The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a small, nocturnal insect – feeding on blood and causing itchy bites on humans. The pests are reddish or brown in color, with a flat, oval shape body and an adult may grow to be the size of 4-7mm (about the size of Abraham Lincoln’s head on a penny). Young bed bugs are smaller and lighter in color. Bed bugs are primarily active at night and will feed on humans when they are sleeping. Adult bed bug after feeding. Bed bugs can come from a variety of locations. Most commonly, they are transported to people’s homes via clothing and/or luggage from hotels, motels and resorts, as well as many other high traffic sources including movie theaters, apartments, dormitories, parks and cabins. Bed bugs are very successful hitchhikers, moving from an infested site to bedding, baggage, boxes, and clothing with ease. Although they typically feed on blood every five to ten days, bed bugs are very resilient and are capable of surviving over a year without feeding.
Bites from bed bugs can be painless, but may become itchy later and can look like small reddish welts. They do not have nests, but tend to live in hiding places that provide them easier access to people that they can feed from. Common hiding places in the home can be in mattresses, box springs, headboards, nightstands, baseboards and even in cracks in walls. Baby bed bug feeding on a human. While bed bugs are visible to the naked eye, they generally only appear in dark conditions. You may have been bitten by bed bugs if you wake up with itchy areas on your skin that you didn't have before falling asleep. You can spot a possible bed bug infestation by looking for the following indicators: Bed bugs on a mattress. Although they are a nuisance, bed bugs have not been found to transmit any human diseases. Consider encasing both the mattress and box spring in a protective cover like those used for allergy relief to eliminate access to your mattress by bed bugs.
Mattress encasements will seal the mattress and box spring, keeping bugs in the mattress trapped (where they will eventually die) while also keeping new bugs out. While an encasement will not keep bed bugs from crawling onto a bed and biting a sleeping person, it will be easier to spot and destroy any bugs residing on the outer surface during examination. Without an encasement, once a mattress becomes infested, you should consider replacing it since treating your bed and pillows with pesticides can be harmful. Encasements for both mattresses and pillows specifically designed to help protect against bed bugs are available for purchase at any Sleep Train location. New mattresses are placed in a tightly sealed mattress bag immediately after being manufactured, creating an inhospitable environment for any living organism. New mattresses are not removed from this bag until they have reached the customer's home. Here are a few simple precautions that can help prevent bed bug infestation in your home:
Consult a professional pest control company. For more information on bed bugs please consult the following Websites.Bed bugs like to live in protected, small locations where they can aggregate together and not be readily noticed. Bed bugs are typically found hiding in cracks and crevices in bedrooms, and mattress covers are no exception. Infested mattresses, comforters, cushioned furniture and mattress covers may show bed bug fecal smears, which are the dried excrement of bed bugs. Maturing bed bug nymphs molt or shed their skins during their development; these skins can sometimes be found in or around infested materials. In addition, bed bugs themselves are often visible if the source is examined closely enough. The seams of mattresses and mattress covers, especially on the underside, make great bed bug hiding places. In addition, mattresses, mattress covers and other parts of the bed are very close to where people spend much of their time, so feeding bed bugs do not need to expend very much energy to find a suitable blood meal and their host location stimuli such as body heat and carbon dioxide are relatively easy to focus on.
Bed Bugs Crawling on Over-the-counter sprays prove largely ineffective in treating bed bug infestations. Vacuuming and laundering at high temperatures provides short-term relief, but if there are bed bugs on a mattress cover, it is likely that bed bugs and their eggs are also present within the mattress, sheets and elsewhere within a home. If you suspect a bed bug infestation, contact your local pest control management professional for an evaluation. How to identify Bed Bugs? Learn what Bed Bugs look like, and how to detect if you have a Bed Bug Infestation. How do you get Bed Bugs? Find out how Bed Bugs infiltrate your home and where they are attracted to. How serious are Bed Bugs? Learn about Bed Bug bites. their feces and how they can impact your health. Learn how Orkin handles Bed Bugs, homeopathic cures and the cost of Bed Bug extermination services. Bed Bugs in Comforters Bed Bugs in Offices Bed Bugs in Pillows Bed Bug Organic Cures Natural Homeopathic
Vinyl Fitted Mattress Cover Heavy Gauge Vinyl Mattress Cover With Zipper, Heavy Gauge Vinyl Pillow Protector With Zipper Vinyl Mattress CoversVinyl mattress covers and protectors are crucial for keeping bugs out of your mattress and protecting yourself from bed bugs. Our vinyl pillow protectors with zippers are equally strong at keeping out unwanted bugs from one’s pillow. If you’re serious about bed bug protection, then definitely make sure to use vinyl mattress covers, as well as fitted vinyl mattress covers in keeping bed bugs out of your bed.A common problem among young children Not a serious condition Can be successfully treated Passed by close contact with someone who has lice or by using their brushes, combs or hats. Head lice are tiny grayish white insects. They cannot fly or jump, but can crawl. Sometimes lice are difficult to find in a child’s hair. The lice eggs (nits) are much easier to see. They are about the size of a pinhead, shaped like a teardrop and vary in color.
