The Bed Bugs Dilemma

Under everyone’s mattress hides parasites. Bed bugs are one of the most common insects in America. However it is only in the recent years that bed bugs are categorized as pests. With increase of immigrant and travelers from different places, bed bugs thrive in hotels, restaurants, shelters, homes, apartments and motels.

What are bed bugs? These are tiny, brown, flattened insects that feed on an animal’s blood. There are certain types of bed bugs that have a preference for humans. The common one, classified as Cimex lectularius, found in our homes is the insect adapted to living with humans.

Bed bugs can be mistaken for ticks in their adult stage. They do not fly like cockroaches but they are agile and can move really fast over walls, floors and other types of surfaces. What makes them a pest is that bed bugs are very resilient. They can live without food (blood) from their host for up to a year. This means these parasites can lie dormant, just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to arrive.

The bed bug’s nocturnal behavior makes it hard for people to identify if they have one on their furniture. Eliminating them is also a problem. If people cannot see where the bed bugs are, it can be hard to determine if they were all killed when pesticide is applied.

Bed bugs are great hiders and usually come out to feed on a blood meal in the middle of the night. It is not confirmed if bed bugs are aware that their hosts are asleep when they feed. But their habits suggest that they can more or less sense if the host is in a relaxed state.

Symptoms of being bitten by bed bugs are different from one person to another. There are people who have no reaction to bites from these bed bugs. Some experience an itchy, swelling bump on the skin where the bed bugs had their fill. Others have leave inflamed welt marks on their victims.

Bed bugs feed on their hosts by piercing the human skin with long beak, which they use to suck the blood. Much like fleas and mosquitoes, their bodies become engorged in three to ten minutes without the victim noticing. Perhaps it is their patience in getting the blood meal that makes it hard for human to realize what is happening to them

A major concern is the possibility of transmitting disease. There has been no documented case of a disease passed on by bed bugs so it is dismissed by science. The extent of their damage to their hosts is limited to itchiness and swelling from their bites.

The real problem on bed bugs is infestation. They can produce three generations in a year. Female bed bugs place their eggs in very secluded areas like the folds in the mattress, and deposits eggs of up to five a day. Because of this their numbers continue to grow without the human’s knowledge. Soon they spread around the house and an infestation occurs. These infestations can cause anxiety and loss of sleep.

How do you know if your bed is infested with bed bugs? Answer three simple questions to find out:

· Do you wake up to find an itchy and swelling welt on your neck, face, arms, shoulders, etc when you had none before sleeping?

· Does your mattress have dark stains and spotting?

· Do you wake up to see small reddish brown spots on the sheets, pillowcases or walls?

If you answered, “yes” to two out of three questions above, then it is likely that you are lying in a mattress full of bed bugs.

The best way to get rid of them is to throw away your mattress. Bed bugs can live in wait for a long period of time so even if you try to wash it, they may resurface. Using pesticides on the bed can be dangerous for the owner. So only a new mattress is the solution.

Eliminating and entire home for bed bugs can be tedious. So if you can afford it, make sure you get your home pre-treated against these parasites. And since these insects also live in carpets and sofas, the best defense is prevention.

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The Physical Attributes of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are one of the most annoying insects around. But you know how film makers make even the most annoying creatures loveable in movies.

Thus pictures of bed bugs in modern day textbooks and magazines are not as disgusting. Pictures of bed bugs you may see nowadays are just like pictures of ants, cockroaches and other insects. They are now humanized or given the physical and cordial attributes of humans’.

Real picture

If you look at bed bugs under magnifying lens, you will find that bed bugs are wingless insects. Bed bugs are no different from other insects. They have protective and waxy skin covers.

Pictures of bed bugs reveal that bed bugs are so tiny. From atop, they look like flatted creatures. No wonder, they can creed into and hide through even the tiniest and smallest crevices and holes in the floor and in walls.

Being so tiny, pictures bed bugs are apparently taken using magnifying glasses or lenses. In real life, it follows that we can not see or look closely at bed bugs’ appearances because they are too tiny for our naked eyes.

If you have the dynamic and incredible eyesight of Spiderman, then you might probably enjoy and observe the physical attributes of bed bugs without lenses.

Where to find bed bugs

Another thing why you just can look at bed bugs’ pictures in textbooks and magazines is that bed bugs do not normally go out of their hiding places during daytime.

Night time is party time for these little creatures. It can be observed that during nigh time, bed bugs come out to suck blood. And we know that our eyes turn weaker and less clear during night times. Hence, we can hardly see bed bugs, especially during night time when they usually go out hunting and partying.

