Bed Bug Removal

What Are Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs are insects that live off of the blood of animals & humans. They live in small tight areas like cracks and crevices and are well-known for taking up residence in beds, hence the name. Bed bugs are small, about the size of an Appleseed, which can make them difficult to see until you are specifically looking for them.

Also known as Cimex lectularius, common bed bugs have been around for centuries, but have become a household name since the early 2000s.  Before that they were relatively rare in developed countries. As travel has grown, so have the numbers of bed bug infestations.

The Bedbug Life Cycle

Bedbugs reproduce by “traumatic insemination” which is the process of the mail wounding the female’s abdomen and planting his sperm in the wound. Females can lay up to 200 eggs in their lifetime.

There are five juvenile or “nymph” stages before becoming an adult bedbug. The entire lifespan can be up to a year or more.

Bed bug Myths

While a good portion of bed bug information is true, but there are also a lot of myths surrounding these pests.

1. You can’t see bed bugs. – False. You can actually see bed bugs with the naked eye.
2. Bed bugs can jump and fly. – False. Bed bugs can not jump or fly. They do not have wings to allow them to fly and their legs are not built in a way to allow them to jump much.
3. Bed bugs can live up to a year without food. – False. They can go up to 2-3 months without food, but an entire year is not likely.
4. They only bite at night. – False. Nighttime is their most active time, but bed bugs will adapt and feed at any time.
5. They prefer dirty or unsanitary conditions. – False. Bed bugs do not discriminate.  They will live anywhere, preferring cracks and crevices in furniture, clothes, or other fabrics. Clutter makes them more difficult to spot, but bed bugs tend to be more active in highly populated areas.