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Bed bugs hiding areas

Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 10:11 pm  
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Bed bugs hide in the day time and come of out at night.

Where do they hide ?

Bed Linens
Most common bedbugs hiding area is the bed linens. They can go deep inside the linens and cover themselves, you need to flip the linens over and search for them.

Pillow Case Corners
Pillow case corners are bedbugs favorite hiding area also (usually the Nymph Bedbug), because the gap is normally small and not notice by humans.

Furniture openings
Do checkout the openings of your furniture’s and screw holes, they love those areas also.

Wall Socket openings
This is an area you need to checkout too, if the room is heavy infested by bedbugs, most likely this will be their another hiding area.

Spray insecticide around the bed legs
If you are sure the bed bugs aren’t hiding inside your bed or bed frame, than isolate your bed from walls, cupboards etc.. Spray insecticide near the 4 bed legs, so this will prevent them from crawling up your bed and bite you. They must be hiding somewhere near you if they are not coming out from your bed or frame.

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Bed bugs bites itch

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 at 12:00 pm  
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Bed bug bites have their maximum presence felt at the time of traveling when a motel stay is on the agenda. These bites can prove to be quite irritating. But they’re not all that worrisome, when compared to mosquitoes, which are vectors of malaria and the “West Nile Disease”. The bed bug bites can be treated simply by washing it with soap and water, applying a certain quantity of ice, and using a no-itch or an antihistamine cream.

If the bite starts getting tender and oozing white, greenish or white pus, then it may be infected. In such instance, it’s advisable to consult a doctor. Most people have the misconception that bed bugs prefer to infest dwellings that are devoid of cleanliness. This is not quite true. Like humans, bed bugs need food to survive. Unfortunately, blood is their staple diet. This is the reason bed bugs are found mostly in hotels, as such places are constantly occupied by people.

Bed bugs are believed to have a smell like that of rotten, sweet raspberries. It has also been believed that a bug-ridden room has a smell like that of almonds, but there need to be a large amount of bed bugs to have a smell of that sort. It is the female bed bug that normally bites. She’s capable of laying around 500 eggs throughout her lifetime!

It has been proven now that bed bugs are very good travelers. So, it’s possible to carry them along through a sleeping bag or a suitcase, which would prove your attitude towards cleanliness. Bed bugs can be killed by putting them in hot water. Bed bugs have the caliber of living for around one year without eating. Hence, regular cleansing is recommended. Exterminator can be engaged to perform this job.

The one thing most people are usually concerned about when they find out they’ve got bed bugs is: How do they stop the itching and are the bites dangerous?

First of all, it’s important to note that not everybody reacts to the bites in the same way. A lot of people don’t feel or notice them at all. You’re usually bitten when you’re asleep and the bed bug will inject a chemical (known as an “anticoagulant”) into the bite that stops the blood from clotting and keeps you from feeling it.

Unfortunately, many people are allergic to this chemical. So if you’re itching or seeing a reaction on your skin, then you’re one of them. Most people’s allergies are mild in the sense that they aren’t dangerous. It’s just highly annoying and your skin will itch like crazy. But it’s extremely rare for anyone to have a serious health problem due to a bed bug bite. Although there have been a few cases where people have gone into shock. So if you see something that seems like it’s a more serious symptom than itching, then you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

In the meantime, you should focus on trying to keep from getting bitten and using products that will alleviate the constant itching. One product that will help out is Corticool® (1% hydrocortisone gel), which is a cream that relieves itching from insect bites and which you can buy over the counter.

Some recommend taking Benadryl or using Calamine lotion to help with the itching. Of course, that won’t stop you from being bitten again. Some people have gone to extreme lengths such as sleeping on the kitchen table (that would probably help reduce the number of bites, but they can still find you).

Another concern of people who’ve been bitten by bed bugs is: when are these bites going to go away?

Well, it could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. It all depends on how allergic you are to them. Some people are really allergic and will have them for a lot longer. Most of the time, the itching will stop first and the bite mark will gradually disappear.

