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What is Bed Bug

Most of the people have heard of bed bugs, perhaps are not exactly sure what they are or just how serious a problem they can be.  Here you can find information about what is bed bug, their history, how they feed,  what deceases they can cause, how to get rid of them, bed bug treatment, cure and remedies with collection of images and videos within our site and also provide you a comprehensive list of resources on the internet.

Introduction

Bed bugsBed bugs or bedbugs are small parasitic insects solely feed and depend on animal blood.

bed bug

bed bug

Some type of bed bugs adapted and living along with human and others species feed and living with warm-blooded wild hosts such as bats, dogs, cats, birds and rodents.The scientific common term for bed bugs is Cimicidae. The most common species of bed bug to the human is Cimex lectularius.  The history of bed bugs living with human was written in medieval European texts and in classical Greek writing back in Aristotle time. Bed bugs usually bite people during the nighttime while they sleep. They feed by piercing the skin using an elongated beak through of which they withdraw blood.Even engorgement takes about 3 to 10 minutes, the person not often knows of the bite. They quickly crawl off and find a hiding place soon after they feed.  And they will wait hidden till digest their meal.  A bed bug bite is painless. It is their saliva that can cause irritation, swelling and redness. Bed bugs never live within human body as lice.  They can reside in virtually any crevice or protected place. They commonly hide within pillow cover, tufts, seams and crevices on the mattress, box spring, bed-frame and bed headboard. Bed Bugs  bites or cimicosis might cause numerous health effects including skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms. Proper treatment and precautions should take to eliminate get rid of this dangerous species.

Bed Bug History

The bed bug believed to be originated back from caves age in Mediterranean region. Initially they hosted on worm blood animals like bats and when humans started to occupy these caves, the species found human as a suitable blood source . And they started adapted to humans and living together with them.

bat bug

bat bug

The written history of bed bugs living with human was found back in Aristotle time in medieval European texts and in classical Greek writing. Most of the Europeans even nowadays grow up with a famous saying “Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite” .

Bed bugs were said to be “migrated” to USA in early 18th century with colonists. Colonial writings says how severe the bed bug problems is in English colonies and in Canada, but not in Red Indian villages. The notoriously infested old sailing ships, at one stage said to have taken all precautions to avoid bed bugs. At one stage they forbid passengers to carry beds on board. Bed bugs were common in the United States prior to World War II. By the early 20th century, almost all American have seen or bitten by a bed bug. And it was rated within top 3 pests to control. Studies shows some lower income cities virtually all effected by bedbugs in their life time.

Ancient Believes

Some ancient civilization believed that the bedbugs had medicinal value that can heal sickness. In ancient Egypt, potions were composed of the bedbug blood-suckers and given to the sick to drink. And the ancient Greeks and Romans use the burned bedbugs to get rid of leeches from their bodies.

Facts about bed bugs

Bedbugs are blood-sucking parasites living with worm blooded animals including man, bats, chickens, cat, dogs, birds
A bedbug attack is painless. It is actually its saliva cause itchiness, swelling and redness. They are sound sensitive and mostly feed at night or at a time when silence or environment is dark. They virtually can hide in any where or crawl and disappear into anything that is available within a little time span.  Their common hiding places can be bedclothes, pillow cover, mattresses, bed springs and bed-frames, soft furnishing, cracks and crevices and under wallpaper. Female lay eggs. The eggs are white in color, sticky and are laid in cracks or crevices. Its life span is vastly depend on environmental condition such as temperature, food availability, darkness and hideouts.

How to Identify a bedbug

Matured bedbugs are approximately 4mm long, 1.5 to 3 mm in width and can take upto 2-3 times the size after feed. They are rusty reddish brown to mahogany in color. Flattened oval shaped, wingless insects with 6 legs and 2 well developed antennae and small compounded eyes. After a feed, they get longer, more reddish and blown belly. An easier identification of bedbug is they do leave signs that they are present, such as dried blood spots, egg-shells or cast skins. And another very easy indication is they produce a bad smell when they being killed

Feeding Habits

Bedbugs are obligatory hematological blood-sucking insects completely feed on animal bloods. Bed bugs enticed to their hosts by carbon dioxide(CO2) which is produced during respiration and also by hosts body heat. They are also attracted to certain chemicals

Bed Bug Comeback

During the past ten years, bed bugs have began generating a comeback over the USA, even though they don’t deemed to be a serious infestation. The common usage of baits instead of insecticide sprays for ant and cockroach control is an elementary factor that is implicated to their return.

Life Cycle

Bedbug eggs are laid on rough surfaces or in crack and crevices. They are coated with a sticky substance so that they adhere and stay to at the surface. Eggs hatch in 6 to 17 days, and nymphs have the ability to immediately find a host and begin to feed. They require a blood meal in order to molt. And through five molts they get maturity. Egg to adult development time is rely on many environmental factors. When temperature at 86° F it takes about 21 days  and at 65° F it take up to 120 days. The nymphal period is highly prolonged when food is rare. Nymphs and adults can many months without food. The adult’s lifespan may encompass 12-18 months. A lady bedbug can produce three or more generation each year.

Control Measures

The key step to take proper control measure is to correctly diagnose what kind of pest you have, as this will determine which management control tactics to take account. For example, if the blood-feeder is a bat bug rather than human bed bug, a different management approach is needed.

bed bug and a bat bug

bed bug and a bat bug

All members of Cimicidae family are small, oval-shaped, and extremely flattened before recent feed. After feeding, their body gets plump and dark-reddish colored from the blood meal. All have small, stubby, non-functional wing pads. They also have piercing-sucking mouthparts that appear beak-like.

Identifying the different between bedbugs can be difficult, as they are nocturnal and small in size. However, the marks created by the existence of bed bug infestation may produce great evidence. People sometimes roll onto a bedbug while they feeding or digesting, resulting bloodstains upon the bed. Live bedbugs leave clusters of dark brown or black spots of dried excrement on infested surfaces. Bedbugs also exude a subtle, sweet, musty odor.

Bat bugs and bed bugs are hardly indistinguishable to naked eye, even to an entomologist. A Microscopic examination is needed to tell them apart. A distinguishing feature of them is that the fringe hairs on the pronotum (the upper covering of the thorax) of the bat bug are as long or longer than the width of the eye, but are shorter in the bed bug.

Control Measures for Bed Bugs

It is vitally important that bed bugs are removed effectively and taken necessary preventative measures to stop re-infestation. Just spraying cleaners to some part of your room will only be a temporarily stop. With the reproductive ability, even leaving one female bed bug can refresh up the same problem in few months. Spray cleaners need to spray every where possibly bed bug lives including the bed mattress, head board, pillow cases, bed sheets, carpet, foot board, and anywhere else where the bed bugs may be residing.

An effective and hazel free way of getting rid of bedbugs is to use modern instruments which uses ultra sonic technology with natural acoustic vibration. This is fairly a new technology which create an ultra sonic wave through a vibration to kill bed bugs and eggs.

Control Measures of Bat Bugs

Bats are non-game wildlife and thus lawfully are not allowed to kill. Integrated Pest Management – Control of bat bugs can be complex because they relies on the control of both bugs and their hosts. If bats are not allowed to eliminate, bugs are likely to reappear and can not able to complete control of it. Simply spraying to kill only bat bugs may provide a temporary solution. Weatherproofing the home can prevent roosting by bats hence prevent the occurrence of bat bugs within a house. Bats are commonly entering a building at the roof-wall joint, under wobbly fascia boards, broken attic vents, and other cracks from building deterioration. Bats and other hosts should be removed and excluded from the home  for a more permanent removal of bat bugs.

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