What are bed bugs?

According to wikipedia.org, “Bed bugs are small nocturnal insects of the family Cimicidae that live by hematophagy, feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts.” What wikipedia.org neglects to mention is that bed bugs are the catalysts of skin infections, scars, restless sleep and stress.

Commonly mistaken as a dust mite, bed bugs feed off human blood to survive. They can grow 4-5 mm in length, making them large enough to see. At birth, a bed bug will have a translucent and light color, but through age they become a reddish brown. Bed bugs are slow and wingless, making them easy to capture if you can lure them out of their hiding spots.

A bed bug can live up to 18 months between feedings but typically feed every 5-10 days for approximately five minutes at a time. These bites can take a few minutes to hours to show or be felt, but have not been linked to the transmission of any diseases.

Do bed bugs cause harm or spread pathogens?

Bed bugs seek to inject a small amount of saliva into your skin, which helps them digest the blood. This saliva marks the host with red itchy welts, often due to an allergic reaction to the saliva itself. The welts themselves can take hours or days before forming, depending on the immune system of the individual.

Initially, researchers were unnerved when they found that bed bugs are also full of pathogens such as plaque and hepatitis B. But one should not fear as bed bugs have yet to be found to transmit diseases, leaving the medical field no room to label them a medical threat.

In fact, most allergic reactions or outbreaks are simply caused by the host’s incessant scratching. The scratching of the welts breaks the skin and leaves the individual defenseless to infections and the subsequent scarring. It also causes the welt to become irritated, causing a persistent urge to itch. Additionally, these critters have been deemed the cause of delusional parasitosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you have been bitten by bed bugs, here are a few things that can be done-

• First, seek assistance from a trained professional to ensure it is a bed bug bite.
• Avoid scratching at all costs, as this is the cause for more serious problems.
• Trained physicians can treat patients with antihistamines and corticosteroids.
• Antiseptic and antibiotic ointments can be used to prevent infections.

Where can bed bugs be found?

Until recently, bed bugs were only a concern for the rest of the world. It is assumed that due to the usage of DDT pesticides on nearly everything throughout the middle of the 20th century in the United States, bed bugs were all but extinct. Though with DDT and similar insecticides being banned, bed bugs have had a small resurgence throughout North America. This has caused quite a stir in the pest control industry, as effective treatments were never needed.


In the home, bed bug infestations can be found throughout but are most commonly found in the bedroom. Being nocturnal blood-thirsty critters, the bedroom puts them close to their primary food source. Additionally, fearing the sun, bed bugs are also known for their prowess in hiding.

Here’s a list of bed bugs’ favorite hiding spots in the bedroom (warning: this can vary depending on an individual’s own bedroom layout and its contents):

• Mattress (inside and out)
• Pillows (inside and out)
• Box spring
• Creases and seams in bed linens
• Bed frames and headboards
• Bedroom clutter
• In the carpeting
• In cracks on the ceiling, wall and floors
• In spaces between baseboards, floors and walls
• Behind electrical outlet covers
• Storage items in, around, and under the bed
• Nightstands and dressers
• Anything hanging off the wall

How do bed bugs invade a home?

On top of a bed bug’s innate ability to hide comes their even more impressive ability to travel. This makes pinpointing their exact point of entry into a home a near impossible task. The most common theory of entry is when individuals move from one home to another, bringing the vampiric critters along with them, as bed bugs will hide in various posts and be moved from home to home. Bed bugs have also been known to travel between adjoining apartments and condominiums, as they are able to travel in the empty spaces in the walls.

The greatest risk of infestation lies in used furniture, particularly in mattresses and frames, which is commonly a breading ground for bed bugs and their sticky eggs. This risk is most common in and around universities, as many students find and buy used, cheap furniture.

Another common point of entry is through travel, as many travelers pick up the critters and have them stowaway in the creases of their luggage or backpacks. Travelers come home without having thoroughly disinfected their travel gear, leaving themselves open to infestations.

A fact to keep in mind when moving into a vacant home, apartment or condominium is that a bed bug can survive up to 18 months without feeding, as mentioned earlier. If a home seems “clean” and “empty” the new residents may be residing with some very old and cumbersome neighbors.

How can an infestation be identified?

There are more signs to a bed bug infestation than just being bitten. If welts are consistently starting to show, the bitten should see a specialist to ensure that it is indeed a bed bug bite. Once determined that bed bugs are the likely culprits, please follow the steps found in “Part 2 - Do bed bugs cause harm or spread pathogens?” Additionally, bed bug bites are commonly found in a pattern of three bites in a line, commonly known as breakfast, lunch and dinner. This occurs due to interrupted meals as the person being bitten moves while sleeping.


