Bed Bug Questions

First, bed bugs are not invisible. They do start out very small, but an adult bed bug will usually be about 1/4" long. Bed bugs go through multiple stages of growth, including: (1) egg, (2) five nymph stages, and (3) adult.  Part of what makes bed bugs hard to see is the fact that their eggs are about 1mm long, and a light ivory to white color. Bed bug eggs have been described as looking like small grains of rice. Additionally, during the nymph stages of growth, bed bugs will not have the dark reddish brown color of adult bed bugs. The nymphs will appear dark only after a feeding, but will most often be a translucent yellow.

 To say with certainty that any mark is a bed bug bite is very difficult. Current research, along with our own experience, has shown that not all people have reactions to bed bug bites. More specifically, not all human bodies have a reaction to the anesthetic bed bugs inject into our skin while they feed. Some people react immediately with varying degrees of severity; some will slowly develop a reaction over time; and some people will never show any sign of bed bug bites.  That is why a thorough bed bug inspection should include bed rooms and living / recreation rooms. Here are some clues and indicators that may help in determining if you have a bed bug bite:

Bite marks tend to be on the upper part of the body

Bite marks are usually clustered together, in a line or slight arc

Marks first appeared about 7-10 days apart, but are now almost daily (meaning an inncrease in bed bug population)

AAP Tech Tip:

 "At first I thought I wasn't doing a good job treating for bed bugs. We would usually follow the direction of the customer as to where the bed bug infestation was, and treat only those areas. A few days after treatment we would get a call saying the bugs had moved to another room, with tenants that never had bites. After a couple of similar instances, we began to realize that the bed bugs didn't move - they had been in those rooms from the beginning. Bites or not, all rooms where people rest or sleep need to be inspected."

NO. Bed bugs can be found anywhere people are. Bed bugs are most commonly found in resting places, where people are sitting for extended amounts of time.  Bedrooms top the list, but we often find bed bugs in: dressers, couches, coffee tables, recliners, dining room chairs, cars, and office work stations.  Even worse, bed bugs are not restricted to furniture. You can find bed bugs in curtains and blinds, around window and door trim, behind door hinges, along baseboards, inside electronics, as well as in books and other stored items.  Bed bugs like to stay close to their food source - Homo sapiens (Yeah, us).  So any part of a structure within 10 feet of a resting person is a great place to look for a bed bug. Here at Arrest A Pest we follow a "room by room" bed bug inspection and treatment protocol.

AAP Tech Tip:

"Curtain inspections are a must. They are easy for bed bugs to climb, are usually close to the beds & couches, and have a lot of seams & folds. Sometimes I will inspect them twice, especially where the rods go through. Bed bugs love that area."

Bed bugs are no myth. They have long been a problem in the United States, and even here in Hutchinson KS. Here are some of the reasons that bed bugs are so common today:

Chemical Resistance - Over time, bed bugs build up a resistance to the most common of chemicals used in pesticide. Some strains of bed bugs may have always produced resistant bed bugs, but most creatures can build up an "immunity" to toxins that are harmful to them. Any bed bug with resistant traits would likely pass those traits on to its offspring.  Over-use of a single type of bed bug pesticide has led to most bed bug strains in the US now being considered "resistant."

Nonlethal Dosages - No matter how small or large a living creature is, there exists (with most chemical toxicants) a level of exposure required for the death of that creature. If even a small portion of a bed bug population receives less than a lethal dose, you create a scenario perfect for a population of bed bugs to rebound.

Incomplete Treatment - Thorough application to all potential harborages and suspected travel places is essential in order to control bed bugs. Anything less can lead to reasons (1) and (2) mentioned above.

Ignorance - The belief that bed bugs were fictional was very common - until the last few years. This belief resulted in a carefree approach, meaning that bed bugs had a lot of freedom to move, repopulate, and spread across the globe. This happened without most people being aware of the danger.  Included in that widespread ignorance were many in the pest control industry who had never even encountered a bed bug infestation.

Pest Control Changes - Old products banned, new products brought to market. Lower volumes of pesticides being used in an effort to be more responsible, more environmentally conscience.  A shift in treatment method, of trying to keep bugs out of a home by perimeter applications. This inadvertently created safe zones for bed bugs inside our homes. 

Travel - In the 21st century, travel is easier than ever - both for people and for bed bugs. There is no shortage of places to go, things to see, restaurants to try, and hotels available to help you rest up after a rigorous day of adventuring. Comfortable cars, fast airplanes, and Uber drivers keep the journey as fun as the destination, opening up lanes of travel for bed bugs too. Opportunities to relocate from Kansas City to Hutchinson, or New York to LA, or anywhere a bed bug could dream of going.

