Imagine going to the movie theater and purchasing a big tub of popcorn smothered in butter to enjoy with a large drink as you watch a murder mystery. As you watch the movie in the dark room, you scrutinize every character and action and attempt to figure out the riddle before the big reveal. You sit through the two-hour show waiting for the grand climax, but nothing happens; they never reveal the murderer; the mystery remains unsolved.
How would you feel in that scenario? Betrayed and disappointed? Yes, why? Because you went to figure out the mystery and left just as perplexed as when you started the movie two hours earlier.
One mystery that plagues many homeowners is bed bugs. When a homeowner realizes that the appearance of bites on their body may be from bed bugs, the natural question is; where did these bed bugs come from? You are probably reading this article because you think you have bed bugs in your home and are looking for an Omaha pest control company to solve the mystery and remove the bugs from your house. If that is the case, Quality Pest Control is your answer. Our family-owned company has removed bed bugs from homes for nearly two decades. We combine cutting-edge technology and proven science to deliver the results so you can enjoy living in a bed-bug-free environment.
We wrote this article to help you solve the mystery surrounding bed bugs. Many people assume the red bites on their bodies are from bed bugs, but how do you know they are not from spiders, mosquitoes, or fleas? In this piece, we will teach you what you need to know about bed bugs so you can solve the mystery of what is biting you.
When a detective begins investigating, she needs to get a profile of the suspect. Developing a dossier on the criminal helps determine where to look and what to search for. So, let's begin with a bed bug description. This is a bed bug's profile:
- Size: 1/4 to 3/8 inch long (unfed)
- Color: Brown to reddish brown (unfed) or dark red (fed)
- Shape: Crinkled flat body (unfed) or elongated body (fed)
- Legs: Six jointed
- Segments: Three
- Antennae: Two jointed
- Wings: None
Since the explosion of detective novels, the magnifying glass and sleuths have been inseparable. Fortunately, you don't need additional magnification to see adult bed bugs, but you will need a visual aid to see their white, 1/32-inch eggs and the nymphs that emerge, at least while they are in their initial growth stages.
Now that we have our description, we need to determine where to investigate to see if bed bugs are the culprit. Bed bugs can hide in spaces no wider than a credit card in wooden floor cracks, nightstand corners, joints between upholstery and metal or wood, baseboards and walls, and mattress seams. Bed bugs hide behind headboards, picture frames, wallpaper seams, and inside electrical outlets.
Like any criminal, bed bugs mess up and leave many clues. Since we have a description and known hiding locations, we are ready to begin searching for bed bug signs. The first sign is seeing live bed bugs. Bed bugs are usually most active between midnight and 5 am, so if you keep a typical first-shift schedule, you probably won't see them unless you get up to get a drink of water and turn on the lights. If you see a few bed bugs, you can bet there are hundreds of others stowed away in a crack, crevice, or corner somewhere in the room. Bed bugs don't jump or fly, but they can move very fast!
Another indicator of a bed bug infestation is reddish-brown fecal stains on bed linens, box springs, and walls. Sometimes, the marks may be from squashed bed bugs, which is a small victory for you, but disgusting, nonetheless. Although you'd have to have a large group of bed bugs in your room for this next sign, it is one that you should know about, and if you detect it, you need help from Quality Pest Control. Bed bugs produce an oily substance with a musty, sweet smell, and when there are many bugs in a location, you will notice a stale, coriander odor.
Bed bugs are insects, and a characteristic of insects is that their skeleton is on the outside of their body. This outer shell, an exoskeleton, is shed each time a bed bug goes through a growth stage known as an instar. Bed bugs progress through five instars; while the initial creamy-white shells require magnification for detection, the final ones can be seen unaided. Look for discarded skeletons in the hiding places we previously mentioned. Investigate those areas for the tiny, white eggs and nearly colorless nymphs. Have your trusty magnifying glass to find eggs, offspring, and early-stage eggshells.
The final piece of evidence is bed bug bites. These bites occur when bed bugs crawl on your body while you sleep and pierce your skin in multiple locations for regions with high concentrations of capillaries. Typically, you won't feel the probing because bed bugs inject an anesthetic to numb the area. The red bumps occur when your body reacts by sending histamines to counteract the analgesic and anticoagulants the bed bugs inject. Bites are often in clusters or rows because bed bugs probe a few times before they begin drawing blood.
If all this information is overwhelming or you don't have the time to don your tweed suit and deerstalker hat, let the professionals from Quality Pest Control do the work for you. Our service specialists know bed bugs in Omaha and the signs of an infestation.
When you see red, swollen bumps on your arms, legs, and other body parts exposed while you sleep, you can't help but wonder if they are making you sick. After all, mosquitoes transmit the West Nile virus and other diseases, and fleas can spread tapeworms, so what about bed bugs? Can bed bugs make you sick?
If there is any good news, it is that bed bugs are not currently known to spread diseases, but can cause some people to suffer PTSD-like psychological symptoms. They may trigger an allergic response or a severe skin reaction in some people. In those cases, bed bug bites cause blistering, hives, and overwhelming itching, which may require medical attention. For most people, bed bugs are not 'physically' harmful, but can be a nuisance creating itchy bites that may become secondarily infected.
Although bed bugs do not necessarily put your health at risk, the itchy, red bumps they create on your skin can drive you to the edge of insanity. There is no need to spend your days scratching and possibly causing infection when you can have bed bug control near you from Quality Pest Control to stop the bed bug problem.
Like intruders in a mystery novel, bed bugs enter homes from the outside as unwanted guests. Unlike many pests that enter houses from the yard, these tiny insects are hitchhikers who catch rides from the following:
- Clothing folds
- Shoes
- Luggage
- Bags
- Furniture (used)
- Books
Now that we know how they get into our houses, the next question is; where do they come from? Busses, cabs, trains, and other public transportation forms are hubs for bed bugs; hotels, motels, libraries, and theaters are also epicenters of bed bug activity.
While you ride public transportation or spend time in one of these locations, the bed bugs may crawl onto your clothing or belongings, and when you arrive home, they hide, begin breeding, and use you as their blood host. On the one hand, you can take solace that bed bugs are not the result of a dirty house or poor hygiene but managed to sneak into your home without your consent.
Due to bed bug's rapid reproduction rate, you need the best pest control for bed bugs near you from Quality Pest Control; however, you can help reduce the severity of the infestation by vacuuming the house, suctioning out the corners, washing all clothing and bed linens and drying on the highest possible setting for at least 30 minutes. A bed bug control specialist from Quality Pest Control will provide additional tips and suggestions to prevent future infestations after we eliminate the current problem.
In a survey of pest control specialists, 76% said these pests are among the most difficult to eliminate from homes. If pest control specialists acknowledge removing bed bugs is a challenge, you can rest assured that homeowners are not up to the task.
Quality Pest Control uses the latest bed bug control techniques for your home. At the heart of our bed bug removal processes is based in science and uses applied Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies.. This approach begins with identifying the pest, addressing attractants, and using the targeted application of products to eliminate bed bugs. The IPM solution resolves pest problems and identifies long-term solutions to ensure bed bugs do not return to your Omaha house. Call us for a consultation to learn more about our bed bug services. Don't spend another day itching and scratching.
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(402) 534-1364
Quality Pest Control