Bed Bugs

About: The adult bed bug is about 1/4 inch long, flat, ovoid, and has no wings. It is generally brown except after a blood meal. The body then becomes swollen and the color changes to dark red from the ingested blood. One female can produce a total of 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime, laying anywhere from 10 to 50 eggs at a time. The eggs are 1/25 inch long and are slightly curved. They are usually deposited in clusters and fastened to cracks and crevices or rough surfaces near adult harborage areas with a sticky cement-type substance.

 

 

 

Life Cycle: The eggs hatch in one to three weeks. The newly hatched nymph is similar in shape to the adult but much smaller and straw-colored before feeding. The newly hatched nymphs and eggs can be very difficult to see without the use of magnifying equipment. The newly hatched nymph turns red or purple after getting a blood meal (Figure 4). There are five nymphal stages for bed bugs to reach maturity, which usually takes 35 to 48 days. Adult bed bugs can survive for six to seven months without a blood meal and have been known to live in abandoned houses for one year. In some cases they survive without humans by attacking birds and rodents.

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How Pest Management works: A professional Pest Control Technician has the equipment and training to do a thorough job and has access to products not available over the counter. Below, is a typical approach to Integrated Pest Management (IPM). 

 

 

IPM Approach for Bed Bugs: 

• Crack and Crevice Dust treatment 

• Heat Treatment 

• Chemical Treatment 

 

Optional Treatment: Treated Box Spring and Mattress encasements used as preventative measure. 

 

 

How can you help: If you detect a Bed Bug infestation, please seek  professional pest control service immediately. 

 

 

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