Where do bed bugs come from?
Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers that can find a “ride” into even the most well-kept homes and cleanest buildings. They can enter via the things we carry, such as purses, backpacks, luggage, or things we move into our homes, such as used furnishings, clothes, or other fabric or soft materials. You won’t suddenly just have bed bugs — they will always have made their way inside on something you brought in.
How can I keep from bringing bed bugs inside?
Vigilance is the key to staying free of these biting pests, and the key is to pay closer attention to what you carry into your house:
- Take the time to do a thorough inspection of any used items made of or containing fabric, including second-hand furniture (especially mattresses), pet bedding, pillows, rugs, linens, and apparel.
- Inspect suitcases before bringing them inside.
- Prior to storing luggage, give it a thorough going-over with a vacuum.
If you travel, you should take several extra steps during and after your trip, including:
- Closely inspect your hotel room’s mattress and box springs for spots that look like bits of pepper.
- Inspect any upholstered chairs and sofas, and check the inside drawers.
- Store your luggage in plastic garbage bags while it’s in the hotel.
- Keep luggage off of upholstered surfaces. It’s better to keep it on a tile floor or even in the shower.
- Notify management if you see signs of bed bugs and ask for a different room that is not adjacent to the one you’re in.
It’s important to remember that it is possible to get bed bugs even if you haven’t recently traveled, so vigilance and thorough inspections are essential to prevent an infestation.
Where should I look for bed bugs in my home?
There’s a long list of places where bed bugs like to make their homes.
According to the Arizona Department of Agriculture’s web page on bed bugs, hiding places include:
- Walls – in or behind items hung on the walls, in cracks in plaster, in mounted lighting fixtures, and even behind loose wallcoverings.
- Flooring – under baseboards and carpets, and in cracks.
- Beds – in the seams and folds in mattresses, in box springs, in bed linens and covers, in bed frame seams, and behind headboards.
- Furniture – under cushions, in cushion covers, inside upholstery, under furniture legs, and in the seams of furniture.
- Spaces inside walls – behind light switches, electrical outlets, phone and cable jacks, service panels, and more.
- Clothing – in drawers, hampers, closets and laundry areas.
Bed bugs can also be in any other spot that provides an undisturbed, dark hiding place, such as computers, TVs and stereos, and inside or beneath phones, lamps, clocks, and radios. Note that bed bugs are much more active at night, which is when they come out to seek sources of blood to feed upon. Use a flashlight after dark to check near the hiding places listed above.
How do I tell if we have bed bugs?
Red, itchy bites are certainly one important clue, but other pests can cause those as well. More reliable indicators of a bed bug problem are seeing the bugs themselves. Look for adults that are reddish-brown, with no wings and approximately the size of an apple seed. You can also see immature bed bugs with the naked eye; they will look like the adults, but be smaller and more of a whitish-yellow color. You probably won’t be able to spot newly hatched nymphs or eggs, however.
Bed bugs also leave their molted skins behind as they grow through their life stages. These skins will look like the bugs themselves, but be empty. A sizeable pile of skins is often evidence of a significant infestation. Lastly, like most pests, bed bugs will leave fecal material in their wake. You’re most likely to find this along mattress seams and the top of baseboards, at electrical outlets, curtain seams, and other spots that provide narrow hiding places.
Because bed bugs go through so many life stages, it’s difficult for any DIY methods to eradicate every individual. This is one reason it’s so important to have professional pest control providers conduct an inspection and develop a customized plan for your needs.
Does seeing one bed bug mean I have an infestation?
Not necessarily, but without a thorough inspection of your home, you won’t know for certain. Taking into consideration that a bed bug can lay up to a dozen eggs in just one day, it’s important to quickly take action if you’ve seen even one of these biting insects. At Green Home Pest Control, our trained technicians know where bed bugs hide and how to identify them at every stage of their lifecycle. Call us at the first sign of bed bugs for a free quote on our expert bed bug treatments.
How can you help me get rid of bed bugs?
Our bed bug treatment options include traditional treatments using specialized products and heat treatments that eliminate the entire bed bug population. Heat treatment benefits are unique in that they exterminate adult and immature bed bugs, as well as eggs, none of which can survive when exposed to high temperatures for an extended period of time.
Whichever method is right for solving your bed bug problem, you can rest assured that our treatments are designed to be as eco-friendly as possible, with minimized effects on you, your family and your pets. We also offer an important preventative measure: Specialty mattresses at discounted prices that can help prevent future infestations.
Do you provide bed bug treatment service throughout Phoenix?
We do, and we guarantee that our bed bug control services will work. Our bed bug treatment service includes scheduled return visits to make sure your problem is solved. If needed, we will be happy to repeat bed bug treatments at no cost to you to get rid of these pests for good.
Whether your home is in Scottsdale, Tempe, Surprise, Mesa, Gilbert, Glendale, Chandler, or elsewhere in the Phoenix Metro region, we can take care of your bed bug problem. Please give us a call at 480-696-5007 to confirm that you are in our service area and to schedule an appointment for a free estimate.
Complete the form below to request your no obligation estimate.
