Bedbugs are something that the people in the United States did not have to contend with for generations. They were pretty much eliminated over the past 30 to 40 years, and were no longer a concern for most households.
Now, however, bedbugs can be found from the most exclusive neighborhoods to the poorest. Five star hotels and resorts have been plagued with bedbugs, as well as prestigious universities and colleges.
Bed Bug Problems Are Worsening
Bedbugs have infected military barracks, cruise ships and homeless shelters. No one is immune to the possibility of being disturbed with bedbugs in the home.
The problem is that bedbugs are now harder than ever to get rid of once a home has been infested. This new strain of bedbugs is resistant to many traditional treatments and it can take months to completely eliminate them from living spaces.
Bedbugs Defined
The scientific name for bedbugs is Cimex Lectularius. A bedbug is a small insect that feeds on warm-blooded animals. Bedbugs do not fly and can be white, light tan to deep brown or burnt orange in color.
They are plain white when they are molting and when they have just finished feeding on blood they may have a dark red or black blob on their body. These creatures are called bedbugs because they prefer to live in the mattresses and other soft furnishings of homes and dwellings.
Bedbugs have been around for millions of years, and they have adapted to the human environment. Newborn bedbugs are the size of a poppy seed, and adult bedbugs can grow up to ¼ inch long. They have a flat, oval shape and the eggs, nymphs and adults can be seen with the human eye.
Where Are Bed Bugs Found?
Bedbugs are mainly found in temperate climates and tropical regions. The bedbugs found in tropical regions mainly use poultry and bats as their host, and the bedbugs found in South American and West Africa feed mainly on humans and bats. Many people are very sensitive to the saliva of bedbugs and develop lesions that are like mosquito or flea bites.
The more sensitive a person is to the bedbug saliva, the more severe the allergic response will be. Often people who are bitten by bedbugs mistakenly think they have some other type of insect bite.
How Bedbugs Feed
Bedbugs like to eat about one hour before the sun rises, though they will feed on their host at any time of the day or night. Bedbugs do not prefer sunlight and generally come out at night to eat.
They can crawl onto a sleeping person when they are in bed or on soft furniture, or the bedbug can climb on the walls and ceiling and be attracted by the person’s warmth and presence of carbon dioxide CO2 when a person breathes, so they jump on them. The bedbug has two hollow tubes that pierce the skin while injecting saliva that contains anesthetics.
Symptoms of a Bed Bug Bite
The person being bitten does not feel the bite and the bedbug sucks the blood through the tubes for about five minutes. After eating, the bedbug will return to its hiding place.
Sometimes a person bitten by a bedbug will begin to itch after a couple of days, but often the person will not realize they have been bitten for several days. A bedbug will feed again after five or ten days and they can last many months without feeding at all.
The bedbug can become dormant for over a year, but a bedbug that is eating well will live for up to nine months.
How Homes are Infected with Bedbugs
People often mistake bedbugs with cleanliness. No matter how clean a home may be, bedbugs can still find their way in the home. Many bedbugs get into the home in luggage when a person is traveling and staying in a dwelling that has bedbugs, or when purchasing second-hand furniture.
Bedbugs can travel from apartment to apartment or from dorm room to dorm room. They come through the smallest holes in the wall or through pipes and wires. Other animals can bring bedbugs into the home. There have been cases where new clothes purchased even from high-end stores carried bedbugs into the home.
Bringing Items Into the Home
It is very important to inspect articles bought into the home very carefully. Look into the seams of all clothes purchased, no matter how expensive. Often clothes are made in countries that have always been infested with bedbugs, and the clothes are shipped to stores carrying the bugs.
Inspect new mattresses or furniture before bringing them into the home. Delivery trucks and moving trucks that carried items with bedbugs can have the bugs in the truck, and they then get on the furniture being delivered to a home.
Office Buildings and Child Care Centers
Office buildings and even the homes of friends could have bedbugs. An action as innocent as hugging an acquaintance can transmit a bedbug from one person to another.
Some childcare centers are experiencing outbreaks of bedbug infestations, and parents should communicate their concerns to these centers or childcare homes to determine what they are doing about the potential for a problem to occur.
Be Diligent But Not Paranoid
While no one wants to become paranoid about contracting bedbugs, caution is advised. A person who suddenly finds they have a bedbug problem should not feel they did anything wrong or that they did not keep the house clean enough.
