Bed bugs are an issue that you and your Tulsa pest control company can handle together. These insects are blood feeders that victimize us in the middle of the night, when we are most vulnerable, in the dead of sleep. These insects come out from under your mattress in an attempt to feed upon your blood and your love ones. No one should have to live with bed bugs, or try to have to sleep while being attacked by insects. So in this article, let us take a good hard look at bed bugs, their life cycle and what you and your Tulsa pest control company can do to protect yourself from bed bugs.
BED BUG LIFECYCLE AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Bed bugs develop using an incomplete metamorphosis. This means that when the bed bug egg hatches, a nymph will emerge. A nymph is different from a larva, in the fact that it is the equivalent of a small version of the adult bed bug. Other insects will hatch as a larva, which is the worm form of the insect. This nymph will be a translucent color in about the size of the head of a pin. It won’t take on its typical orangish brown color until it has taken its first blood meal. As it grows, it will begin to outgrow the exoskeleton that it has. They will need to remove this exoskeleton through a process known as molting. This is much like how a snake sheds its skin.
Every time a bed bug needs to molt, it will need to first take a blood meal in order to have the energy to go through the process of molting. It will do this a total of five times before it becomes a full grown reproductive adult. Scientists label the development of the adolescent bed bug by the number of molts naming them as instars. After the first molt the insect is at its first instar, the second instar, third instar all the way up to the fifth. If you’re having an issue with bed bugs or any other problems it’s time to call your Tulsa pest-control company for help.
ADULT BED BUGS AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Once these insects get to adulthood, they will have to mate to reproduce themselves. Males and females will mate using a unique process, known as traumatic insemination. The female does not have an opening in her exoskeleton for sexual contact. Because of this, the male will have to break open the exoskeleton of the female to insert his reproduction material. There’s a black dot on the back of the female that gives him something to aim for. This is one way that you can tell the males from the females. Once this process happens, the female will be ready to lay her eggs.
Before the female can lay her eggs, she will also need to take a blood meal in order to have the energy to lay those eggs. When she does, she will find a safe place to do this. In most cases she’ll go to a mattress seam where she feels safe. Bed bugs tend to go to this area because they can feel the seam above them pushing pressure down on them and it makes them feel safe.
Females will lay her eggs which are usually a small whitish yellow in color and about the shape of a small grain of rice. When she lays eggs, she will leave these insects to fend for themselves and the process will begin again. When males and females mate, there are no issues with brothers and sisters, or parents and children mating to keep the insect line alive. Contact your Tulsa pest control company for help with bed bugs.
CONTROLLING BED BUGS AND TULSA PEST CONTROL,
There are three ways that most pest control companies use to control bed bugs. The first is using heat. If you get these insects over 120°F they will die. So what many companies do is to bring in a large scale heat treatment where they bring large heaters into your home and try to heat the entire house up over 120°. The problem is that it is difficult to get the inside of walls of the center of mattresses this hot. So sometimes these insects can survive through the heat treatments. The treatments are very expensive as well. Here at TermMax pest control, we use a localized steamer heat treatment in order to pinpoint areas of problems and kill off any eggs in the area.
The second method is a chemical treatment. While there are many chemical treatments that are effective, these are only available to you through a registered pest control technician. The over-the-counter solutions are ineffective because they use a family of pesticides that have been so overused against bed bugs, they have built up an immunity to it.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROLS
The third and final method that can be used against bed bugs is biological controls. This is where you use a natural predator of the bed bug to attack the bed bug. Here at TermMax pest control, we use a product known as Aprehend. This product contains the spores of a fungus that is a natural predator to the bed bug. The spores will get on the legs of the bed bug as they walk through it and then back to the harborage point where they pass them around to all the bed bugs there. Once the spores germinate, it will begin to feed on the bed bugs and kill them off. Contact your Tulsa pest-control company for help with bed bugs.
If you have an issue with bed bugs, or any other parasites, then it is time to contact your Tulsa pest control company, they can help. Here at TermMax pest control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with bed bugs, or any other insect. We service the greater Tulsa area, including Broken Arrow, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Prattville, Bixby, Jenks, Owasso, Turley, and so much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!