Typically an infestation starts in one room and spreads slowly to other places where people sleep. The sooner you find and treat bed bugs the easier it will be to get rid of them. Wait too long and bed bugs may be found throughout your home.
Bed bugs can travel from room to room in mere minutes. They can travel about 100 feet during the night but have been known to move as fast as four feet per minute. Remember those bed bugs in your bed and on your couch? During the night, some have made their way to another room — waiting to begin multiplying.
Thoroughly check your entire bed for others (mattress, bedframe), all cracks, creases and crevices. See if you can find a nest. Check around the bed as well, like the walls and floors and baseboards, any items or furniture.
In practical terms, this means that a single mated female brought into a home can cause an infestation without having a male present, as long as she has access to regular blood meals. The female will eventually run out of sperm, and will have to mate again to fertilize her eggs.
Spot treating certain rooms or pieces of furniture is simply ineffective. The very nature of bed bugs and how they travel is exactly why your entire home must be treated. Bed bugs are hitchhikers, and will travel from one room to the next on you, your blankets, clothing, etc.
Typically an infestation starts in one room and spreads slowly to other places where people sleep. The sooner you find and treat bed bugs the easier it will be to get rid of them. Wait too long and bed bugs may be found throughout your home.
Thus, you need a professional exterminator. They have the tools and methods to fully kill bed bugs at all life stages. They also keep them from coming back. Bed bugs have also become resistant to many of the pesticides they encounter in their travels.
In most cases, landlords, owners and building managers cannot legally apply insecticides unless they are licensed to do so. How long does it take to get rid of bed bugs? It will take at least three weeks to be rid of bed bugs.
The first clue suggesting that you may have a bed bug infestation is often the presence of itching bites. However, bites reactions are quite variable and may not be due to bed bugs at all. Be aware of the other signs that bed bugs leave behind: fecal spots, molted skins, and aggregations.
Light Bed Bug Infestation
Few sightings and blood stains noted if any, 1-2 caught as specimens for identification, minimal irritation from bites. Adult bed bugs are tan to dark reddish brown, flattened, compact insects about 5-6mm long; juveniles are much smaller and are clear with a red or black dot after feeding.
Many people ask, "Can you have one bed bug?" While it's unlikely, it's important to remain vigilant, as one bed bug could indicate more hiding nearby. Poor sanitation, while not a direct cause, can also make bed bug infestations harder to manage as clutter provides more places for them to hide.
Pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides that act like pyrethrins. Both compounds are lethal to bed bugs and can flush bed bugs out of their hiding places and kill them.
That's how small a bed bug can be, despite eating dozens of blood meals. Combined with the fact that they are dark brown, do not fly, and do not make any noise, bed bugs are extremely easy to miss. This is particularly true if you have dark furniture, dark carpeting/upholstery, or less-than-perfect vision.
Do not change where you sleep: Some people believe they can avoid bed bugs by sleeping in a different area of their home. Once people identify that their bed is infested, they will often begin to sleep in a different bedroom or on the sofa. Bed bugs have evolved to quickly locate potential hosts to feed on.
Often a great indicator of how long an infestation has been around is the number of adult bed bugs present. Generally it takes at least seven weeks for a bed bug to grow from an egg to an adult, so there should be no new adults from eggs during that period.
Most times, clothing, bedding and furniture from a home with a bed bug problem can be treated and do not need to be thrown away. If you decide to dispose of items, they should be carefully sealed in a plastic bag or container first so the bed bugs don't spread.
Blood Orange Oil
This essential oil is proven to be one of the most effective solutions when bed bugs are the matter as it can kill the pest successfully.
The trick is to pay attention to the spot where the bugs leave the bites as well as how the bites look. If the bites are near the place where your body meets the surface of your bed and they are in large clusters then you most likely have bedbugs.
"If you think you're ever going to get rid of them the answer is no," says Booth. "Unfortunately, bed bugs are with us until we disappear from this planet."
Pyrethroid products are often mixed with other types of insecticides; some of these mixtures can be effective against bed bugs. Look for products containing pyrethroids plus piperonyl butoxide, imidicloprid, acetamiprid, or dinetofuran.
Diatomaceous Earth. DE or Diatomaceous Earth made using fossilized algae is found effective in repelling not just bed bugs, but cockroaches, and ants too. Its odor is something that all these pests hate and so you can easily repel them using this powder.
Essential oils. While essential oils like tea tree, lavender, and peppermint are popularly recommended for DIY bed bug treatments due to their strong scents and supposed insect-repellent properties, there is not much scientific evidence to support their effectiveness in eradicating bed bug infestations.