As people, we need so many different things. Food, water and shelter are all necessary for survival. But one of the most underrated things that we need to thrive is sleep. Sleep is so necessary for a healthy lifestyle that you can literally die without it. One of the pests that will attack us and rob us of sleep are bed bugs. These pests attack us at our most vulnerable times, late in the night when we’re sleeping. But this pest can be dealt with. In this article will explore bedbugs, their lifecycle and how to deal with these pests.
BED BUG HISTORY
The history of bed bugs goes back as far as our history. Archaeologist have uncovered cave paintings with depictions of bed bugs in peoples beds and feeding on them as they sleep. The Romans wrote about bed bugs. During the dark ages, we even had spell books with love potions that used bed bugs as a component. Over the years, these insects have continued to feed on us until about the 1940s. At this time, a new chemical came on the scene. This was DDT. The pesticide was extensively used, as people would saturate their homes and businesses with the chemical. They even drench their beds and sheets in order to get rid of bed bugs. And it was quite effective. The bed bug almost went extinct during this period.
But then scientists found out an unfortunate problem with DDT. DDT was carcinogenic. Because it caused cancer, governments banded all use of it. DDT is no longer on the market for pesticidal use. If you have any leftover DDT or find any leftover DDT, contact your local department of agriculture in order to find out the best way to dispose of it. But even though we almost completely eliminated this pest, it started to come back almost immediately. Every year bed bugs become a more difficult pest to control in bed with us. A reputable Broken Arrow exterminator can help you.
BED BUG LIFESTYLE
Bed bugs develop using an incomplete metamorphosis. The female will let eggs, often close to a feeding site. This means you will often find eggs and the adults in the seams of your mattress, your pillows and in your couches. These eggs will be shaped much like a small grain of rice and be a yellowish white in color. They will hatch and a nymph will emerge. A nymph is a tinier version of the adult insect. Right after it emerges from its egg, it will go to feed. Call your Broken Arrow pest control company for help.
Bed bugs are blood feeders. They prefer to only feed on humans. They can feed on other animals in order to sustain themselves if they can’t find a suitable human meal. So the bed bug will initially feed and then start to grow. Eventually, it will outgrow its exoskeleton and need to molt much like a snake does. It will lose its exoskeleton like a snake loses its skin. Before molting, it takes a lot of energy for the insect to do this. Therefore it must feed before it molts. Once it does this, it begins the process of growth again. The bed bug will molt five times before it grows to its full adult size.
IDENTIFYING BED BUGS
I don’t bedbugs are about the size and shape of an apple seed they will hide in those mattress seams waiting for someone to come and lay down and go to sleep. They can sense the carbon dioxide that is released from our bodies, and then they will come and find you and bite. Because of this, many people try to leave the bedroom that has been infected and sleep somewhere else. This is not advisable because the bed bugs will follow you. They can sense your carbon dioxide to move to a different room. Your Tulsa exterminator can help.
The good news about bed bugs is that they don’t spread any diseases that we know of. Their siphoning mouth parts are much like a syringe. They stab these mouth parts into your skin and draw blood out. As they pull the syringe from your skin they will continue to draw blood, causing a small red dot on your mattress or sheets. Because they do this, there’s never a back flow from the insect into the body. This creates a barrier that makes any disease stay inside the bed bug instead of going to the house. Once the bed bug feeds, it will need to defecate. This will leave a small black spot. Often if you’re looking to see if you have bedbugs, you’ll see small red and black dots wherever they have been staying. This is where they feed and they leave their droppings.
BITES
Often when these insects bite they will do so multiple times in a line. They will get on your skin and take a bite, then move a little further forward and bite again, and then move a little further and bite one last time. Because of this, often people will find bites in lines on their arms. These insects do not just bite on your arms, they’ll bite any area skin they can find. Bedbugs bites can look different on different people. Some people have large allergic reactions to these bites, and some people don’t react to them at all. It’s often that I find a husband and wife where one is being bitten often and the other one is not. In these cases, usually the person who’s not is actually getting bitten as well but they aren’t responding to it and don’t itch.
If you’re having an issue with bedbugs or any of the pests that it’s time to call in a professional Tulsa pest control company. TermMax pest control is the best in the business when it comes to dealing with bed bugs or any other pests that you might be dealing with. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Turley, Prattville, Sand Springs, Bixby, Jenks, Sapulpa, Broken Arrow, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!