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Tips For Dealing With Bed Bugs In Hotels

Sunday, September 25th, 2011 at 10:06 pm  
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Tips For Dealing With Bed Bugs In Hotels
The number 1 carrier of the bed bug in hotels is the mattress. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as bed bugs are best-known to lurk in the bed, therefore the name “bed bug.” The rising number of complaints from travelers about bed bugs in hotels where they stayed have been steadily increasing.

How come the infestation? No one precisely knows but there’s a rumor about bed bugs in hotels becoming resistant to the regular insecticide used on them. A kind of mutated generation of bed bugs in hotels, if you like. Although this could make a great horror B movie, the truth may shock you.

Infestations of bed bugs in hotels were most common in the United States before World War II. But the advances in hygiene, and the widespread use of DDT dusting during the 1940s and ’50s, the bed bugs in hotels disappeared. The specie expanded in other parts of the world like Africa, South and Central Europe and Asia.

The bed bugs in hotels have now returned. This is blamed on the increase in tourists and immigrants staying in their establishments and unknowingly leaves behind a souvenir. Simply one female bed bug can give birth five eggs a day and could leave three generations of bed bugs in hotels.

Some scientists trust that the return of bed bugs in hotels is due to the cutback on the quality of pesticides. DDT was banned in the 1960’s and it was the only insecticide used which effectively killed the bed bugs in hotels.

One cause for concern concerning the bed bugs in hotels is that they just don’t expand in cheap, musty motels. Even the costly ones are being infested. Because of this, these establishments are losing money fast with court appearance for cases filed by discontent patrons.

The bed bugs in hotels are the same bed bugs at home. They’re small, nasty, brownish, round and flat insects that nearly resemble a tick. These insects choose no one. It is gladly to find a warm place to live and breed in, somewhere near their food source and that’s people.

Bed bugs are patient insects. They could live up to a year without blood meal. And their size makes it hard for people to see them. Their victims don’t feel even their bites. Bed bugs feed by piercing the skin with its elongated beak and they inject a small quantity of anesthesia like substance that makes them unseeable. The only sign you’ve been brought down by a bed bug is if you have an itchy, swelling welt the following day.

The bed bugs in hotels are turning into a nuisance for the management. It tarnishes their reputation and leaves a bad impression on the customer. But what’s more shocking is the way they handle bed bugs in hotels.

Rather than having to provide remedies for the patrons, the staff often just dismisses the incident. This has incurred the wrath of some patrons and the bed bugs in hotels now enter the courtroom. There was one case where bed bugs in hotels were so much that they decided to sue the hotel for damages. The court found the hotel guilty.

That’s the problem with bed bugs in hotels nowadays. Although the bed bugs don’t only appear in hotels, the fact that the establishments do not resolve their infestation is what irks patrons.

It is their responsibility to provide with good service and a clean environment, free from bed bugs in hotels. Or should they really have a bad infestation, there are ready pest control experts that can get rid of the bed bugs in hotels situation.

As a traveler, you should take the precaution whenever going to hotels. Always bring along an anti-itch cream just in case. Before you check-in, you can inquire around about how clean the hotel is. The Internet is a great source of information, with hotel reviews and ratings. Look for comments regarding the patron’s personal experience. It could help you determine on what hotel to go to on your following trip.

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Bed bug bites

Friday, September 16th, 2011 at 2:01 pm  
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You know the old adage already!

“Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

I am sure many of my readers, the baby boomers have heard this hundred of times at night as they got ready for bed!? I know it was a favorite saying of my grandmother. I didn’t really believe in bed bugs. I really thought my grandmother was making the whole thing up. My own nephew thought it was made-up too!

Life goes on and we all grow up sooner or later… As I became older, I discovered that bed bugs were once the scourge of both the very rich and very poor. These evil little parasitic critters didn’t discriminate. They made everyone’s life miserable; every night was a bed bug bite fest. They settled right into homes and particularly liked living in people’s beds. Who wouldn’t? For centuries these ugly little creatures made everyone’s sleep a nightmare.

Eventually, upper and middle class families learned how to exterminate these hostile creatures. Bedbugs then became the pest of the lower classes who lived in tenements and flop houses. Then DDT and other horrific, environmentally unfriendly pesticides eradicated the menace. There were no more bedbugs. Unfortunately, however, there must have been a few concealed somewhere because history is now repeating itself. Bed bugs are back! Big Time!

