If you’re waking up with bites on your skin or itching, it may be a sign that you have a problem with bed bugs. These insects commonly hide in beds, couches, and nearby cracks and crevices and often feed while people are resting. Bites alone cannot confirm a bed bug infestation, because many other insects and skin conditions can cause similar reactions. While bed bugs are not known to transmit disease to people, infestations can cause itching, loss of sleep, anxiety, and other physical and psychological effects. Your Tulsa Pest Control company can help identify and address the problem.
Let’s take a look at these insects and how they move from place to place. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers. They are commonly transported in luggage, backpacks, clothing, furniture, and other belongings rather than living on people like fleas or lice. Schools, waiting rooms, hotels, apartments, public transportation, and other shared spaces can provide opportunities for a bed bug to be carried from one location to another, but simply being in one of these places does not mean bed bugs are present. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains how to look for bed bugs and recognize signs of an infestation.
People also react differently to bed bug bites. Some develop small itchy bumps, others may have larger reactions, and some people show little or no visible reaction at all. That means two people sleeping in the same infested room can appear to have very different experiences even when both are exposed. Because bites are not diagnostic, finding live bed bugs, shed skins, fecal spotting, eggs, or other physical evidence is important when confirming an infestation.
Getting rid of bed bugs often works best with an integrated approach. At TermMax Pest Control, our program can combine localized heat or steam treatment, an appropriately labeled residual insecticide, and Aprehend®, depending on the conditions at the property. Localized heat or steam can kill bed bugs and eggs that receive sufficient heat, but it should not be described as guaranteeing elimination of every bug or egg in untreated areas.
Residual insecticides can continue affecting bed bugs after an application, but the length of effective residual control depends on the specific product, surface, application, and label. It is not accurate to say every chemical treatment will kill bed bugs for 90 days. All pesticide applications must follow the product label.
Aprehend is a biopesticide containing spores of the naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. It is not a natural predator. Bed bugs that cross a treated area can pick up fungal spores and carry them back to harborages, where the fungus can infect other bed bugs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides guidance on pesticides and integrated approaches for bed bug control.
If you’re having an issue with bed bugs or another pest, it’s important to call a Tulsa Pest Control company that can inspect the property and develop an appropriate treatment plan. TermMax Pest Control regularly handles bed bug infestations and can help determine the right combination of methods for your situation. Give us a call today.