Bedbug infestations can happen no matter how diligent the person has been in attempting to protect their home and family from these bugs. Once a bedbug problem has been discovered, a prompt and quick reaction is the best way to try and control the problem before the entire home becomes infected.
How to Spot Bedbugs
If a family member starts to complain about getting bitten by something when they are asleep or having unexplained itching, the bed should be thoroughly examined immediately.
Check the creases of bed linen as well as the seams and tufts of mattresses and box springs to see if there are any small seed-like bugs or eggs. Tiny spots of blood on bed linen are another sign of bedbugs.
A female bedbug can lay 200 to 500 tiny eggs in batches of 10 to 50. They usually lay the eggs on rough surfaces like wood. The eggs are covered with a gluey material, and the eggs will hatch in up to ten days. This is a lot of bedbugs, which is why a home can quickly become inundated with the bugs.
Hiding Spots and Key Indicators
Bedbugs can hide in electrical sockets, behind wallpaper near beds, in the corner of other bedroom furnishing and drawers, and in laundry areas.
Bedbug droppings look like dark brown or reddish fecal spots or a liquid that is light brown or black that often beads up or is absorbed into material. An area that has a high infestation of bedbugs will often give off a smell like coriander.
Looking at the bites on a person can often distinguish an infestation of bedbugs. Bedbugs and fleas both bite in rows. If a person has two to three bites in a row on their body, it is probably from bedbugs.
Disease Transmission
The thought has long been held that bedbugs do not transmit disease. However, a recent study in Vancouver reported that bedbugs with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, have been found.
Scientists crushed and analyzed bedbugs, and three of the five had MRSA, which is a superbug that is resistant to any known antibiotic. More studies need to be performed, but the commonly held thought may be challenged about bedbugs and disease.
Methods of Eliminating Bedbugs from Homes
There are several ways to eliminate bedbugs in the home, but before starting some preparation steps should be taken. The first thing to do is to determine the extent of the infestation.
If caught early enough, the bedbugs can be isolated to a specific room, but a professional pest management company will need to do an assessment to determine if other rooms are infected. There are several methods of inspection for bedbugs.
Tactics From the Pro’s
One way a professional can detect bedbug infestations is to use the sticky traps in areas where bedbugs are commonly found, often with a heat lamp in the center of the trap to attract the bugs.
Small moats on the bottom of the bed leg can catch the bedbugs as they try to crawl up the bed. These methods, along with visual inspection, can determine the extent of the infestation.
Controlling Infestations as a Homeowner
There are things the homeowner can do to help control the bedbug infestation.
- Vacuum mattresses, walls, floors, carpets, drapes and clean with products like enzyme cleaners that contain peppermint and borax
- Caulk all cracks and openings around the house
- Wash all bed linens in hot water that is at least 120 degrees daily or weekly
- Move the bed away from the walls
- Put petroleum jelly, talc, duct tape or sticky tape around the bed and on the bed legs
- Vacuum and dust all drawers and electrical outlets with talcum powder
- Steam clean all infested mattresses and pillows. Completely take apart the bed and clean it and the room with the diluted enzyme cleaner. Use a wet vac with the enzyme cleaner to clean the floors.
- Clean with diluted Safe Solution enzyme cleaners and borax
- Reglue any loose wallpaper
- Portable steam cleaners can be used, but the steam needs to touch all surfaces
Isopropyl Alcohol, or rubbing alcohol, will kill bedbugs on contact. Make a solution of one part rubbing alcohol with one part water in a spray bottle, and liberally spray all areas where bedbugs might be living.
Let the areas dry naturally, and use less water on surfaces and areas that could be sensitive to water. This is an effective method of killing bedbugs.
This is quite a bit of work for the homeowner, and it really is a maintenance solution to the bedbug problem. There are other professional methods of eliminating bedbugs from the home or dwelling.
Using Heat to Eliminate Bedbugs
Professional pest management services often use intense heat to kill bedbugs. A process called Thermal Remediation using Ambient Heat is when the home is heated to at least 140 degrees F for at least two hours, or 130 degrees F for three hours. The heat is effective in killing most bed bugs along with their eggs.
The lethal heat has to penetrate all areas of the home in order to be effective. Adversely, chilling the home to temperatures of 32 degrees or lower for several days will also be effective in killing bedbugs. These methods can be very expensive, costing between $800 and $2,000 just for an apartment.