International Travel - With so many people moving around our Earth every day, bed bugs were destined to be close behind. 

Hybrid Bed Bugs - Once bed bugs from different parts of the world started crossing paths, they began to co-mingle and reproduce, creating the bed bugs that are now plaguing our cities. With a more durable exoskeleton, and resistance traits from different strains of bed bugs, the fight against these new "super bed bugs" has very quickly dominated the pest control industry. 

Bed bugs are a "people pest." You get them from being around people who have them, or by being in a space infested with bed bugs. For a bed bug, life is simple. A bed bug has (3) key things to do.

SURVIVE - Evade detection and find secure hiding places

FEED - The closer to people they can establish a harborage, the better

REPRODUCE - Keeping the species alive; bed bugs lay eggs every day

 Bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They also will lay eggs as they travel. This means that just a short time spent in areas where bed bugs are present is enough time for them to attach to you or your belongings. Contact with bed bug eggs is another way that people bring bed bugs home. A bed bug egg is very sticky, allowing them to transfer easily if people sit on or brush up against them. 

 The biggest culprit in spreading bed bugs appears to be people themselves. Embarrassment over having bed bugs keeps some from informing friends and family that they have an infestation. These people may innocently maintain regular social interactions, giving bed bugs ample opportunity to move from residence to residence. Others may falsely believe that they have solved the issue on their own, and that no threat is present. They resume interactions with others and inadvertently end up passing on bed bugs. Perhaps the largest contributor to the spread of bed bugs is the simple fact that many people are unaware that they have bed bugs. Often, bed bugs will be in a structure for many months before the residents are aware of the issue. 

AAP Owner's Tip:

"Most of our customers have a good idea of where the bud bug problem came from. Usually they can point to a stay in a hotel, family visiting over a holiday, a co-worker, or someone they interacted with that had a bed bug issue. Unfortunately for some, the question of 'how did I get bed bugs?' will never be answered."

Once you see a bed bug you will never forget it. Here are some signs that you might have problems with bed bugs:

• Bites, usually in a line, arch or cluster (may only be once every 7-10 days at first)
• Itching and redness on skin
• Small black dots on walls or furniture, or dark staining of fabric (bed bug waste is dark from the blood they consume, and will smear if wiped with a damp cloth)
• Amber colored casings, which are the exoskeletons discarded by bed bugs during the molting from one growth stage to another.
• Eggs. Bed bugs tend to leave eggs everywhere they travel. Very small, but often found in clusters or close proximity to other eggs.
• Strange bugs. Call us, we can easily identify bed bug evidence from a clear cell phone picture.

You may have one, some or all of these signs of bed bugs. There is no charge for bed bug inspections in Hutchinson KS when you call Arrest A Pest. Some tips for bed bug inspection:

• Use a bright flashlight - Essential to helping spot bed bug eggs and bed bug droppings
• Be thorough - Inspect more than the edge of the mattress; check both sides of the box spring, the frame and the headboard too
• Don't assume that "no bites = no bed bugs"

AAP Owner's Tip:

"Don't shortcut the bed bug inspection. A few extra minutes is always worth the peace of mind of being confident about where the bed bugs are, or are not."

First of all: don't panic. Bed bugs have become a common pest. We receive calls about bed bugs as much as we do about roaches and termites.  Second,  resist the urge to spray anything, clean excessively, or throw away anything of value. This can make it harder to determine the full extent of your bed bug problem. And finally, call your local professional pest control company. Most should offer you a free bed bug estimate and inspection.

AAP Tech Tip:

"Get a total price from the pest control company, and ask how often they will need to treat. More importantly, get it in writing. Don't let someone keep coming out and charging you more than they promised. I am often treating for bed bugs in homes where customers have been paying someone else for multiple services with no results. This means they've just been wasting a lot of money and time."

First of all: don't panic. Bed bugs have become a common pest. We receive calls about bed bugs as much as we do about roaches and termites.  Second,  resist the urge to spray anything, clean excessively, or throw away anything of value. This can make it harder to determine the full extent of your bed bug problem. And finally, call your local professional pest control company. Most should offer you a free bed bug estimate and inspection.

AAP Tech Tip:

"Get a total price from the pest control company, and ask how often they will need to treat. More importantly, get it in writing. Don't let someone keep coming out and charging you more than they promised. I am often treating for bed bugs in homes where customers have been paying someone else for multiple services with no results. This means they've just been wasting a lot of money and time."

