Bed Bugs - Don't Let These Critters Bite!

Please allow me to introduce you to the bed bugs, some of the most common and often talked about household pests. And Scientists think they're developing new and stronger immunities to traditional pesticides.

They are tiny parasitic insects of the Cimicidae family who dine on human blood. This is the reason why they like to crawl their way into your house and take up residence there. They are usually about 5-7 millimeters in length, wingless, and often mistaken for ticks. Adults have a reddish-brown color which is a deeper red after they've been feeding on your blood.

“Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!” We always say this when we go to sleep and rarely do we actually think these little buggers are crawling all over us while we're sleeping and drink our blood. These nasty critters were very common in the United States before World War 2, and their populations began to decline with the use of DDT and other pesticides. But in recent years, they're making a comeback.

Are Bed Bugs Dangerous?

Usually, they feed on you while you're sleeping. While they can live in any part of the house, they have a preference for bedrooms and sofas, where humans spend a long time sitting or laying, unaware that they're being nibbled on. It doesn't hurt when one starts feeding on you, but you may wake up in the morning with something like a mosquito bite, and this means you've been visited.

In fact, you may be a delicious treat for a legion of bed bugs for weeks and not even know it. The pin pricks are so small and painless that we may not be aware of them at all. After weeks of nightly feeding, your skin begins to develop an allergic reaction to their saliva. This is what ends up itching or hurting. Often by the time you're aware of them, they've been chewing on you for quite a while.

How Did They Get In?

Probably the only way to ensure that you'll never have them is to lock up your house, never leave and never let anyone else in. We usually bring them in with us. They hop onto our clothes when we're visiting other peoples' houses, or they may come as a free bonus with used furniture or clothing. You might bring them back as a souvenir from a trip you took. If you live in an apartment, they can crawl from your neighbor's place into yours through cracks in the wall. All of these easy ways for them to get in makes it extremely hard to prevent infestation.

How Can I Kill Them?

The best way to rid yourself of these pests is to clean incessantly. Especially, make sure to clean bed covers, fabrics and furniture. Regular vacuuming and steam cleaning work very well too. Whenever you buy new furniture or clothes, take a trip or have guests over, do a little extra cleaning afterwards to make sure.

Another proven way to get rid of them is to call pest control professionals. They can guarantee to get rid of them once and for all, and then you can keep your house or apartment free of them through caution and cleaning. They can also do tests to see if the problem you have is bed bugs.

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