Bed Bug Control In Baltimore: Essential Steps For Elimination
What are bed bugs? If you’ve not yet heard, bed bugs are irritating pests that hitchhike from one structure to another. They are rarely found outdoors. These insects survive on blood, which makes them a pain to have around – quite literally. Each bed bug bites more than once during feedings, so bite wounds are numerous. The worst part about having bed bugs is that they’re hard to find. These tiny pests hide in very tight spaces, just out of sight. If you suspect that you have bed bugs in your home or business, let the bed bug inspectors at ATC Pest Control take a look. We use fast, effective, and environmentally friendly solutions for pest detection.
For bed bugs, we deploy trained dogs to track these elusive insects using only their keen sense of smell. They track bed bugs the same way they would track someone through the wood using the scent from an article of clothing. If you want to learn more or schedule an inspection, jump to our contact page. If you’d prefer to learn how to find bed bugs on your own, we have you covered. Read on to learn about examining your home or business for these secretive critters. We’ll also tell you what works to get rid of bed bugs and keep them out for good. Let’s get started!
Examining Your Home: Where To Look For Bed Bugs
At any point in the life cycle of a bed bug, it can find itself inside a residential structure. These insects go from business to business, business to home, home to business, and home to home. If you’re wondering if you have bed bugs in your home, there are a few ways you may find out for sure.
Look for signs on your skin: Routine bite wounds will let you know some kind of biting insect is living inside your home, but do you have bed bugs? You may tell by considering the bites. Since each bed bug bites more than once, the wounds tend to have a pattern. Each individual bed bug will typically bite three times as it crawls across the skin. Bed bugs feed in the same area, so it will look as though the bites run across the skin in a path or cluster. Bites from other pests appear randomly because each bug is only biting once. Along with this pattern, look for a rash. The severity of the rash will vary, depending on your skin and immune system.
Look for black fecal material: Bed bugs leave their excrement in many places. You may see signs right out in the open. Examine pillowcases, sheets, bedding, furniture, and clothing for black fecal spotting. Inspect surfaces, baseboards, and outlet covers for black streaks. As bed bugs explore, they can’t help but leave their waste as they go. But they’re not the only pests that do this. How can you tell that you’ve found bed bug droppings? Look for a brown coloration mixed in. Bed bugs often excrete blood with their fecal matter. If you don’t see droppings out in the open, check tight spaces. Here are a few examples:
- Look in the seams of your mattresses and box springs.
- Look in the space between your mattresses and box springs.
- Look underneath labels.
- Look in the gap around mattress vent grommets.
Look for bed bugs and their eggs: Bed bugs are tiny pests, but they’re not invisible. If you search for them in the right places, you may see them. Their eggs are white, shiny, and about 1/26 of an inch wide. When they hatch from their eggs, bed bugs are six-legged insects called nymphs. They start white but turn tan and, eventually, brown as they mature. In all stages, bed bugs have an oval or seed shape. Here are a few places to search for them.
- Look in the locations already listed.
- Look underneath the feet of your beds and other furniture.
- Look along the carpet edges.
- Look behind the frames of pictures and paintings.
- Look in luggage, pocketbooks, and other items you carry.
- Look in couches and chairs.
- Look in the gaps of beds and other furniture items.
Now that you know how to check for bed bugs, it is essential to consider the anatomy of a bed bug infestation. Let’s look at the problems these pests cause, how bed bugs problems get worse, and what to expect when they do.
Bed Bug Infestations: The Problems These Pests Cause
The most obvious reason to deal with bed bugs is that they are biting pests. When they find their way into your home or business, they’re going to create misery. On the positive side, there is currently no indication that bed bugs spread diseases. But a bite is a bite – and bed bugs leave a lot of bites.
- Since each bed bug tries to bite three times, the number of bites is about three times the number of bed bugs. If you have twenty bed bugs, you can expect to get around sixty bites.
- Bed bug bites are itchy and irritating, like other bug bites. They also swell. The amount of swelling is dependent on your sensitivity. Some people experience painful welts, while others have minimal reactions.
- Over time, the bloodletting caused by insects can lead to anemia in advanced infestations. Check resources on the CDC website to learn more about this illness.
- Some people have a fear of bed bugs, which can lead to anxiety and loss of sleep. If you experience prolonged sleep deprivation, it can lead to medical consequences.
- Bed bugs don’t just travel into your home; they can also spread from your home. If they do, they can return after treatment. That is why we strongly recommend dealing with these insects quickly and why it is essential to detect early signs of bed bugs.
What can you do about bed bugs? You have a few options. You can use a vacuum to quickly suck up the bugs if you find where they’re hiding. If you’re fortunate enough to get all of them, you may dodge the bullet, so to speak. You may also put items into your dryer to eliminate bed bugs in all stages of development. If they’re hiding in bedding, sheets, clothing, duffel bags, book bags, and other dryer-safe items, you may stop them in their tracks. If you think you have bed bugs in a small item, like an alarm clock, you could put that item in a freezer for four days to deal with the bugs inside. But, when bed bugs are in larger items or throughout the structure, professional control is best.
Professional Bed Bug Control: Call In The Experts Right Away
Can you call any pest control service provider when you have abed bug infestation? Not all service providers are the same. We hope you’ll choose a company like ATC Pest Control, which uses advanced Integrated Pest Management, the gold standard of pest control. An IPM professional is committed to using environmentally friendly solutions and the least amount of control materials. At ATC Pest Control, we’ve selected thermal remediation and natural products for bed bug control. Thermal remediation is the use of heat to eliminate bed bugs. But, not every infestation is treatable using thermal remediation, so we also offer natural treatments. The treatment we use is Beauveria bassiana, which is a fungal spore. It germinates within twenty hours after contact with bed bugs and eliminates them. Unlike traditional treatments, only one treatment is required, and your infestation is gone within four to ten days.
Are you in Baltimore? Would you like to learn more about our industry-leading bed bug control solutions? Why not call? We’d love to speak with you and help you get rid of those frustrating pests. We provide residential and commercial bed bug remediation.
Maintaining A Bed Bug-Free Home: Prevention Strategies
Once you’ve paid for bed bug removal, you’re going to want to keep your home or business free of these pests, right? How do you keep bed bugs out of your home after treatment? It isn’t simple. You’ll need to perform inspections when spending the night away from home. You’ll need to keep watch for bed bugs in public settings. For example, using your phone’s flashlight to check your seat before watching a movie at a theater. You’ll need to store laundry in a sealed bag when staying away from home and use the luggage rack provided to keep your luggage off the bed, furniture, or floor while open. You’ll need to wash and dry all your clothing when returning home. These steps take effort. Is there any other option? Yes. Both homeowners and business owners have the option of routine canine inspections. A trained technician and K9 Inspector can quickly perform inspections with little or no disturbance. If bed bugs are caught, treatment is applied quickly to eliminate bed bugs before they can cause stress and discomfort. For assistance with pest control in Baltimore, contact ATC Pest Control for assistance. We are your local bed bug experts.
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