For several decades, bed bugs were virtually unheard of and unseen in modern society. Common in pre-World War II society, bed bugs dropped off the radar for a long time due to improved hygiene practices, better sanitation, and the use of DDT in the 1940s and 1950s. While bed-bugs may not have been prevalent in the United States and other industrialized countries, they nonetheless remained a rampant, unsettling problem in regions such as Africa, South America, and Asia.

The proliferation and ease of overseas travel as well as immigration have reintroduced bed bugs to our society. Changes in insect control may also play a role in the resurgence of these pests. The pesticides and insecticide commonly used today may be safer for humans, pets and the environment, but they’re simply not as effective in controlling bed bug infestation. Bed bugs are turning up everywhere these days – apartments, hotels, dorms, and even buses.

Bed bugs don’t live only in beds either. Chairs and sofas, even wall cavities, can also be home to bedbugs. These obnoxious mainly nocturnal little critters feed on the blood of animals and humans. They resemble roaches and ticks. Their bodies are flat, oval and about a quarter of an inch in length. Bed bugs like to live close to the place where they feed, which is commonly a mattress, hence their name. A bed bug bite, painless while being administered, may leave a red welt or some swelling similar to a mosquito bite.

So how do you know if you have bed bugs in your abode? You’ll want to look for typical characteristics of these creatures – dark spots on mattresses, chairs, or couches. These dark spots are either bed bug excrement or blood. Bed bugs spread quickly from room to room, or apartment to apartment. How clean an area is has no bearing on bed bug infestation. Bed bugs look for warm-blooded creatures to feed on, and whether or not a home, hotel, or other area is clean or dirty makes little difference.

In the event you do have an infestation, you’ll probably need to hire a professional pest control expert to handle the problem. They’ll first need to inspect the area where bed-bugs are suspected. All items that have bed bugs will have to be removed from the home and disinfected using methods including, but not limited to pesticide administration.

If you think you may have bed bugs, you can find more information about these pesky critters online. The Internet is also a great place to search for professionals to remove bed bugs. It’s important to attack the problem as soon as possible, before it gets out of control.

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How to find out if you have Bed Bugs

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011 at 9:21 am  
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Look underneath your pillow, mattresses, floor boards, carpets, and any crevices or cracks and you will meet the world’s most well-traveled, ruthless blood-sucking pest ever known to man. Look out for the signs as there are many ways to find bed bugs – Conclusively oval in shape and rust-browned in colour, these bed bugs are cryptic dwellers – flattened, thing, small and light — living in darkness within cracks, gaps in wooden boards, and other crevices surfacing only to suck on human blood.

Bed bugs grow up through 5 stages also known as nymphs spanning at least about 6-8 weeks. Each of these developmental stages would require blood for nutrition and development. The female bed bugs lay about 2-3 eggs a day, as long as these female bed bugs live! Each of these eggs will hatch around 10 days.

The mouths of the adult bed bugs are specially designed to bite and search for spots to suck out the blood from – most of which would be too quick for you to notice. Also, the bed bugs will leave saliva behind (which causes most of those diseases and conditions) and is also known to have anticoagulant properties.

Bedbugs usually cause skin reactions to humans. While some of us don’t react much to these bug bites, some others face extreme discomfort and sleepless nights. Some of the well-known reactions include formation of large wheals which might later subside to dark red spots that can linger for several days, anaphylaxis, iron deficiency in infants and also asthmatic reactions. Bed bugs can also spread or transmit plenty of infectious such as hepatitis B.

If you find too many blood spots on the mattresses or anywhere where you suspects bugs to dwell, your furnishings are bug infested and you must take action. For starters, the best thing to do is to get in touch with a well-known, efficient and licensed pest controller who will undertake a systematic inspection of the area and would then approve an insecticide for use.

Now, identifying bed bugs and dealing with them all the way to finally getting rid of them isn’t as easy as it might sound. Various methods are in use such as using Canines for sniffing them out, other non-chemical methods and direct chemical methods, etc. All of these methods have to follow a code pertaining to arthropod identification and annihilation.

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