Home Steamers Versus Professional Steamers
Professionals also use steam to treat bedbug infestations. High heat steam wands are passed over every surface and moved at a rate that heats areas to a lethal temperature.
Home steamers do not get hot enough to be as effective as professional pest management services. Steam is usually used with other methods of bedbug elimination, as there are some areas that the steam cannot penetrate. This method can cost from $500 to $1,500 depending on the size of the dwelling.
Growth Regulators
Insect Growth Regulators are chemicals that work by disrupting and impeding the life cycle of bedbug eggs in the beginning development. If the bedbug cannot reach adulthood, then it cannot reproduce other bedbugs.
Insect growth regulator is often referred to as a birth control for bedbugs as it prevents further infestations of the bugs. This can be used by the homeowners, but should be used with other means of elimination of the bedbugs. This is more a control for new infestations.
Using Insecticides to Kill Bedbugs
There are several insecticide sprays on the market that will kill bedbugs. It is important to remember that insecticides should never be sprayed directly on mattresses, so they should be used in combination with other bedbug elimination methods.
There are different classifications of insecticide applications:
Crease and Crevice
Crease and Crevice applications are for areas that are hard to reach, as the name implies. Granual pesticides are applied with a brush and can penetrate deeper than the insecticides that are applied as a wet spray. Granuals treat folds and crevices.
Indoor Surface
Indoor Surface treatments treat areas where the bedbugs typically crawl as they get to their feeding areas or where they live. This treatment is commonly referred to as residual treatments, and stays active for a length of time. It is used on bed frames and other non-sleeping surfaces.
When using this method on drawers and dressers, make sure that the surfaces are thoroughly sprayed top and bottom. Wood and walls should be sprayed 24 inches above the floor and the entire room should be treated.
Indoor Space and Fumigation
Indoor Applications are used to treat bedbugs directly. They are usually aerosol sprays. Where harborages are found, spray the applications in the air around the bedbugs.
These aerosols can be used to treat clothing and stuffed animals. Put the items in a plastic bag or closet, and spray the area and close it off for at least 20 minutes.
Insecticides use chemicals to kill bedbugs, and come in sprays, solids, powders or liquids. It is the organic or inorganic substance that kills the bedbugs. Commonly used substances are:
Deltamethrin
Deltamethrin is one of the most popularly used insecticides, and includes the active ingredients such as cyfluthrin, cypermethrin or pyrethrum. These ingredients are odorless and do not leave any residue that can be seen. They are biodegradable and will break down after a few days.
It is safe for most people and pets, but not for aquatic pets. It will work effectively on mature bedbugs by paralyzing them. It is usually compounded with other chemicals that prove lethal to bedbugs. It can be found in liquid, powder or aerosol forms.
Hydroprene
Hydroprene is an insect growth regulator that does not directly kill bedbugs but prevents them for reproducing. It has a long-term pesticide effect. It is generally safe and can be used in most areas. It comes in liquid, solid or aerosol forms.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth is a type of algae that kills bedbugs and sucking the moisture out of them which will cause them to dehydrate and die. It is not harmful for children or pets. It comes in powder or dust and has long-term effectiveness. It is not good, however, for immediately killing the bedbugs on contact.
Most often a combination of bedbug insecticides is used to eliminate the problem. Some exterminators will use foggers, but they are not generally thought to be very effective, and should always be used in combination with other elimination methods.
Because bedbugs live deep in crevices and can live for a long time without food, repeated applications of insecticides will be necessary to completely rid the home or dwelling of the bugs.
Overcoming Resistance to Pesticides
Some bedbugs have developed resistance to products such as pyrethroid insecticides and are no longer affected by them. These are the insecticides that kill bedbugs on contact. The newer products do take several days to work, but will be effective.
The dust insecticides work by clinging to the bedbugs cuticles and wearing away their protective wax covering. This poisons the bedbugs as they groom themselves. These dust products can work very well if they are placed in places that do not tend to get wet, such as under baseboards or in wall voids.
Professional or Do-It-Yourself
While many of the insecticides can be purchased at local pest management outlets, it is recommended that they only be used by professionals. Many over-the-counter products may say that they can be used by anyone, but they are not as effective as the products only professionals can purchase.
Patience is required when ridding a home of bedbugs and the cost can be expensive when using a pest management professional. The best way to manage the process is a combination of professionals and homeowners attacking the problem.