Nits are tightly attached to a single hair shaft and cannot be washed or brushed out. They are commonly found in the hair at the back of the neck or behind the ears. Medicated shampoos--check with doctor, pharmacist or school nurse for more information. Most products are available over the counter and are easy to find. Combs specially designed to help with nit removal are helpful. Wash your child’s hair with the chosen medicated solution. Follow the instructions carefully. Some types are applied to dry hair. A second treatment is needed in 7-10 days. DO NOT use these solutions more often than recommended because they can be harmful to your child’s health. Also, these solutions WILL NOT prevent lice. They should not be used on a regular basis, only when live, crawling bugs are found. You will need to comb the nits (eggs) from your child’s hair with a lice comb. This requires a good light source such as a lamp or sunny window. Spread the hair in a fanning motion to observe the entire length of the hair.
Nits may also be removed by running your finger and thumb down the hair shaft. This may be necessary because the nit combs may not remove all the nits. Removing nits requires lots of patience. If you need help in identifying nits, consult your school nurse. All family members and household contacts of your child should be checked for lice. This is very important. People of any age can get lice, including adults and babies. Everyone over 2 years old with live bugs must also be treated with the medicated solution on the same day. Frequent checking by parents is recommended. If your child has lice, check the child daily for 2 weeks. Comb out any remaining nits that are seen. All washable clothing and bed linens that have been worn or used in the past 24 hours should be washed in hot water and dried in a dryer at high heat for 20 minutes. Things that cannot be washed and dried may be dry cleaned or simply left in a plastic bag for 10 days. This works for toys and stuffed animals.
Combs and brushes can be cleaned by soaking them in the medicated solution or by putting them in hot water. CAUTION: Heat may damage some combs and brushes. Sprays are NOT recommended and can be harmful to your family. Head lice do not want to leave the head & it would be very rare for a louse to be on a piece of furniture or in the carpet. Focus your efforts on the head. Do not waste time, effort and money on exhaustive cleaning or sprays. Simple vacuuming of areas that may have been in direct contact with the head such as car head rests, sofas & chairs or child car seats is all that is necessary. Households where your child may have spent the night or extended periods of time (like a babysitter’s house) should be notified to check heads. Only those found to have active infestations should be treated. Please call your child’s school to inform us if you find head lice. It will help us to monitor for lice school-wide. Your child should return to school the next school day, after treatment and combing.
The school nurse or another staff member trained in the procedure will check your child’s head to make sure there are no live bugs and progress has been made on combing. An adult must accompany the child to school to meet with the nurse or staff member on the return to school. The process of nit removal may take a few days. Continue combing daily and remove any nits found. Bed Bugs [Español] [Somaali] [Chinese] [Russian] [Italiano] [Korean] Treatment by a licensed and experienced pest control company is highly recommended. Bed bugs are insects about ¼ inch in size. They crawl but do not jump or fly. Adult bed bugs are rusty colored but change to red after a blood meal. Eggs are tiny and colorless. Bed bugs have thin bodies that make it hard to see them. They hide in narrow cracks and crevices so inspections and treatments must be very thorough. Bed bugs are extremely hard and can survive a year without a blood meal. Bed bugs are commonly found in hotels, motels, dormitories, shelters and apartment buildings.
Bed bugs do not mean poor hygiene or housekeeping, but a cluttered home can make it much harder to get rid of bed bugs. Bed bugs hide during the day in cracks and crevices of bedding, mattress seams, and wood bed frames. With severe infestations they can hide in baseboards, picture frames, dressers, window and door frames, carpeting, drapes, and floor boards. In extreme cases bed bugs have been found in the corners of the ceilings. Bed bugs are fast moving and usually come out only at night to feed. If seen in daylight it may mean heavy infestation. Signs of bed bugs include dark spots on mattress edges or rusty/reddish spots of blood on the bedsheets. The bites are painless and usually occur when the person is asleep. The bites can cause inflamed and irritated skin, although people differ in their sensitivity. Unlike fleabites that mainly occur around the ankles, bed bugs bite skin that is exposed during sleep, like the face, neck, arms, shoulders, and hands.
Rows of three or so welts on exposed skin can be a sign of bed bugs. A small, hard, white welt may develop at the site of each bite along with severe itching that can last several hours to days. Bed bug welts do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites. Suspect bed bugs if a person wakes up with itchy welts that were not present when they went to sleep. Someone having bites on their skin does not automatically mean that bed bugs are the cause. The bites can be mosquito or flea bites. Be careful when obtaining use furniture. Inspect any furniture before it is brought into your home. Check belongs after visits with family members or friends who may have bed bugs and if needed bag items in sealed plastic bags until they can be laundered or treated in hot dryer. To find and identify the bed bugs may require the help of a professional pest control company. Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, and the small amount of blood lost due to bed bug feeding usually does not cause problems for the person who is bitten.
Scratching of welts can cause skin infections. It is best to consult with a physician before treating any rash or skin irritation. Antihistamines, corticosteroids, &/or antibiotic ointment may be prescribed to decrease allergic reactions or infections. It is very hard to get rid of a bed bug infestation, and use of a licensed and experienced pest control company is highly recommended. Vacuum mattresses, box springs, and carpets. It may be necessary to throw out infested items, like beds, chairs, and couches if repeated treatments are not successful. Also linens such as sheets and pillows may need to be thrown away. Throw vacuum contents away in sealed plastic bag. Cover mattresses and box springs with zippered mattress covers. Some people spray bed bugs with alcohol, using a small plastic bottle with 91% rubbing alcohol, undiluted. However, alcohol is flammable, and alcohol is not approved as a pesticide by the EPA. Alcohol does not kill eggs and may cause problems for people with asthma.