Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite: The Effective Control Solution For Your Durham Home

Identifying Bed Bugs: Signs And Symptoms Of An Infestation

Bed bugs are 1/4-inch-long insects that hide in cracks and crevices near a host in the house. These six-legged bugs crawl out of cracks and crevices between 12:00 pm and 5:00 am to feast on a nearby host. Although they are tiny, bed bugs leave behind evidence. When you investigate your house, look for these signs of bed bugs:

• Stains
• Bites
• Eggs 
• Eggshells
• Exoskeletons
• Odor
• Bed bugs

We will look at each sign in detail to help you determine if bed bugs are in your Durham home. As bed bugs feast on your blood, they deposit feces containing dried blood and waste about 20% of the time on your body. When the fecal matter contacts the bed linens and mattresses, it leaves a reddish-brown stain. Bed bugs also defecate when moving and create marks on walls.

When a bed bug climbs onto its host, it inserts a needle-like straw to find a location with a concentration of capillaries. If an abundance of blood vessels is not accessible, it will move onto a nearby area and try again. For this reason, bed bug bites are often in clumps or rows as opposed to random mosquito and flea bites. When a bed bug bites, it injects an anti-coagulate and an anesthetic in its saliva to maximize blood flow and minimize pain. The body reacts to these foreign agents by dispatching histamines to the site resulting in red, itchy bumps.

Males and females must have a blood meal to facilitate reproduction. When males get blood, they become interested in mating and try to fertilize available females. A fertilized female cannot produce eggs unless she receives a blood meal. When a fertilized female eats, she releases one to three eggs daily for up to 14 days before requiring another blood meal to continue reproduction. Over her six to 12-month lifetime, one female bed bug can discharge up to 500 eggs. These eggs are about 1/32 of an inch and pearl white; after five days, they develop a small, black eye spot. The eggs are not visible to the naked eye, and finding them requires a magnifying glass. While investigating with a magnifying glass, search for the abandoned creamy-white shells from hatched eggs. 

Bed bugs in Durham go through five growth stages, known as instars, and at each phase, they shed their shell (exoskeleton) to allow their body to expand. Discarded shells from the first couple of growth phrases are about 3/64 inches long and difficult to spot without magnification; however, you can see the creamy-white abandoned skeletons from later growth stages.

Bed bugs communicate using pheromones from the glands on the underside of their bodies. When there is a high concentration of bugs in a confined space, those with sensitive noses can detect a sweet-smelling musty odor in the room.

Although bed bugs are active at night, you may stumble upon one during the day. Like other insects, adult bed bugs have six legs, two antennae with four segments, and a 1/4 inch three-part segmented body consisting of a head, pronotum, and abdomen. Whether or not they have fed recently affects the size and color of their body. A fed bed bug will have a reddish-brown swollen and elongated body, but an unfed bed bug has a mahogany, flat, broad oval body. 

Look for indications of a bed bug infestation in crevices in wood flooring, creases along nightstands, electrical outlets, cracks between baseboards and walls, mattress seams, box springs, bed linens, and behind picture and bed frames. 

If you see these signs, secure bed bug pest control near you from The Eco Man Pest Solutions. Our Technical Pest Pros know bed bug indicators and where to find them. We can confirm a bed bug infestation or effectively treat another pest if we determine bed bugs are not the problem.

Little Hitchhikers: How Bed Bugs Find Their Way Inside

Most cockroaches, flies, ants, and insects enter Durham homes through entry points in the foundation, roofline, and attic, but that is not how bed bugs get into houses. Bed bugs are hitchhikers that use public transportation and venues as hubs. Bed bugs move from person to person and crawl into luggage, bags, clothing, shoes, and other items when you travel on public buses, cabs, and trains. They also hide in upholstery at theatres, restaurants, and other high-traffic venues. Of course, bed bugs are synonymous with motels and hotels, where they hide behind headboards, mattress seams, electrical outlets, nightstands, and box springs.

Another way bed bugs enter homes is through used furniture. Before purchasing a used item, ask the owner if they have experienced a bed bug infestation. If they have, it is best not to buy the furniture, but if you do, investigate it thoroughly using a magnifying glass. Always inspect any used item thoroughly before bringing it into your home. 

The Eco Man Pest Solutions provides the best bed bug pest control near you. Our bed bug removal process ensures these nocturnal parasites no longer cause problems in your Durham home.

Professional Bed Bug Control: Call In The Experts Right Away

When you contact The Eco Man Pest Solutions for bed bug removal, we dispatch a trained and licensed Technical Pest Pro to investigate your Durham house for bed bug signs. If we find indications of bed bugs, we can eliminate them using one of three treatment options. 

Because bed bugs cannot withstand sustained heat above 118℉ for 90 minutes, we heat-infested rooms to eradicate the bugs and their eggs. This method requires some preparation and for you to vacate the house for the day, but it is a highly effective treatment because the heat penetrates all cracks and corners in the house. 

While heat treatments cover rooms and large areas of a house, steam treatments use heat to treat localized infestations. We use this method to remove bed bugs in mattresses and upholstery seams. 

For those unable to leave the house, we can get rid of bed bugs using eco-friendly treatment. These products are pet and children-safe and do not harm the environment. We will follow up to ensure the bed bugs are gone two weeks after the initial treatment. We offer a 60 to 90-day free re-treatment guarantee for most applications. You can rest easy when you call The Eco Man Pest Solutions because we will end your bed bug infestation.