In today’s day and age many people are finding themselves a victim of bedbug infestations. These insects are infesting new homes at an all-time high. Once they find away into your home, they can get into your bed and bite you as you sleep. No one should have to live with these kinds of insects in their homes. In this article, we’re going to explore what bedbugs are, their lifecycle, and how to deal with these insects and get them out of your house.
BEDBUG HISTORY
Bedbugs have been plaguing the human race for as long as we can remember. Wall paintings from caveman have been found with images of bedbugs on them. The Sumerians wrote about them, the Romans use them in their potions, and Europeans had all sorts of home remedies to eliminate them. Scientist suspect that these insects are actually related to the bat bug. Bat bugs look almost exactly the same as these insects and can only be told I told apart by a licensed entomologist. Bat bugs feed on the blood of bats. It is suspected that while we lived in caves, some of these bat bugs crawled down the walls and started feeding upon people in their sleep. Hence the bedbug was born.
In the early 20 century, a new solution came on the scene. DDT was a new pesticide that was found to be excellent against all sorts of different kinds of bugs. Bedbugs were no exception. People would douse their mattresses and sheets in DDT in an effort to get rid of these bedbugs. And they were extremely successful at it. The bedbug population dropped significantly, and these insects almost went extinct. It was found, though, that this pesticide caused cancer. Because of this DDT was discontinued. Without this miracle pesticide, bedbug populations start to swell again and now every year we have more and more infestations of bedbugs.
BEDBUG LIFECYCLE
Bedbugs complete an incomplete metamorphosis. This means that they start as an egg, and then, when it hatches, a nymph will emerge. Nymphs are smaller versions of the adult bedbug. As the nymph grows, it will outgrow its exoskeleton. Exoskeleton‘s are made out of a material known as chitin which is much like finger nails or hair. It will stretch to a certain point but at a certain point it will stop stretching. So as the inside grows it can outgrow the exoskeleton. When it does this it must molt, a process by which it removes the exoskeleton and replaces it with a new one. A nymph will go through five molts before it becomes an adult. Once it becomes an adult, it is now reproductively active. The insects will mate, and a female lays her eggs, beginning the process again. Contact your Broken Arrow pest control company for more information.
Bedbugs are blood feeders. In order to move through the different stages of their lifecycle, they must have a large amount of energy. They get this energy from feeding upon our blood. While bedbugs can feed upon the blood of other animals such as cats and dogs or other pets in your home, they much prefer human blood and get the most energy out of it. While these insects do need to feed on us, they are capable of staying alive for as much as a year without a blood meal. Without a food supply, these insects cannot move very much nor can it go through their life cycle, but they still can survive, waiting for someone to come near enough that I can feed upon them. Every time an insect molts, it must first have a blood meal. Every time a female wants to lay eggs, it must first take a blood meal. Because of this, if you have an infestation in your home it’s common for you to have many bites and have them occur often.
IDENTIFYING BEDBUGS
Bedbugs are not specifically a social insect, but they are often found often in large numbers all together. They will hide in beds, mattresses, pillows and couch cushions waiting for someone to come by and sleep or sit down giving them the opportunity to feed upon them. If you suspect that you have bedbugs, a good place to start inspecting is on your mattress. You can find them hiding between the seams on the edges of the mattress often at the head of the bed. These small bugs are about the size and shape of an apple seed and are usually brown-ish red in color. You can often see the small yellow eggs in the same spots. When an infestation gets very large, overpopulation can occur. When this happens, often the females, in an attempt to get away from the males, will start to crawl the walls and get to the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling. If you’re seeing insects this high in your bedroom, it’s likely that you have a very large problem and it’s time to call your Tulsa pest control company.
HOW TO GET RID OF THEM
Dealing with bedbugs is best done by your Broken Arrow exterminator. There are over-the-counter pesticides that you can buy from hardware stores that are labeled for bedbugs. These are almost home always pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are a natural occurring pesticide found in chrysanthemum plants. They were used extensively in the 90s against bedbugs and were very effective. But bedbugs are also very good at building up immunity to pesticides. Today most bedbugs are immune to pyrethrins. This means that the pesticides that you can buy over-the-counter for bedbugs are pretty much obsolete.
If you’re having an issue with bedbugs it’s time to call the best term Tulsa exterminator. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with all sorts of pests including bedbugs. We service the greater Tulsa area including Jenks, Broken Arrow, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Prattville, Owasso, Turley and much more. Call us today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!