If you have tried to use bed bug treatment products from retail stores, you are no doubt disappointed with the results. The vast majority of chemicals available to the general public are Pyrethroid or Pyrethrin based. That means these bed bug sprays are (1) a repellant chemical (which is bad when trying to control and not spread bed bugs) and (2) mostly ineffective, since a large portion of the bed bugs in existence today have built up a resistance to that class of chemicals.  Pyrethroids do not stay on surfaces for very long, nor are manufacturers of these required to change labels and advertising to reflect the decline in effectiveness.

AAP Owner's Tip:

"We have started referring to use of over the counter products for bed bugs as the "pyrethroid cycle". Most often, a "bug bomb" or "bed bug spray" will give 4-5 days of relief from bed bugs. This doesn't mean that the bed bugs have died, but that they have moved away from the area to avoid the repellant pyrethroid. Later when the bed bugs resume feeding (assuming the first application was mostly successful) a second application is made. Again, this may give you 4-5 days of bed-bug-free sleep. However, by the 3rd or 4th attempt most people realize they are in a never ending cycle."

It can, but rarely produces the desired results. Arrest A Pest Termite & Pest Control does not use - nor do we recommend using - diatomaceous earth (DE) for bed bug control. We do use diatomaceous earth for control of other bugs and pests, such as the brown recluse spider. DE is not a chemical control method, it is a physical control. This means that its presence in an environment does not guarantee it will deliver any pest control effect on bed bugs.  If someone wanted to kill a bug, they could do so by a number physical contact methods. A shoe, for example. It may sound silly, but who hasn't stepped on a bug, or used a shoe to kill a spider? A fly swatter is a better example. It's a physical contact control method of pest control. But both the shoe and a fly swatter have to be employed correctly. If you place a shoe & a fly swatter in the middle of a room, how many bugs will you kill? What if you put the fly swatter in the shoe and throw both of them at the flies? Or maybe you put the shoe in front of the door to keep bug from coming in from the outside? The point is, DE has to be used properly. It has to make contract with the target pest, and make contact in the right manner.  

 As many people know, diatomaceous earth is made from finely ground remains of fossilized aquatic organisms. It feels like baby powder to our touch, but when examined under magnification it is revealed to be jagged and sharp. For pest control, this powder must make contact with the body of the insect; to be most effective, it needs to be rubbed or ground against the insect (insects grind the DE into their skin as they try to squeeze into confined spaces). The physical effect is a drying out of the insect from (1) destruction of the waxy layer protecting the exoskeleton, and (2) cuts & breaks caused by the sharp and jagged particles.

 Specifically regarding bed bugs, here is why Diatomaceous Earth is not an effective control method:

 Travel Paths: Bed bugs are great climbers and hiders. Most of the time we find DE has been placed in only some of the areas that bed bugs traverse. We see DE placed on the floor and on beds, but rarely in their harborages around a room. Few people (if any) apply DE to the sheets, pillow, and blankets. This means that after treating their mattress and box spring, they cover over that physical contact treatment. 

 Level of Contact: We've observed bed bugs walking across DE that has been in place for some time. As a pile of dust on the ground, bed bugs can avoid the unstable area (or can simply walk across the pile if it has hardened or compressed enough over time.) When DE is placed on walls and around windows, it seems that bed bugs can walk through the dust and not pick up enough to cause death in an effective amount of time. Contact on the legs of the bed bug is not enough to compromise the physical integrity of the bed bug exoskeleton. 

 Benefits vs Effort: Our goal is total control of bed bugs. This means complete elimination of them in a defined space. Diatomaceous Earth falls very short of providing that level of control. It gives only partial control, is not fast acting, causes a potentially hazardous environment (inhalation of Diatomaceous Earth is damaging to our respiratory system), can render other control efforts ineffective, and is very messy. 

Diatomaceous Earth will kill some bed bugs, but not enough. Other methods of bed bug control should be used.

AAP Tech Tip: 

"Often we have to clean up piles of dust, vacuum, and wipe down areas we need to treat for bed bugs. Diatomaceous earth gets everywhere, making it hard to inspect for bed bugs and provide an effective treatment."

Absolutely!!! We do hundreds of treatments for bed bugs every year. So do many other businesses in the pest control industry. Bed bugs are found in every type of structure - single family homes, hotels & motels, apartment buildings, retail stores, office buildings, restaurants, schools, daycares, churches, etc. Bed bugs can also be found even in cars, trucks, semi trailers, and RV's.

AAP Tech Tip:

"Let's just say... bed bugs are everywhere."