Bed bugs. What kind of pests they are and how to get rid of bed bugs quickly?

Bed bugs are parasitic insects, animal or human bloodsuckers and have been known for thousands of years. They are very small – about 5-6 mm long and have light brown to reddish-brown colour. The bites of thеse parasites can cause allergy, skin rashes  etc.

Where do bed bugs come from?

The bugs themselves are not very mobile and very fast insects. They can not fly and run much more slower than cockroaches, but can live without food for a long time. As usual they appear from:

• Neighbors. Often the reason of getting bugs in the house is their presence in neighboring apartments. Insects can crawl along the outer wall of the house through cracks or leaky ceilings and ventilation.
• Farm animals. If there is a any farm near your home, the bugs can move to your house. Human blood is more attractive for them than the blood of farm animals. They can not live on the cattle, cats and dogs because of their thick skin.
• Can de carried by bats and birds.
• Furniture. Bedbugs like to settle in holes, joints and on the back of the furniture. They are not visible there and can easily create a new population. Therefore, when buying a new and especially used furniture, it is very important  to check it carefully for parasites.
• With the devices. Bedbugs prefer to outstay in warm places in the daytime. Therefore, they like laptops, tablets, scanners, microwave and any other appliances.
• Human. Bedbugs can come with the person. They can easy hide in the folds of clothing or in lining of the bag. Sometimes new ”lodgers” can come together with you from trip.

The place in your home the bed bugs like.

Bedbugs do not require special conditions  to live. They feed only on human blood, so they prefer to stay not far from the bed.The best place to live is bed (its back, the gap, the space under the mattress), sofa or bedside tables. They live in groups and like hidden and dark places. The places they like too – pillows, mattress, clothing, carpets etc. Bed bugs are mainly active at night.

While the insect population is quite small, they often hide even in the seams of the mattress or blanket folds. But when the new population of pests grows, parasites have to look for more spacious shelter.

If you investigate your house properly, you can always find their tracks – excrement, chitin shells of eggs, spots of blood  and the bugs themselves. Just check out all hiding places near the bed.

What do bedbugs eat?

The only food of the bedbugs is human blood. They attack human while sleep. Bug gets on the open area of the body, finds a blood vessel and pierces it. While the absorption of blood, it injects into the wound a special ferment  to anaesthetise  the place of the bite. By the way, the larva of the bug doesn’t have  such an  enzyme and  the pain of the bite can be felt immediately. Once biting, the bug is crawling further and continues its meal. One individual leaves about  seven bites on the body placed as if a track.

How to get rid of  bed bugs?

If you find a place where bugs live in your home, you can start planning what to do  with them. You live in an apartment, so you have to alert the neighbors, most of all, you need to get rid of the bedbugs themselves, but also not to let them run to the neighbors and than again to your place.

There are such ways of getting rid of bedbugs, but all of them have different effect:

• Call pest control servises. This method is always effective. Its disadvantages – relatively high cost and the need to leave the apartment for a few days.

• Remedies from bed bugs for home use. Industry offers a variety of products manufactured in various forms. They effectively kill bedbugs  but can be dangerous to humans and domestic animals at the moment of processing the apartment. Choosing the poison from the bugs in the house, you must attentively read the instructions and in the process of working use personal protective equipment.
• The mechanical method. You must clean your home thoroughly. Hot washing and drying of all beddings and clothing. If it is possible –  change a mattress for a new one. You can collect all beddings and wrap it in plastic and take out on a hot and sunny location for a few days. Repair all cracks on your walls and glue down loosened wallpaper.
• Freezing. Is effective only when the temperature in the house is – 25 ° C or lower.
• Folk remedies. This insects “fear” some smells – for example, sage and oil tea-tree. However, such methods  do not destroy the parasites, but only reduce their activity. The only advantage of these remedies is the availability and low price.

So, if the house is infested with bugs, do not panic and try to use all the remedies if possible. Remember: to prevent bed bugs to infest your home is easier than to try to get rid of them. After coming back from the trip you must immediately wash and dry all clothes and check thoroughly your beg.