Bed Bugs in Ames homes

Bed Bugs in Your Home

When bed bugs find there way into your home, many are left wondering how and why they have bed bugs.  lets start of with understanding bed behavior to dial in on where your bed bugs might have come from. 

Bed bugs are small true insects with 6 legs and a piercing mouth. These insects are believed to originate all the way back in when humans lived in caves and evolved from bat bugs.   Under normal circumstances bed bugs will not live outside the structure and will not be found wondering around out.  These insects live with us, humans, as our blood is thier primary food source.   

Cimex Lectularius (bed bugs) have both male and female sexes and require mating in order to reproduce.  A single mating can result in a fertile female who can then go on to lay may eggs over time.  Bed bugs tend to hide in cracks and crevices within about 20 feet of the sleeping area and can travel up to 100 feet per night for a blood meal.  While they can, and do, feed during the day, studies show that with a normal nighttime sleeper in the home, they are most active between 2am-5am. 

Bed bugs are active hitch hikers
Much like there other blood feeding counterpart, the tick, bed bugs will position themself to slip into a warm backpack, purse, coat, pant pocket or cuff and collar. They are very adept at being able to sense the presence of a human in a room and are drawn by the CO2, body heat and human scent. Bed bugs can be picked up almost anywhere including from a friend’s house, public common areas like lobbies or waiting areas, as well through hotels vacation rentals. 

What to look for if you suspect bed bugs
Since bed bugs feed exclusively on blood, they also excrete the remaining blood material after digestion.  This excretion is called fecal spots and are a tell tail sign of bed bug presences.  Often a bed bug will fully engorge itself with blood, which means it needs to make room.  Just after feeding, the bed bug will defecate and leave small dots of blood stains in the area as it travels back to its hiding spot deep in cracks and crevices.  Finding these small spots on sheets and pillowcases can be a clear sign of a bed bug infestation. 

Full grown adult insects are about half the size of an apple seed, which means they can be seen by the naked eye.  If you can see one and catch it using clear tape, send a picture to use to identify if it. 

Bite marks on the skin are not necessary from bed bugs.  It is best to combine all evidence to determine whether or not bed bugs are present.  Certainly, finding a live bed bug in the home would not require any further investigation once the insect is confirmed as a bed bug by a trained expert. 

What to do if bed bugs are found in your home 
Call an expert in bed bug control.  These pests are not one that you want to try and treat yourself.  While proper treatment can be an expensive proposition, purchasing and applying chemicals in, on and around your bedding area needs to be done by a trained professional to ensure it is done safely and protects your long-term health.  Unfortunately, we are often called in after a homeowner has attempted to self-treat unsuccessfully.  Often the homeowner has unknowingly made the problem worse and exposed themselves and their families to pesticides they do not fully understand.