Another sign that you may have an infestation are dark brown to reddish fecal spots that start to show in bed linens or other bed bug hiding places near the bed. If there is a heavy infestation, bed bugs have also been known to emit what has been described as a sweet musty smell. However, these two methods of identification are not confirmations, just signs to look for.


Here are a few methods that are effective to identify bed bug infestation:

• Considering that the prime time for bed bug feeding is approximately one hour before dawn, it is best to check during this time. However, running to turn on the room light will often send the bed bugs scurrying to their hiding place. Therefore, it is ideal to have a light source, such as a flashlight. close to the bed. Check the mattress thoroughly by starting at specific sections for a few seconds, as bed bugs are not typically fast movers and are harder to spot for this reason
• One of the easiest methods for investigating an infestation is to use double-sided tape on and around the carpet near the bed. Leave for approximately a week, while checking the tape every few days. This can also help aid in detecting other insect infestations as well.
• Some have suggested the usage of glue traps and commercial flea traps, though the effectiveness of these methods are not conclusive by any means.

How to get rid of bed bugs?

Once it is confirmed that a home is infested with bed bugs, homeowners have a few options to rid themselves of the pests, the decision depending on their personal financial situation and know-how. One should not get rid of furniture or try self-treatment without a plan. Discarding furniture not only adds to the expense of buying new furniture, but it’s futile as the owner only gets rid of the bed bugs infesting that particular item and not the rest of the home.

The infested homeowner has the choice of having a pest control professional treat the home, or the homeowners themselves can perform a self-treatment. Either way, the home will need to be pre-treated in order for any treatment to be fully effective. Here is an extensive list of things that need to be done in order to prepare the home:

• The home’s furniture and appliances need be emptied, cleaned and pulled away from walls, baseboards and cracks where bed bugs could hide.
• Make sure things being stored are tightly sealed and safe from infestation.
• Wash all clothes, bedroom linens, bathroom linens, cloth stuffed animals and drapes. After washing them in hot water (heat, not water, kills the bed bugs), then dried with hot air, the clothes need to be placed in plastic bags and securely tied.
• The home should be thoroughly vacuumed, and the crevice attachment should be used in all corners, baseboards, cracks, mattresses, bed frame, box spring, drawers and anywhere else they may hide. This will not complete de-infest the home, but will significantly lower the bed bug population. The vacuum bag should immediately be double-trash-bagged, placed in a stronger plastic bag, securely tied and placed outside for pick-up.
• Some have suggested to steam clean the home, mattress and upholstered furniture. This has only an effectiveness of approximately 1/2-inch penetration, thus should be used as part of an overall treatment and not standalone.
• Replacement of the bedding is not necessary. If it is done, it should be done after the treatment is complete. The mattress, frames and box springs should be sprayed with a non-residual insecticide and then fully encased.

After these measures have been taken to prepare the home for treatment, a pest control professional can come into the home and perform a number of different treatments. They are all costly and can put the homeowner out of the home for extended periods of time. Most professionals state claim that it takes several treatments in order to be fully rid of the infestation. Of course, without being fully rid of the infestation, the bed bugs will just lay more eggs and continue to re-infest the home.

The other option is to self-treat. This is a good option, as it is more cost effective. One tip that to homeowners looking to choose this option; know every single corner of the home. The self-treatment includes creating an insecticide that is a mixture of pyrethrums and fresh-water. There is one known manufactured insecticide called D-20 that has an increased effectiveness of 10 times.

After treating the home, it is important to monitor the bed bugs as they will continue to live for up to two weeks. Additionally, vacuuming should be avoided at all costs during this time, as some pesticides are still at work and will be removed if vacuumed.

How to protect yourself from future infestations?

Protecting a home from future infestation is a tedious but necessary task. The home and homeowner need to prepare themselves for a long process of ensuring that the bed bugs have no place to dwell.
Here are a few tips one can do before or after an infestation occurs in order to prevent future disturbances:

• Thoroughly clean the home often, making sure that every crease, crevice, floorboard, outlet and corner has been cleaned and rid of bed bugs and their eggs.
• Every hole and crack should be filled and caulked, leaving little to no room for already existing eggs to penetrate the home.
• Fully encase mattresses, pillows and box springs to trap already existing bed bugs in, effectively killing them off and preventing future bed bugs from finding a home.
• Keep clutter at a minimum to minimize possible hiding places.
• Make sure storage items are tightly sealed.
• Remove wall-to-wall carpeting if possible.
• Pull beds away from the walls and tuck sheets and blankets in so bed bugs have no means of crawling into the bed or its seams.