All three of these nasty creatures are of the same family. In homes and businesses, bed bugs are the most common. You may have bat or bird bugs if a bat or bird has been in your home. In any case, you will need an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to successfully eliminate them from your home. Encasement, vacuuming and the use of safe pesticides, along with follow-up treatments, will solve the problem in most cases.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are small, oval, reddish-brown insects that live on the blood of animals or humans. According to WebMD, “Adult bed bugs have flat bodies roughly the size of an apple seed, about 3/16” long. After feeding, however, their bodies swell and are a reddish color.” Bed bugs do not fly, but are proficient hitchhikers, jumping from item to item, making them very difficult to avoid. Infestations of bedbugs have increased in recent decades due to the increase in worldwide travel and the use of less toxic pesticides. Female bedbugs can lay hundreds of eggs in a lifetime. Eggs take about a week to hatch, making it necessary to use multiple pest control treatments to address all young bugs. They are resilient and like to become active at night. Bedbugs can be found in any public place, and many infestations have been found in hotels, dormitories, senior living facilities, and schools.
Bed Bug Bites
Bed bug bites cause painful, itchy, raised red welts in some people. Others may barely notice the bites. This may cause a delay in identifying the presence of bed bugs, making it more difficult to eradicate them. Typically, bed bugs like to live close to their food source, which is human flesh. If you suspect the presence of bed bugs, check into the edging of mattresses and bed coverings, in the folds of drapes, in luggage, in carpets, or other areas close to where humans are at night.