Bed bugs are almost always found in crevices and small holes in the floor or in walls.

Finding bed bugs is also entailing or requiring a lot of luck on the part of the hunter or the person looking out for bed bugs. Why? Because full-blown or adult bed bugs can store up food in their stomachs for almost more than a year.

Unfortunate, now you know why pictures are more accessible than actual and live bed bugs even if you are sure your place or bed is a breeding ground.

The bed bugs’ eggs

Bed bugs are too tiny for us to see them easily. Not surprisingly, their eggs are even tinier! Pictures of bed bugs’ eggs are almost always already miniscule, in real life, an in actual encounters, they are truly negligible!

They can be carried on through the dust in the wind. That makes bed bugs’ eggs notorious. They can easily spread because of their size and light weight.

Closer look at bed bugs’ eggs’ pictures will show that they are almost like all other insects’ eggs, tiny, miniscule, yet equipped with structures that can make them independent. Thus, bed bugs’ eggs can hatch by themselves even without their moms around.

It only takes 10 days for bed bugs’ eggs to hatch. By that time, new bed bugs are borne to the world, and adding to the rapidly increasing of bed bug population around the globe.

Female bed bugs, as revealed by some pictures retrievable through the Internet and through books, become like queen ants. They get enlarged before they lay eggs. Why? Female bed bugs can lay about 300 eggs in one pregnancy. How about that?

Getting rid of bed bugs
Through understanding and bed bugs’ pictures, we can picture out and understand how pesticides work.

Through pictures, we can see that bed bugs have protective waxy coverings that make them one with most insects. It is this physical attribute that makes bed bugs, and other insects with same structures, to endure annihilation and harsh environment changes.

Several pesticides target these protective coverings. Insecticides mostly contain powderized silicon and glass granules that break into this protective covering.

Look closely at bed bugs’ pictures and you will see that after the coverings, bed bugs’ vulnerable insides and bodies lie. Pesticides, then attack these structure killing the bed bugs in minutes or hours.

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The War On Exterminating Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are tiny little creature that sucks blood off their human prey. Often dismissed as a nuisance, bed bugs are now a serious problem both at home, in the offices and luxury establishments.
Why the infestation? There are two reasons for the increase in the number of bed bugs found in homes and other establishments recently. One of them is the increase in the number travelers and immigrants who stay in motels and unknowingly bring these insects along with them back home.
The second reason is the possibility that bed bugs have now become immune to the pesticides being used. It was in the 1940’s and 1950’s that the exterminating of bed bugs began. An insecticide called DDT was used and was highly effective in killing the bed bugs population.
However, the exterminating of bed bugs was discontinued when the DDT was banned in the 1960’s for it’s harmful effect to the environment. Since then the bugs have been waiting patiently to return to our homes.
Wholesale spraying of beds, walls, floors, furniture, etc. with DDT was the solution in exterminating bed bugs. However, law does not permit this kind of remedy anymore. Exterminating bed bugs now require the more thoroughness as bed bugs become cleverer.
Bed bugs hide in the cracks of furniture, in the mattresses, throw pillow, beneath the sofa and everywhere else you can think of. This is why exterminating of bed bugs is tedious work. All the possible places for the bed bugs to live in are searched and turned over before beginning the actual process of exterminating of bed bugs. This is to ensure that there will be no more bed bugs left once the treatment is complete.
It is wise not to do the exterminating of bed bugs on your own. You may end up harming yourself rather than taking the problem away. But you can do the following to help in the exterminating of bed bugs:
· The clothes, bed sheets, line, pillowcases, blankets and the like must be washed before the treatment begins.
· Wrap mattresses in a huge black plastic bag then put it under the sun.
· Vacuum all the nooks and crannies visible inside the home.
· Seal any gaps in the furniture, floorboards and cracks where the bed bugs can hide.
After that, step side and let the professionals start the exterminating of bed bugs in your home.
The process of exterminating of bed bugs continues with the application of insecticide spray on the furniture. There are different types of spray for every kind of equipment like mattresses or carpets. Some of these chemicals for the exterminating of bed bugs are odorless and has leaves little to no residue on the furniture. A professional does the exterminating of bed bugs with the proper protective gear.
Exterminating of bed bugs infestation is tedious work and requires a lot of patience. These pests live in cracks that are difficult to reach with pest control products and can survive months without food. By making sure that all the areas have been sprayed properly, the exterminating of bed bugs will be more effective.
After the exterminating of bed bugs through spraying of insecticides, the next process is to use insecticide dust. This dusting is very important in exterminating of bed bugs because this is what kills the bed bugs. The insecticide dust reaches for those areas that have the spray has left behind.
The entire process of exterminating of bed bugs can last three days to weeks, depending on the infestation. Normally, the exterminating of bed bugs was quicker with the houses being sprayed with DDT. But now the process is more targeted, meaning slower but thorough.
This doesn’t mean that the new procedure for exterminating of bed bugs is less effective. The business has changed over the years and now professionals must be considerate of the clients needs for being careful with their possessions.
Homes are not the only ones fighting for the exterminating of bed bugs. Hotels, vintage shops, motels, dormitories and apartments all have a war with exterminating of bed bugs. Maintaining proper hygiene on these properties can great reduce the bed bug infestation. And if push comes to shove, the pest control number is in the yellow pages.