Experts warn against non-professional or licensed people using pesticides, as it can just make the problem worse and add to bedbugs developing resistance to pesticides.
Different Ways Insecticides Work
Some insecticides will kill the bedbugs on contact, some work by reaching into crevices where they live, and some work by preventing the bedbugs from reproducing. So there are short-term and long-term solutions to the problem.
It will usually take several applications of the insecticides to completely eliminate any bedbugs, and though the labels may say the insecticides are not harmful to children and pets, there is always the danger of having family members breathing the air where spraying has taken place.
Professional Spraying
When the professionals come to spray the home, it is best to have windows open after the spraying and the family out of the home for a few hours. Some insecticides say they are safe to use on mattresses or other fabric surfaces, but once the mattresses are completely dry the homeowner should encase them in coverings made for controlling the growth and spread of bedbugs.
There are also encasement coverings available for other soft, fabric covered furnishings that the homeowner can purchase inexpensively.
Once the home has been sprayed with insecticides by the professional, the homeowner should vacuum thoroughly every day, as well as laundering all bed linen and towels more frequently than normal.
Homeowner Treatment Options
Vacuuming the entire surfaces of the home is recommended, including electrical sockets, walls, furniture, and baseboards. The vacuum bags should be emptied out of the home after vacuuming. This is important to get rid of any dead bedbugs and their eggs.
The homeowner can also use steam methods, traps and powders to add extra effectiveness to the insecticide treatments. When dealing with bedbugs that are becoming more resistant to traditional methods of treatment, using multiple methods to kill them adds another layer of effectiveness.
All clothes should be put in a hot dryer for a minimum of 20 minutes on the hottest setting to kill any bedbugs residing on them. It is best to do this in a home dryer rather than taking to a dry cleaner and risk passing the bedbugs along to other people’s clothes. It is often recommended that the 20 minute dryer treatment be used on any new clothes purchased, as heat will effectively kill all bedbugs.
Disposing of Infected Items
Some people find it easier to throw out mattresses or other soft surfaces that have been infested with bedbugs. But, when purchasing new bedding carefully inspect the bedding top to bottom before bringing into the home, and immediately encase the mattress and box spring with protective plastic coverings to prevent them from becoming infested.
Be careful of the disposal method of furniture infested with bedbugs so as not to contribute to the spread of bedbugs.
Remember, it takes on average three weeks to rid a home of bedbugs. Preparing the home takes approximately one week, and when the professional pest management company they may kill the live bedbugs, but often will have to come back to kill any bedbugs that have since hatched.
Cost of Treating Bedbug Infestations
The general rule of thumb is that it can cost anywhere from $500 to over $1,000 per room to completely rid a home of bedbugs, depending on the size of the room and the severity of the problem. More than one treatment is often necessary for total elimination.
While the homeowner can take steps to help identify and control the problem, if the bedbug infestation has permeated the whole house professional exterminators should be called. Remember, just turning up the thermostat will not heat the house to a level high enough to kill the bedbugs.
Cost Considerations
Professional pest management companies can be expensive, but they are the most effective way to treat bedbugs for total elimination. Home remedies may be cheaper to purchase, such as steamers, alcohol or dust pesticides, but the need to constantly monitor and repeat treatments make the process longer and more difficult.
The time and effort it takes to use home remedies also has to be factored into the total cost. Even with professional pest management, some do-it-yourself remedies will probably be required. If the homeowner wants to ensure total elimination of the problem, the two have to go hand-in-hand.
Insecticides will not kill bedbug eggs that have not hatched, so re-treatment in two to three weeks is necessary. That has to be added to the total cost of treatment. The professional pest management company will inspect the house to determine which treatment to kill the bedbugs is appropriate, as well as how any follow-up treatments will be handled.
Is the Cost Worth It?
It is expensive to rid a home of bedbugs, but professional services are worth the cost if they can eliminate the bedbugs quickly and efficiently. Always get a written quote of the total costs in advance, and get at least three estimates before selecting a professional pest management company.
Also, find out what the homeowner should be doing in conjunction with the professionals to ensure the bedbugs are quickly exterminated from the home.
Most professional pest management companies cannot give guarantees about bedbugs not returning to the home since it is so easy to carry them into a home, but it is not unreasonable to ask for a written guarantee that their services will eliminate existing bedbugs.
Since ridding a home of bedbugs is so expensive, it is important to utilize the preventive maintenance tips to keep them from returning.
