They can come from other infested areas or from used furniture. They can hitch a ride in luggage, purses, backpacks, or other items placed on soft or upholstered surfaces. They can travel between rooms in multi-unit buildings, such as apartment complexes and hotels.
If you're suddenly experiencing signs of a bed bug infestation in your home for the first time, they likely snuck their way in as a stowaway on a purse, luggage, or clothing. Secondhand furniture, particularly mattresses, box springs, couches, and chairs, may be harboring hungry bed bugs.
Bed bugs are attracted to humans, not dirt. They don't discriminate between clean and unclean homes. However, vacuuming and washing bed linen regularly can help keep the bed bug numbers down. Also, less clutter provides fewer bed bug hiding spots.
Answer: “Hitchhiking” from an infested location or item to a previously non-infested location or item are the main causes of bed bugs.
Bed bugs are nature's hitchhikers. They travel from other infested areas by attaching themselves to your clothing, bags and luggage or any surface that's soft or upholstered.
Bed bugs are not a result of poor hygiene or cleanliness; rather, they are seasoned hitchhikers that can easily travel from place to place on clothing, luggage, or furniture. Their resurgence in recent years can be attributed to increased global travel and resistance to common pesticides.
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.
Bed bugs are sensitive to strong smells and certain scents can help keep them away. Essential oils like lavender, tea tree and peppermint are popular choices. These oils not only smell good but also act as natural repellents.
Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: These are among the most common insecticides used against bed bugs. Pyrethrins, derived from chrysanthemum flowers, kill bed bugs on contact, while synthetic pyrethroids provide longer-lasting effects.
Bed bugs are primarily attracted to warmth and the carbon dioxide (CO₂) that humans exhale. This is why they tend to gravitate toward areas where people sleep, like beds and couches. They are also drawn to areas with dark crevices and clutter, where they can hide.
Don't sleep on another bed or the sofa. Bed bugs may follow making it much more difficult to get rid of them. Don't try to kill bed bugs by using agricultural or garden pesticides or other unregistered products. Using pesticide products to kill bed bugs that are labeled for outdoor use can make humans very sick.
Lysol and similar disinfectants that have isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, or ethyl alcohol as an active ingredient can be very effective at killing bed bugs instantly.
Bed bugs can live for as long as 4.5 months or more in an empty house before completely dying off. The two primary factors that determine how quickly or slowly the bed bugs could die off are the existence of a blood meal host, and the temperature of the house.
Bed bug bites on exposed skin either in a line or in a cluster. Bed bug droppings (AKA fecal matter, feces, poop, etc.) that look like black ink stains. Blood stains on your pillowcases, sheets, and other bedding that are reddish-brown in color and may appear smeared.
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.
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.
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.
So, what is the main cause of bed bugs? Travel is widely recognized as the most common source of bed bug infestations. Often unbeknownst to the traveler, bed bugs will hitchhike on people, clothing, luggage, or other personal belongings and be accidentally transported to other properties.
Permethrin is an effective tool for helping control bed bugs. By implementing this approach, permethrin discourages bed bugs from infesting the bed and reducing the likelihood of an infestation. The scent of peppermint and chrysanthemums also repels bed bugs.
If bed bugs have one weakness, it's that they're intolerant of extremely high or low temperatures. Washing clothes and bedding at the highest possible setting followed by drying for at least 30 minutes at high heat should do the trick. You can also freeze clothing or other objects you suspect of being infested.
Courtesy of its insecticidal properties, tea tree oil is an effective natural remedy to kill bed bugs instantly.
Cleaning your bedding, vacuuming, and protecting your mattress with a cover are important steps to take to prevent bedbug bites. If you're not able to avoid bites or have trouble controlling bedbugs, it may be time to hire a qualified pest control professional.