Anyone who has dealt with bed bugs in their home knows the nuisance and frustration they can cause. Unfortunately, bed bugs have an effective ability to steadily spread from one location to another and cause infestations along the way. In this article, we’ll discuss the main ways that bed bugs spread and cover plenty of other useful bed bug-related insights and tips.
Main Ways Bed Bugs Spread
Understanding the ways in which bed bugs spread will only help you in preventing a bed bug infestation in your home. The sections below detail the most common methods by which bed bugs expand in number and spread.
Reproduction
The first factor in the spread of bed bugs is their reproductive process. The average female bed bug is capable of laying up to 250 eggs in their lifetime. Those eggs arrive in a consistent stream, week over week, and take less than two weeks to hatch.
Since each female is capable of producing plenty of offspring in a relatively short amount of time, it is no surprise that once bed bugs arrive in your home, their numbers are destined to grow.
To make matters worse, the offspring of the first bedbugs to enter your home will take just a few months to become mature enough to produce offspring of their own. As such, if you don’t catch a bed bug infestation early, it will quickly multiply in size and become a significant problem.
Crawling On Foot
The anatomy of a bud bug does not feature any part that allows this insect to take flight and cover distance quickly. Instead, bed bugs must crawl everywhere they wish to go.
Since this is the case, bed bugs cannot move very quickly compared to other insects. Despite that, bed bugs remain capable of steadily spreading through a building while also increasing their numbers via reproduction.
Travel and Transportation
In the previous section, we mentioned that bed bugs are not able to travel quickly by themselves. However, they have managed to find ways to travel over large distances despite the fact that they must crawl everywhere they go.
While bed bugs do not attach themselves to humans directly, they are known to hang on to clothing and the items that people carry. When bed bugs find their way into luggage or shipping goods, they are able to infest geographic areas that may not be even remotely close to one another.
Are Bed Bugs Harmful?
Learning about the ways that bed bugs spread is interesting. However, if you have not had these pests in your home before, you may be wondering whether or not they are truly something that you need to worry about and prevent.
Although bed bugs don’t necessarily cause pain or spread disease to humans, they are capable of causing both physical and mental stress. These stressors alone are enough to encourage many to seek immediate resolution for their infestation problem.
As their name implies, bed bugs often choose to reside in or near your bedding. Bed bugs also feed on blood, which will cause them to continually bite you throughout any time you are in your bed.
These bites can cause irritation, infections, and allergic reactions in some people. Additionally, the mental toll of having a blood-sucking insect take over the once-peaceful domain of your bedroom can be equally detrimental to those who experience a bed bug infestation.
Signs of Bed Bugs in Your Home
Now that you know the ways that bed bugs spread and some of the top reasons why you certainly do not want them in your home, it is time to learn some of the signs that these insects are present. Below are some of the most common indicators of bed bugs:
- Bed bug bite marks on your skin
- Small blood stains on your sheets
- Tiny dark dots on your sheets (bed bug excrement)
- Molted bed bug skins
- Live bed bugs
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Just above, we mentioned that one of the most reliable signs that bed bugs are present is the sight of the live bed bugs themselves. However, to notice the direct presence of bed bugs, you need to start by learning what they look like in the first place.
Most bed bugs are just over five millimeters long with a round or oval-shaped body. Adult bed bugs will have a dark reddish brown body, while younger bed bugs will have a more yellow hue. Bed bugs also have no wings, six small legs, and a distinct overall flatness to their small bodies.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs
There is no one way to guarantee that bed bugs won’t enter your home, but there are some preventative measures you can take. Mainly, it is important to keep your bed, bedroom, and the rest of your home as clean and clutter-free as possible.
Removing clutter and debris gives bed bugs fewer hiding places and safe, sheltered areas in which to reside. Regularly washing linens, vacuuming, and sweeping is the best way to remove and eliminate any bed bugs or bed bug eggs that are in your home.
Since bed bugs often enter our homes after travel, it is important to clean and inspect any clothing, luggage, or other items you have brought into your house. It’s also possible for visitors, or those with whom you share laundry facilities, to pass bed bugs along to you.
What to Do if You Have Bed Bugs
If you have bed bugs, the best approach you can take is to contact a professional team to eliminate the infestation for you. Professional pest control teams have the knowledge and experience to eliminate bed bugs and plenty of other pests. The sooner you contact such a team, the sooner you can have a bed-bug-free home once again.
Additionally, if you find that you have bed bugs, it is most courteous not to invite guests over or visit other people’s homes. Doing so could cause you to share your bed bugs with those you visit, which they certainly will not enjoy.
Find the Right Pest Control Team for You
As noted above, bed bugs are something any sensible homeowner will want to avoid, and the best way to do that is to keep in touch with a pest control team you can trust. If you live in or around Oroville, CA, Western Termite Solutions Inc. has the solutions you need for bed bugs or any other pest issues. If you are dealing with pests, contact us today for a free estimate.