People are having more trouble with bed bugs now than ever before.
Not only are these creepy-crawlies finding their way into homes and business, but they are also becoming a pest for hotel owners and hospital administrators. Luckily, bed bugs don’t bring disease, but they’re no fun to have around.
There’s always something you can do to keep these blood-sucking bugs from making your home their new hang-out spot. In fact, taking preventative care is the best way to handle the problem, as after a colony has been established, extermination can be rather costly. Preventing bed bugs requires special attention to important duties that are unique to this kind of pest.
How Bed Bugs Profligate
What’s really troublesome about these insects is that a bed bug’s bite is painless. Their saliva has anaesthetic chemicals, so someone who is sleeping won’t wake up if a bed bug chows down on them.
Scientists consider this a technique that helps the bed bugs survive. Seeing as how they move around in small groups, a bite that inflicted pain would mean that the things being bitten would want to kill the bug that’s hurting it. To avoid this, bed bugs make sure that they don’t affect a person’s nervous system when they bite through the skin to suck blood.
Bed bugs typically get in your house or business by traveling on clothes, cardboard, or—as their name implies—a mattress bed. They are most commonly active at night, though can also be seen scuttling about in the day. Body heat and carbon dioxide draw them towards a victim.
How to Fight the Invasion
The easiest way to spot a bed bug infestation is by finding their droppings. These creatures leave little fecal particles on the blankets and the sheets of the beds they live in. If your bedclothes have unexplained dark splotches, chances are you’ve got yourself a case of the bed bugs.
But beds aren’t the only place you’ll find them. They are attracted to dark, warm spots in a house. If you smell something along the lines of coriander, you might be close to finding their headquarters. Also, be sure to look around where your pets spend their time.
Just because these monsters are in your home, it doesn’t mean you have to call pest control right away. In fact, most bed bugs can be killed without an expert’s help. As long as the invasion isn’t full-blown, you can probably handle it yourself.
To prevent an infestation from getting totally out of hand, clean your clothes, especially the ones you wear when you sleep, using a laundry service. Hot steam usually takes care of the bugs and the eggs they leave behind.
Be sure to use plastic storage containers when you move out. Cardboard provides a good breeding ground for bed bugs. If you’re returning from a trip, wash your clothes thoroughly. Bed bug infestations start small, and then they rapidly grow in number, so don’t take any chances.
Keep Your Home Clean
A steam cleaning vacuum can keep bed bugs away, especially if you use it on the carpet and around the baseboards. It is also not a bad idea to steam vacuum your mattress at least once a month.
Don’t leave cardboard on the floor. Bed bugs are attracted from organic material, so if you spill some on the floor, especially the carpet, it’s best to clean it right away.
Source: http://findquickanswers.com/how-to-handle-bed-bugs/
Featured image: DepositPhotos – belchonock