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The Truth Behind “Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite”

Do you know who was the person who said this? Wherever it came from, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” holds a grain of truth to it. It begins with the villain, the bed bugs. Bed bugs are bloodsucking insects that live in warm areas of your furniture like the bed, couch, draperies and carpets.

They are tiny parasites and feeds on a blood meal like a flea. But the bed bugs prefer human blood. The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is actually a wrong notion of the insect. This is because bed bugs do not bite. They pierce the skin with an elongated beak and uses it like a straw to draw blood from the prey. Think of it as a mosquito, without the dangers of transmitting diseases.

The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is proven to be a bad warning because people rarely feel the bed bug as it feeds. When bed bugs feed, they release a chemical like a mild anesthesia that numbs the skin. That is why people are surprised to see itchy, swelling welts on their body the next day.

However, it is a good idea to follow the warning in the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” The bites may seem harmless but the can be embarrassing to look and you may lose sleep over it. When you don’t let the bed bugs bite, you are saving your skin from irritation and possible infections from other insect bites.

But here is the question: How do you don’t let the bed bugs bite when you can’t even see or feel them? One way is to check your mattress or furniture with a magnifying glass. The best time to do this is at night since bed bugs are nocturnal and hides during the day. Bed bugs look like flat, rounded brownish insects that could be mistake for fleas.

The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” must surely be given as a gentle warning. But actually telling someone, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, has a sweet and comical tone to it considering that the facts about it are not all true.

One of the reasons for the childish appeal of the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is how it rhythms with another quaint greeting, “Sleep tight.” When joined together, the saying “Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” becomes a sweet closing phrase to any conversation.

However, the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is not the most accurate warning as we have proved above. Bed bugs don’t bite they suck blood. We can’t control bed bugs so “not letting” them is almost an impossibility. That is unless you wear a steel armor to sleep. This saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, is being unraveled and exposed for what it really is – only a childish rhyme.

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, if used to warn people of the parasite, is a shallow. The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” has no real structure but only to state the existence of bed bugs. It is apparent that this saying’s real substance is in the strong conviction for people to put it to heart, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”.

The real way to live this saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, is by looking for them and killing all the bed bugs that reside in your furniture. When the infestation has gone out of control, one must take this saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”. To heart by contacting the professionals and have them exterminate all the bed bugs inside your home.

Even hotels use this saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, to proudly boast of their establishment’s cleanliness and bug-free environment. Though there are instances that hotels may do a discrete extermination from time to time. There is no same in being fastidious about the cleanliness of a surrounding. But remember that even if a mattress or couch is clean. What we don’t see can really hurt us.

As the saying goes “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, it means we should not take it too literally and just take it in the context of a quaint advice to always be aware of the little critters sleeping beside you at night and feeding from your blood.

Sleep tight, everyone. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

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The Insect Called Bed Bugs

There are close to about a million species or kinds of insects living in our planet. There are millions more that had been extinct through the years because of natural phenomenon like climate change and man-made environment changes.

But did you know that insects are the most resilient living organisms? Yes, it is true. They are so resilient that thousands of species can live for years without nourishment or feeding.

Studies and scientists’ assertions also note that if an annihilation do happen in the planet, every living creature will be affected and annihilated except for insects.

Insects are gifted with protective structures, usually in the outermost layer of their skin or physical structures. These protective layers, which are naturally and usually characterized by wax-like substances, are what makes insect very resilient and adoptive to harsh physical environmental changes.

Insects also have extremely low threshold to pain. Even if you crash an insect, or take out a wing, or handicap it, it would still strive to move away from you or from any attacker.

Bed bugs

Bed bugs is only one among the millions, if not billions or trillions, of insects living with us in this planet called Earth.

