THE BUGYMAN EXTERMINATORS

Bed Bugs         Order hemiptera               

Appearance:

      1/5 inches long and 1/8 inches wide. Its reddish-brown colored body is greatly flattened and oval-shaped. After feeding, the bug's body enlarges considerably, becoming longer and much less flattened.

Habitat:

        Bed bugs general hide in cracks and crevices during normal daylight hours. Typical hiding places are in the folds and tufts of mattresses, coils of springs, cracks and hollow posts of bedsteads, and upholstery of chairs and sofas.

Food:

        Blood of warm blooded animals.

Life Cycle:

        Piercing-sucking mouth parts. The nymphs undergo a gradual metamorphosis through five instars before becoming adults. Bed bug eggs are elongated and usually attached to an available surface when laid. Eggs are not known to be placed directly upon the host's body, but are typically found on surfaces nearby to where the host sleeps or nests. Nymphs must have a blood meal during each instar (growth stage) in order to develop to the next instar. Each female will lay about two eggs a day until she has laid approximately two hundred. At normal room temperatures these will hatch in 6 to 17 days, each producing small, almost colorless nymphs which have the general body appearance of the adult. Bed bugs will mate soon after becoming mature, so the time from egg hatch to egg laying will often be 4 to 9 weeks.

General Information:

      Bed bugs are very hardy insects. They can survive prolonged periods without food or under adverse temperature conditions. In laboratory tests, bed bugs have been found to carry the causative agents for several diseases such as anthrax, plage, tularemia, yellow fever, relapsing fever, and typhus. However, there is little evidence that they carry these disease organisms under normal conditions, so they are not considered an important factor in disease transmission.

Bed Bug Management:

Bed Bugs are usually controlled using insecticide spray or dust applications. Bed linens are not treated, and mattresses are treated only at seams, folds, buttons, or tears, and should be completely dried and covered with clean linens before use. Very small quantities of material is all that is required. All areas which the eggs and adults are hiding must be covered in order to be effective. A thorough application is essential to achieve adequate control. Due to the eggs being protected from the initial treatment, it is highly recommended that a minimum of two to four monthly treatments be made before considering the infestation to be eradicated.

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Last modified: November 24, 1997