Managing Bedbug Reinfestations
Once the bedbugs have been eliminated from the home, homeowners naturally will feel anxious about making sure they do not return. A bedbug infestation naturally affects the peace and security of homeowners and family members.
The work that it takes to eliminate them and the frustration of having to deal with them is enough to make anyone anxious about having a repeat bout of bedbugs. This is a completely natural reaction.
There are proactive steps that can be taken to reduce the incidence of bedbugs returning, and the homeowner has to become diligent in spotting the signs of a bedbug recurring problem.
Prevention is Key
It is important to practice preventive maintenance to keep bedbugs from reinfesting a home. Be careful of all items bought into the home. Keep a sharp eye for any signs that they may be returning.
Check bedding and mattresses weekly, and look behind pictures on the wall, in drawers, and even on shelves and books. Vacuuming the house well every couple of days will also help, as well as keeping the home free of clutter. Clutter makes it harder to spot the bedbugs and gives them places to hide and hatch.
Keeping a lot of stuffed toys around the house can create another breeding place for bedbugs. Wash bed linen in hot water and use a high temperature when drying clothes and linens.
Working With Furniture
When bringing furniture items into the home look for clues such as black or red spots on the furniture. Use a finger to check the seams around all of the furniture, and carefully check any labels which is a place where the bedbugs like to hide.
Bedbugs cluster together, so that might make it easier to spot them. Box springs are another common hiding place for bedbugs, and when purchasing new bedding the box springs should also be encased in plastic along with the mattress.
Placing double-sided sticky tape around bed legs and on the bed frame can trap bedbugs, and keeping mattresses and box springs encased with a quality product that does not have even the smallest openings that could allow bedbugs to creep in the mattress. The sticky tape will be an early indicator that bedbugs have returned if they are spotted on the tape.
Commercial & Home Products for Use on Furniture
Using a product like diatomaceous earth around the bottom of beds and furniture, and in other locations where bedbugs can roam is a preventive method of treatment. There are also non-toxic spray treatments that can be used in cracks and crevices around the home.
Bet Yet is a highly rated non-toxic spray formula. Always check to ensure that no harmful chemicals are being used in homes where there are children and pets.
Home remedies like kerosene oil, petroleum jelly and thyme will not kill bedbugs. Bedbugs may not like the smell of thyme so it may keep them away from surfaces, but it will not kill the ones that are already in the home.
Tips for Removing Items
When removing items infested with bedbugs out of a room, always fully wrap the item in plastic before moving, or bedbugs could be transported to other rooms of the home if they fall off the item.
One other way to prevent the home from becoming infested again with bedbugs is to have total honesty among friends and family. If it is known that a person has a problem with bedbugs, be very careful when visiting them, and politely ask that they not bring any bags or items into the home that may carry bedbugs.
Also disclose to friends and family who may be visiting that there is a bedbug problem. This open honesty can help discourage the spread of bedbugs from home to home. It is rare that bedbugs are carried on personal clothing, but even purses that are kept in rooms infested with bedbugs can have a couple nesting in the seams.
Diligence when Traveling
Always be very careful and diligent when traveling and staying in hotels or other dwellings. Ask the front desk before checking into any lodging if they have experienced bedbugs, no matter how expensive the lodging may be.
Once in the room, immediately pull back the bedding and check along the seams and tufting of mattresses and box springs, as well as the linen on the bed. Also check curtains, around televisions, and in drawers of furniture.
If anything that looks like bedbugs are noticed, leave the room and ask for another room that has been thoroughly checked in advance.
Place luggage and any other personal items on a firm, hard surface, or on a luggage rack that has been pulled away from the wall, and be cautious when hanging garments on hotel hangers. Never place luggage or personal items on the bed or other soft furniture in a hotel room.
Packing Alternatives
Many people are starting to pack their clothes in sealed plastic bags when traveling to prevent bedbugs from getting on them.
It is a good precaution to wash clothes that were in the suitcase in hot water and dry in a hot dryer when returning home. Place the suitcase outside until it has been thoroughly inspected to ensure that no bedbugs are being transported into the home.
Diligence may take a lot of time and seem a bit like paranoia, but it is better to seem paranoid than have to deal with the expense and frustration that comes with unwittingly bringing bedbugs into the home. Also remember to check pets periodically, as they can also harbor bedbugs and bring them into the home.
