How Bed Bugs Thrive: Where and Why?
So a few bed bugs have hitched a ride all the way to your home and decided to take up residence. To conquer your bed bug infestation, it is helpful to first understand where to find bed bugs and what bed bugs look like.
Bed bugs feed only on the blood of humans and animals. To survive they need to live close to a host. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says bed bugs can travel over 100 feet in a night but tend to live within 8 feet of where people sleep. This means bed bugs can live on furniture, in the carpet or any crack or crevice in the home. If you think you have bed bugs, rest assured, Triangle Pest Control proudly offers premier bed bug control in Cary, NC.
Life Cycle
The female bed bug can lay up to five eggs a day and 500 eggs in her lifetime. These eggs are small, white and often laid in clusters of 50. The eggs hatch in about two weeks.
From there the eggs hatch and enter the nymph phase. These bed bugs look like a smaller version of the adults. This stage can last about three weeks. During the nymph stage, the bed bug will shed its skin about five times. With large infestations, you will find the cast skin along crevices of furniture or the baseboard of a room. This is another tell-tale sign of a bed bug infestation. Adult bed bugs live roughly 10 months. Yet, in normal room temperatures and with the right environment, bed bugs can live up to 300 days. Adult bed bugs are roughly the size of an apple seed. If it hasn't eaten, the bed bug is flat and oval shaped. Once it feeds, the bed bug swells in size and is redder in color.
Night Life
Bed bugs are mainly active at night as this is when they feed. If you think about it, this makes sense. Bed bugs feed on a warm-blooded host. So the best time to go undetected is when you are sleeping. In cases of a large infestation, bed bugs can become active during the day.
Where to Find Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are going to stay in areas around their host. If you suspect you have a bed bug infestation, the best place to look first is the bedroom. Bed bugs have flat bodies; this makes it easy for them to hide in seams of a mattress or upholstered furniture. They will live along the baseboard of a room, in the seams of a couch, in the folds of your curtains. Bed bugs will find a nice dark home anywhere near humans.
Learn more about bed bugs in North Carolina homes!
What Now?
If you are pretty sure you have a bed bug problem, contact the bed bug professionals. All of the experts agree that the only way to eliminate the bed bugs from your home is with a licensed pest control professional.
Is your home ripe for a bed bug infestation? Do you think you already have bed bugs? You need a plan to get rid of them. We are here to help!
