Lawrenceville Homeowners' Ultimate Guide To Bed Bug Control

Because we live in a world on roads and access to public and personal transportation, many have family members living in other states or countries. Although technology allows us to video chat, email, and text, it is not the same as a face-to-face conversation. So, when a relative or friend says they are coming into town, you anxiously await their arrival.

On the other hand, you may have family members who live in another state or country, and as far as you are concerned, having distance between you and them is a good thing. If they call and inform you of an impending visit, your heart sinks, and fear of a face-to-face meeting forms in your soul.

Bed bugs are an insect that we thought was a pest of the past in the mid-twentieth century. With the advent of new technology, they appeared eradicated from the Western hemisphere, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, as more people began to travel overseas and bed bugs developed defenses against treatments of the day, they returned to the United States with a vengeance.

If you suspect bed bugs are in your house, you need pest control in Lawrenceville from ProCare Pest Services to free your home from an infestation. Our highly trained technicians remove bed bugs using the latest techniques and technology.

You probably found this article because you suspect bed bugs are in your rooms and need answers about the next steps. In this article, we give you information to help you discover if these pests are the problem and what you should do if they live inside your Lawrenceville home.

Telltale Signs Of A Bed Bug Infestation

Bed bugs are tiny insects active at night while most people sleep. How do you know if they are sharing a room with you? The answer begins with identifying the following signs of a bed bug infestation:

Bed bugs
Bed bug bites
Fecal stains
Discarded shells
Eggs and eggshells
Odor

Let's look at the indicators and get a thorough knowledge of what to look for.

Adult bed bugs are visible to the naked eye. A bed bug has six legs, two straight antennae, and a three-part body consisting of a head, pronotum, and abdomen. An unfed bed bug has a flat, oval 1/4 inch mahogany body, but one that has recently enjoyed a blood meal will have an elongated, swollen red-brown body. Immature bed bugs, or nymphs, are almost translucent and require magnification to locate — especially if they are in the first few growth stages.

Of course, bed bugs are not the only insect that bites humans. Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and spiders also wound people, but not always for a blood meal, as in the case of spiders who bite in self-defense. How do you know if the red, swollen bites on your body are from bed bugs and not another insect? First, bed bug bites are usually in clusters or lines. Second, bed bugs bite exposed areas of the body, usually the arms, legs, and back. Third, bed bug bites do not produce immediate pain; you may not notice the wounds for two or more days. Fourth, bed bug bites result in small, red, itchy bumps; they do not cause rashes or big, fluid-filled lumps.

When bed bugs feed and return to their hiding places, they defecate a dried blood mixture. Fecal matter from the bugs stains bed linens, mattresses, and box springs; it can also mark the edges of cracks where the bugs hide. Dead bed bugs are another source of stains. Occasionally, sleeping hosts roll over on the feeding bed bugs, squishing them and creating blood stains.

A characteristic of all insects is an exterior skeleton (exoskeleton). When a bed bug hatches, it progresses through five growth stages known as instars. During each phase, it must shed its exterior shell (molt) to allow its growing body to expand. Discarded exoskeletons are another indicator that bed bugs are in your house.

As previously mentioned, bed bugs hatch from eggs. You can find the creamy-white minuscule eggs with a magnifying glass. When the bed bugs hatch, they leave the eggshells to find a host and a hiding place. Unhatched eggs and discarded eggshells are more signs of a bed bug infestation.

Bed bugs communicate using pheromones from glands on the underside of their bodies. When a bed bug population is dense, you can smell a musty-sweet aroma in the room.

ProCare Pest Services provides home pest control services in Lawrenceville to help with bed bugs. Our certified technicians know where to investigate bed bug signs in the house. We will help you confirm whether or not bed bugs are in your home.

The Longer A Bed Bug Infestations Lasts, The Worse It Gets

A few years ago, the National Pest Management Association surveyed pest control professionals to discover what they felt were the most difficult pests to remove. According to the results, 79% of pest control professionals said bed bugs were the most troublesome pest to eradicate from homes.

The main reason bed bugs are hard to remove is because of their rapid reproduction rate. When a fertilized female feeds on blood, her body begins egg development. Over the next ten days after a blood meal, she will deposit one to five eggs daily. If she can feed on a host again after ten days, the cycle repeats with another batch of ten to twenty eggs. If a host is always available and the house is 70? or warmer, a single fertilized female can produce over 500 eggs during her roughly one-year lifespan. Since the male-to-female ratio is one-to-one, 250 of the bugs hatched will be females who will begin reproducing within 40 days of hatching. In other words, a bed bug population can double every 16 days; within one year, three generations of bed bugs will be active in your house.

Of course, as the bed bug population explodes in your Lawrenceville home, so does the number of bites on your body and the bodies of those living in your house. Because removing bed bugs is a challenge even for professionals, you need the best pest control for bed bugs near you: ProCare Pest Services. We have the experience, training, and tools to stop bed bugs from multiplying and overtaking your home.

All The Ways Bed Bugs Sneak Their Way Into Our Homes

It is usually a surprise when someone realizes they have bed bugs, especially if you pride yourself in keeping a tidy home. A bed bug infestation is not a result of uncleanliness inside or outside the house. Bed bugs are hitchhikers that move from location to location using luggage, shoes, clothing, purses, shopping bags, and used furniture.

Public transportation and venues are the connection hub for bed bugs. They move from person to person as you ride on public buses, subways, and cabs. They can also sneak into handbags while enjoying a show at the theater or attending a conference at the local hotel. Of course, most people know that hotels and motels are prime bed bugs sources. They hide behind headboards, picture frames, inside electrical outlets, mattress seams, and box springs and move into luggage and clothing while you sleep. Bed bugs also enter homes through the purchase of used furniture.

Unlike most insects that enter homes from the yard, bed bugs in Lawrenceville access homes through people and things. ProCare Pest Services will alleviate a bed bug infestation plaguing your home. Our treatment will ensure that bed bugs no longer cause you a problem.

What It Takes To Get Rid Of A Bed Bug Infestation

You need bed bug professionals who have effective treatments to remove these pests from your house. However, there are things you can do to ensure another infestation never happens once technicians from ProCare Pest Services eradicate the bugs from your house. The following are bed bug control techniques for your home that will deter a future invasion:

Inspect clothing articles and accessory bags before entering the house
Investigate used furniture before purchasing
Vacuum the house regularly
Suction corners and cracks
Remove clothing piles from the floor
Wash and dry bed linens frequently

When you travel, walk through your potential hotel room and check the mattress seams, box springs, headboard, and picture frames for bed bugs. Before purchasing used furniture, inquire if the seller has had an infestation; if so, don't purchase the item. Even if the owner claims no prior problems with bed bugs, investigate the furniture with a magnifying glass.

When sweeping the house, place the vacuum contents in a sealed bag and dispose of them in a sealable container outside. Be sure to suction the crevices between the baseboard, walls, and flooring; pay attention to the corners. Remove piles of clothing and other debris to reduce sheltering areas for bed bugs.

When washing clothing, especially if you suspect bed bugs are present, use the hottest temperature the fabric will tolerate and dry for at least 30 minutes on the highest heat in the dryer.

While these will deter a future infestation, removing a bed bug problem requires professionals with the treatments, equipment, and experience necessary to stop them. When you contact us, we will dispatch a trained professional to inspect your house for bed bug signs. If we determine that bed bugs are the source of your problems, we will work with you to schedule a treatment time and help you prepare your house. Contact us today to request your free quote.