Bed bugs also belong to kingdom Insecta, is scientifically known as Cimex lectularius.

Bed bugs are so tiny that you can hardly see them even in broad daylight. But there are bed bugs that can grow to about one fourth of an inch, the most they can grow. These bed bugs are the mature ones that have regular source of food and good natural or conducive habitat.

Bed bugs, like most other insects, live in places that are usually neglected by people.

In your room, you can probably see and find bed bugs inside small and tiny crevices, cracks or holes in the wall, the ceiling, the floor, some furniture or even your bed.

Bed bugs are among those kinds of insects that sleep or hide during daytime to finally come out and hunt for food at night time. Call its mart, but such insects have amazing biological clocks that know when it is time to go out and look out for prospective and unsuspicious victims.

Bed bugs’ food

Bed bugs do not eat anything but blood. However, the blood needed by bed bugs for nourishment should come from mammals, or hot-blooded animals. Again, they might be smart enough because they can tell by mere smelling if a prospective victim or host is hot-blooded or not.

Bed bugs suck blood of people. But their food requirement is not limited to people’s blood. They can also suck, as alternatives, blood of dogs, cats, birds, or whatever animal or pet they can get their mouth into.

Bed bugs are among those insects that are given structures like beaks that can pierce into victim’s skin. Such insects use those structures to suck and sip blood from victims.

Insects normally are not carnivorous. So are bed bugs. But you may have a different classification for them because of their eating habit. Somehow, they can be related to vampires. Don’t be amazed. Of course, that is just to tickle you with a little sense of humor.

Because bed bugs, and similar insects, prey on and eat blood, it follows that their excretion is also having resemblance to blood. As they say, what goes in is also what goes out.

Hence, you can find that bed bugs’ craps and pee are red or deep-red colored. They may appear as such tiny red stains in your bed, your bed sheet, furniture surfaces or wherever they may have contact with.

Insects like that are normally detected because of their excretion. Somehow, these craps betray them.

Bed bugs and other insects

Because bed bugs belong to the insects’ family, naturally it follows that they are bonafide insects. Classifying them or grouping them with blood-sucking insects will be logical.

However, be informed that, yes, bed bugs do suck blood, but they are very safe. Unlike mosquitoes, which transmit and transfer diseases form one person to another, bed bugs’ bites are not that notorious.

Scientists have found that bed bugs’ stomachs have linings and peptides that will not allow bacteria, fungi and viruses to thrive. It may be a consolation for you.

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The Truth Behind Articles On Bed Bugs

There are many written articles on bed bugs either on science journals or online. The growing interest in finding out what these creatures are, how they affect our lives and how we can stop them from spreading has lead to numerous articles on bed bugs.

These articles on bed bugs tackle many areas concerning the bed bug. The first type of articles on bed bugs that you may encounter describes what a bed bug is. A physical description of the parasite can help give us differentiate it from other parasites. Adult bed bugs are 1/4 inch long and are reddish brown in color, with oval and flat bodies. Often these articles on bed bugs provide photographs that make it easier for us to identify the insect.

According to articles on bed bugs, there are different types of bed bugs. Aside from the common bed bug that preys on human blood, there are bed bugs that prefer animal blood like birds or bats. To better understand it, articles on bed bugs offer a glimpse of the creature’s life cycle. Female bed bugs take their eggs and lay in hidden areas. They can give birth to 500 eggs during a lifetime. The eggs are very small, whitish, and may need magnification to be identified.

Articles on bed bugs mention that the eggs are sticky when first laid; making it stick to whatever surface they are placed. When they hatch, they are no bigger that a pinhead. As these bed bugs grow, they shed their skins. Some articles on bed bugs say that this shedding can happen five times before becoming adults.

Articles on bed bugs suggest that the speed of bed bug’s development rely on the right temperature, about 70 - 90° F. At that rate they can complete their transition from eggs to adult bugs in a month.

The articles on bed bugs say that cool temperatures and limited access to a prey can delay the full maturity of the bed bugs. However, this does not mean that they die easily. Other articles on bed bugs compare them to cockroaches in resilience. Bed bugs can survive months at a time not feeding. The adults can even stay alive for a year or more without a blood meal.

Some articles on bed bugs explain the how a bed bug’s nature and feeding habits. Bed bugs are nocturnal creatures. As parasites, they move unnoticeably within our homes, furniture, carpets, bed, etc. Articles on bed bugs say that although they can’t fly, they are very quick insects and can move with ease through almost every surface.

