rest and lounge and even the nearby. Bedbugs are also able to be found under school desks, on computers in the library, the chairs and curtains or even on a store wall. The same goes for the carpets. Many times a brush that is against a wall in on infested area may cause bedbugs in the home. Transportation hubs like the airports and bus terminals are also some of the infestation stations to be wary of. They may also cling to the curtain rods, fans and also inside the electronics.

Don’t believe the stereotype that the bedbugs happen in only the poor dirty houses. Many of the affluent communities and also households also have the bedbug problems. Most of the business trips to the airports and to the companies themselves have had bedbug infestations.

Finding the Bed Bugs

Dismantle the bed and stand the components on the end. Oftentimes, the gauze fabric that is underneath the bed should be removed to gain access for an inspection and also possible treatment. Cracks as well as crevices of the bed frames should be carefully examined, more especially if the frame is wooden

Successful treatment of the mattresses is difficult and infested components may be required to be discarded.
Bed bugs also hide amongst the items that are stored underneath beds.

Empty nightstands as well as dressers. Examine them carefully, then tip them over so as to inspect the woodwork that is underneath. Sometimes, the bugs can be hiding in the cracks, corners as well as the recesses.
Check the upholstered chairs. Pay close attention to the seams and crevices that is beneath the cushions. Sofas might be bed bug hotspots especially when used for sleeping.
Check other common places. These include along and also under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting, cracks in wood molding and ceiling-wall junctures. Bed bugs tend to congregate in some areas, but it is very common to find an individual or even some eggs that are scattered in several places.
Use a flashlight. Inspectors may sometimes inject a pyrethrum-based “flushing agent” into the crevices so as to assist reveal where the bugs might be hiding.

Treating and Controlling Bed Bugs

Follow an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. This involves multiple tactics like preventive measures, and also the chemicals applied to targeted sites.
Bag and launder affected items. Smaller items that may not be laundered can sometimes be de-infested through heating. Individual items, for instance, might be wrapped in the plastic and then placed in a hot, sunny location for at least a few days.

Bedbugs also succumb to the cold temperatures that are below freezing, but the chilling period of time must be maintained for at least three weeks. Attempts to do away with an entire apartment of bed bugs by raising or even lowering the thermostat can be entirely unsuccessful.

Wash all the linen on hot, dry on a hot setting. Gather all the linen and leather bags, mattress covers, teddy bears etc. Machine wash and hot – wash the laundry bag also. Tumble dry on the hot. Steam usually gets rid of the bed bugs.

Some of the metropolitan areas provide bed bug laundry and also dry cleaning services which have the added benefits of proven methods for getting rid of the bed bugs and also bagging or even storing the cleaned items so that they are not become re-infested while the home is still being exterminated.