Identify Bed Bugs: How They Start, Where They Come From

Table Of Content

• How to Keep Bedbugs From Coming Home With You
• Myth 6: Cayenne Pepper or Diatomaceous Earth Can Kill Bed Bugs
• Take the Bite Out of Bed Bugs
• Keep the Infestation from Spreading
• Vital Security System Maintenance Tasks You’re Skipping—And How That Makes Your Home Vulnerable
• What is a Termite Inspection and Do You Need One?
• How to tell if you have bedbugs

The risk of running into bedbugs is higher if you spend time in places where nighttime guests come and go often — such as hotels, hospitals or homeless shelters. Using an upholstery attachment, thoroughly vacuum your mattress and box spring, focusing on seams, crevices and folds. Vacuum under and around the bed and around any furniture near the bed where bedbugs could harbor. When you’ve finished, carefully remove the vacuum bag and immediately seal it in a garbage bag to discard.

How to Keep Bedbugs From Coming Home With You

How to Prevent Bed Bugs — 7 Items Experts Recommend - Apartment Therapy

How to Prevent Bed Bugs — 7 Items Experts Recommend.

Posted: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

We know that many bugs are attracted to light, but it turns out that certain hues on the color spectrum are more enticing to them than others. Many insects are only able to see three colors (ultraviolet, blue, and green), which is why they’re naturally attracted to cool-toned light. Even after you repair a leak, the impact of water damage is just beginning. Wet wood and drywall attract mold and mildew, weakening the construction materials. The weakened materials become a food source for termites, silverfish, and other insects who feast on and create decay. Repair water damaged areas immediately after detection to ward off these little destroyers.

Myth 6: Cayenne Pepper or Diatomaceous Earth Can Kill Bed Bugs

Bedbugs know where to hide to avoid detection and can live for months between meals. Many of us like to kick back with a beer or a glass of wine, but doing so may bring uninvited to your party. Alcoholic beverages contain sugars, making them incredibly appealing to a number of different insects.

Take the Bite Out of Bed Bugs

They can also travel between apartments or hotel rooms through wall voids, ductwork, and cracks in the building’s infrastructure. Learn more about the common entry points for bed bugs and preventive measures to keep them out of your home. Considering bed bugs often travel on clothing, it’s no surprise that hotels can become a hotspot for these pests.

Carefully look around your bed—again, especially in nooks and crannies—and on any nearby furniture, paying close attention to tiny places like screw holes or joints. Bedbugs can move from one site to another by traveling on items such as clothing, luggage, furniture, boxes and bedding. Some people have no reaction to bedbug bites, while others experience an allergic reaction that can include severe itching, blisters or hives. Remove sheets, pillows and any clothing, towels, stuffed animals or textiles that may have been exposed to bedbugs, and carefully seal them up in heavy-duty garbage bags. Once you’ve found evidence of bedbugs, call professional help. Many bedbugs have developed resistance to insecticides, so spraying them with something store-bought will kill only some and scatter the rest.

Bed bugs have been found in five-star hotels and resorts and their presence is not determined by the cleanliness of the living conditions where they are found. This adds up to over 250 eggs in a lifetime, with proper feeding. Preparing for treatment is very important; it will make it easier to monitor for bed bugs that haven't been eliminated. This preparation should be completed whether you are doing the treatment yourself or hiring a professional.

Use a mattress encasement

It’s best to store firewood outdoors, off the ground, and at least 50 feet away from the house. A better solution is to install motion sensitive security lighting away from the home. The light turns on when needed, and stays off the rest of the time, potentially keeping trouble and insects away. A mouse only needs a 1/4-inch opening to get inside your home.

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Revere Public Schools rocked by alarming discovery: bed bugs found on students.

Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Courtney Schley, a senior editor covering sleep and appliances, has been at Wirecutter since 2014. She has held several roles at Wirecutter, including research editor, as well as supervising editor of baby and kid coverage. Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From "What is pickleball?" to "Are cicadas dangerous?" to "What are burn pits?", we're striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our Just Curious section to see what else we can answer for you.

How to tell if you have bedbugs

But there are a few steps you can take to help prevent bed bugs and stop their spread. Pest control companies have the advantage of using chemicals and other treatments that are not available to you. They have insecticides that both kill bugs on contact and that stay inside furniture and cracks to kill bedbugs in the long term. Once you’ve cleaned all visible bedbugs, make the area inhospitable for the rest of them. Place bedbug-proof covers over your mattress and box spring. Bugs that are trapped inside will die, and new bugs will not be able to get in.

That means that while some bed bugs will respond to these chemicals, others won't—and it's likely that more and more bugs will become resistant over time. Here's how to get rid of them—or prevent them from ever moving in. Currently, there’s no definitive body of research to suggest that bed bugs are attracted or repelled by certain personal products like perfumes. These bugs are more focused on carbon dioxide and warmth, the key signals that a meal is nearby.

Avoid the expense and hassle of dealing with pest damage by preventing it in the first place. Bedbugs can easily travel between floors and rooms in hotels or apartment buildings. Bite marks or blood stains on sheets aren’t definitive proof.

Pay close attention to seams or folds in fabric and use a high-powered flashlight to aid in the inspection. There are many bedbug look-alikes, including carpet beetles, spider beetles, roach nymphs, and bat bugs, explained Matt Kelly, a Philadelphia-based pest control operator (PCO). And be sure to study guides that show the size and appearance of bedbugs throughout their life cycle. You can use a lint roller or tape to pick up any evidence—like bugs, cast skins, or eggs—and place it in a plastic bag to show a PCO.

Infestations can also be identified by sightings of bed bug molt skins, their eggs, empty eggshells, or the bugs themselves. All of these things are quite small, but still visible to the human eye. Bed bug molt skins as well as their eggshells appear pale white after molting or emerging from the eggshell, respectively. Bed bugs, scientifically referred to as Cimex lectularius, are tiny, nocturnal parasites that traditionally inhibited caves, nesting alongside bats.

Holes in your siding or gaps under the door are easy entry points. Inspect the siding on your house at least twice a year, paying close attention to seams, trim, and transitions from siding to masonry. Plug gaps with silicone caulk, steel wool, or expandable foam sealant. Some produce keeps better when it’s not refrigerated, but the bad news is that storing ripening fruit on the counter can lure fruit flies. To reduce the risk of flies, don’t let fruit sit too long before eating it and dispose of scraps and peels after each meal.