Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with itchy skin or red blisters? Have you ever been disturbed in your sleep by small pricks at different parts of your body at night? Have you ever wondered where a particular allergic skin reaction has set in all of a sudden? You take medicines to treat yourself, but the problem recurs within a few days or weeks. In such a case, you may wonder what’s wrong.
Your house might be infested with bed bugs!
Bed bugs are insects, which are parasitic in nature as they feed on human blood. They prefer to stay and breed in cozy and warm places. That’s why they are mostly found near beds and thereby have derived their name. They are diurnal but work actively at night when their victims are in an immobile position. They are not known to transmit any diseases, but their bites can result in skin rashes, allergic reactions and, at times, may have a psychological effect on the victim.
Bed bug bites are often confused with bites from other insects such as mosquitoes. Typically, bed bug bites occur in clusters as the bed bug is easily disturbed whilst feeding. In contrast, bites from other insects typically occur as a single bite in each area. It is also a little-known fact that not everyone develops an itchy red welt upon being bitten by a bed bug. The itchy welt occurs due to the body’s immune response to the bed bug saliva. As such, some lucky individuals never experience itchiness from bed bug bites at all!
Given that the bed bug is a highly pernicious pest that is difficult to eliminate, it is very important that you get bed bug control done in your house before the problem aggravates. In particular, professionals typically discourage homeowners from taking too long to seek help, as the bed bug reproduces very quickly with some research studies indicating that each female bed bug being able to lay up to 5 eggs a day! Depending on the dimension of the infestation, you can decide how you intend to have the bed bugs control carried out. You may come across many do-it-yourself approaches toward bed bug control. Most of these approaches are limited to rigorous cleaning of the house and the beddings. Some also suggest the use of pesticides available in the market.
However, most of these measures fail to achieve the required outcome, as complete eradication of bed bugs is not an easy task. In the event one live bed bug or viable bed bug egg is left behind after your DIY purge, you will fail to achieve bed bug control. This is because the live bug or egg will quickly result in another round of bed bug population growth due to the insect’s rate of reproduction. You may achieve a temporary respite only to discover within a few days the recurrence of the same problem.
In recent years, bed bug detection dogs have been increasingly deployed by professional pest managers in the US and UK to hunt down bed bugs. By identifying whether live bugs are left post-treatment, the dog inspection can assist professional pest managers in ensuring that the bed bugs.