Bed bugs are patient parasites. When the bed bugs feed, they pierce the human skin with their beaks and suck the blood through. Articles on bed bugs explain further that unlike mosquitoes, bed bugs take their time in feeding. They get engorged after three to ten minutes. This slow method could be the reason why people do not wake up from a bed bug bite.

The most helpful articles on bed bugs are the ones that show us how to detect these pests in our homes. One sure sign that there are bed bugs under the sheets are dark brownish satins and spotting on the mattress. Articles on bed bugs identify this as the pest’s excrement or droppings.

The physical manifestations of a bed bug bite can be mistaken for other types of insects. But if tiny drops of blood on the sheets, pillowcases or walls accompany the itchy, swelling welt on your exposed skin, then you just may be sleeping with a pest on your bed.

Once you have confirmed that bed bugs do exist in your mattress, articles on bed bugs strongly suggest that you throw your bed away. Spraying pesticides on the bed may be poisonous for the owner, if he intends to sleep on it afterwards.

Where one bed bug lives, so there are hundreds more. Since articles on bed bugs say that bed bugs are hard to spot, you may want to hire pest control to check your entire home for any infestation. These bed bugs may also be living in your pet’s day bed or doghouse and are mistaken for ticks.

It pays to get the right information just like the articles on bed bugs. The truth can only be found is one searches for it.

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Tracing Bed Bugs

The number of reported cases of bed bugs in schools, hotels, motels, cruise ships, dormitories, shelters, homes, movie houses and apartments are rising. And the authorities are somehow already alarmed and concerned over the issue.

In the United States alone, it is reported that six out of ten apartments have bed bugs. Because bed bugs are not known to transfer or spread out any form of disease, the alarm is somehow flamed down.

Origins

Bed bugs are tiny, wingless creatures that are scientifically labeled Cimex lectularius. They are very small that you can hardly look at them with your bare eye.

Bed bugs are organisms that come from the world of insects. There are millions of species of insects, both small and large, and it is a wonder how each has its own noteworthy attribute or characteristics.

In the United States, statistics and pest control authorities claim that bed bugs ceased to exist after the World War II in the 1940s. Before the World War, cases of bed bugs were so rampant, but people’s cooperation and breakthroughs in controlling pests helped curtail bed bug infestation post war.

So people might be asking, if the bed bugs did not exist in the country during that time, where do our modern bed bugs come from?

Good and logical question. Theories have it that modern-day bed bugs might have come from Asia, Africa or Europe. If bed bugs can only crawl, they are tiny and with only one-year lifespan, how did they cross borders?

Because bed bugs can thrive in furniture, clothes and baggages, it is believed that American travelers during the time have contributed to the current spread of the pests.

Several travelers might have traveled to one country and stayed in a hotel that was unknowingly infested with bed bugs. The bed bugs might have figured out ways to get inside the luggages and voila! They have traveled across borders!

When the unsuspecting traveler unpacked his or her baggage, that is the time the bed bugs might have come out and spread out.

Races

Bed bugs can come from different countries. It is somehow amusing that like humans, bed bugs also seem to have races.

American bugs are usually pale compared to counterparts in Africa, where bed bugs are usually colored deep brown.

Don’t apply racial discrimination though in tracing where bed bugs come from.

Vampires

There is a myth that bed bugs are undeveloped grandchildren of vampires. What a funny and amusing myth!

The notion might have come from the fact that bed bugs, like Dracula and all other vampire characters we know, suck blood for nourishment.

When they do that, their appearances are also somehow changed. Hence, newly fed bed bugs will appear dark-red or reddish in color. Some bed bugs appear like have black mass inside their stomach.

So, if the idea is just a stupid myth, where do bed bugs come from?

Where do bed bugs come from?

The question where do bed bugs come from is just like the question where do people come from. Questions on origins do solicit and prompt strong arguments between religion and science.

Science always have ways in determining and finding out where organisms come from. But in the bed bugs’ case, you know that the subject does not evoke a particular need for an answer.

There are much more better and more relevant subjects that deserve more attention than tracing down or determining where bed bugs come from.

One of those concerns, though still related to bed bugs, is how to get rid or control them. Bed bugs might come from Alaska, Antarctica or Samoa. Who will care where bed bugs are coming from, by the way?

The more important issue to consider is how to effectively curtail their spread. You know that use of pesticides and insecticides is one sure option, but you may wonder and think back how safe they are to you, your family and even your neighbors.

The next time you see another bed bug crawling in your bed, isn’t it more appropriate if you ask yourself, “How can I kill this one”, instead of “Where do bed bugs come from?”

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