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About bed bugs.
The common bed bug's official name is "Cimex lectularius".
The adult bed bug is approximately 5 mm long, reddish-brown in colour
but becomes purple after feeding. They have a well developed antennae
as well as prominent but simple eyes.
Their feet have claws for climbing through rough surfaces but not smooth surfaces.
The ratio of the head width, including the eyes, to length of the third antennal
segment is usually greater than 1.7.
The bed bugs belong to the family of "cimicidae".
The most noticeable feature of this insect is that it is flat in height and oval from
a cross section.
The metamorphosis in the bed bug growth is classified as incomplete, where
there is an egg and then nymphal stage.
The bed bug has very short but functionless forewings but does not have
any hind wings.
They have a mouth section which is used to pierce and then suck blood, this
mouth section forms a beak, called a rostrum. This rostrum is usually positioned under the body in a ventral groove.
The bed bug uses this beak to feed on human blood which is the only food it consumes. The bed bug must suck the blood from its host's body.
The main host are human beings but they also feed on other warm blooded
animals as well.
Bed bugs are found in human habitations throughout the world.
The main problem with finding bed bugs is that they are extremely good at
hiding, extremely hardy and very elusive.
Bed bugs can hide in mattresses, especially the seams of the mattresses. The mattress bases is another favorite as well a head boards of beds.
They also can hide in furniture, walls, cavities, skirting boards, telephones, curtains, pelmets, door frames, lamps, lamp shades, under carpets, in coat hangers and just about anywhere.
They can lay transparent, minute eggs up to 500, per female bed bug on
books, magazines, walls, cracks, paper and just about anywhere. Especially
wood and textile items.
When hatched the bed bug mites are almost impossible to see due to their
minute size, transparent colour and excellent hiding skills.
It therefore takes time and skill to locate the hiding bed bugs which
theoretically can lay dormant for up to 18 months without feeding.
The problem is compounded by the fact that bed bugs can withstand up
to -20 Centigrade and up to 45 Centigrade in temperatures.
In temperate climates bed bugs reach their peak numbers towards early
autumn. At this time all stages in the lifecycle will be present. With the
onset of colder weather their activity decreases, egg-laying ceases and development of the juvenile forms slows down.
The adult bed bug is very resilient to low temperatures and can survive
up to - 20C. The adults mainly hibernate over winter. The eggs and nymphs
are more susceptible to low temperatures and mainly die out with the onset
of winter, unless in adequately heated premises.
Therefore finding and eliminating bed bugs is hard to do, a professional
is needed who will do a thorough search after which a professional pesticide
will be applied.
The pesticide will be a preventative system to kill the adult bed bugs and
act as a growth inhibitor to stunt the development of the bed bug nymphs.
A second visit and a reapplication of pesticide will be needed in two weeks
to kill any unhatched eggs.
There are a host of other measures and techniques used to eliminating bed bugs
which do not involve pesticide.
Finding you have a bed bug infestation is a very traumatic experience
because the bed bugs are known to be present and active but are hidden.
But where? In your bed, furniture, skirting boards, television, carpets,
curtains, wall unit, table legs, lamp stand, electric sockets, etc?
Bed bugs are synonymous with a dirty house but the irony is that most bed
bug infestations these days happen in nice clean modern homes and hotels.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, all it takes is one bed bug to get on your
clothes or in you luggage, while on a bus or in a hotel and then next thing they
are in your house breeding and feeding on you, causing you, you family or
customers, concern.
You need professional help that will that will efficiently and thoroughly
eliminate the the bed bug problem, creating a bed bug free safety zone for
you, your family and customers.
One of the best methods of dealing with the bed bug problem is to
physically locate the infected area and remove the bed bugs, then an
application of professional pesticides should be applied.
Regular, non professional pesticides purchased in the local shop or even
online will mostly not kill the hardy bed bugs. These non professional
pesticides are not in strong enough concentration. They can not penetrate
into the hidden areas and only cause the bed bugs an irritation.
We call this pesticide you buy in the shop, contains pyrethrins which is called
a flusher by professionals because it only irritates the bed bugs. All that happens
is that they run away for a few days then come back, hungry for your blood and your families.

Where bed bugs are found.
Bed bugs cannot fly, so they must crawl everywhere but can be passively
transported on clothing, or in luggage, even furniture, books and other
objects can be used as transportation system and harborages.
They can withstand many months without feeding which increases their
chances of surviving such transportation. This is evident in the insects'
very wide distribution throughout the world and demonstrates their
success at traveling and surviving the ordeal.
Any household, hotel or business can be invaded by bed bugs even in the
cleanest environment but it increase the possibility of infestations in
premises with low standards of hygiene.
Bed bus are often associated with poor, crowed and unhygienic conditions
but nowadays it is even elite five star hotels that are falling victim to
infestations. Most bed bug infestations are found in domestic premises,
usually in the bedrooms.
Juveniles and adults bed bugs live similar lives, hiding way in the cracks
and crevices for most of the time and coming out at night, usually just
before dawn, to feed on the blood of their sleeping hosts.
Bed bugs hide mainly in bed frames, mattress, in furniture, behind skirting
boards, behind the wallpaper or anywhere that allows a dark place to hide
and harborage during the daylight hours. Bed bugs are normally nocturnal creatures.
The insect infestations occurs particularly in areas of high population
density including hotels, hostels and holiday camps.
The bird-feeding bugs, such as the Martin bug, will be found in the nests of
their hosts and follow a similar lifestyle to the Common bed bug.
The occasional problems of these species attacking humans are likely to
stem from abandoned nests built near to or inside houses.
Nests in lofts or under eaves would be a likely source if such an infestation
were suspected
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