While bed bugs are not likely to cause the degree of damage that termites or mice might, the stigma of having them in your home can be a hard burden to bare. Besides having to cope with bed bug bites and the financial impact of the bed bug infestation, the mistaken assumption that bed bugs infest dirty houses is humiliating, to say the least.
A bed bug infestation is purely a matter of bad luck. Bed bugs can't fly or even run further than a few feet, so when it comes down to the place they infest, the choice is made not by them but by whomever they're hitchhiking on.
An infested seat in a movie theatre or a restaurant, a piece of luggage set down on a bus, or a bed bug-infested book borrowed from the library and your house is facing a severe bed bug problem.
So, let's look at early signs of bed bug infestation you can watch for, how to prevent bed bugs from getting into your home and how to find quality pest control in Snohomish in case prevention fails.
Bed Bug Bites Are Usually The First Sign Of A Problem
Bed bug bites are most often the first sign of an infestation. Bed bugs are small, less than a quarter inch in size, and nocturnal, so spotting them during the day is almost impossible.
Their young, the nymphs, are even smaller and translucent, barely visible to the naked eye. Bed bugs are very good at staying out of sight, hiding in places most of us would not even consider, like in your phone or an alarm clock.
Spotting bed bugs themselves is not easy, but here are a few of the other signs of a bed bugs infestation in your Snohomish home to watch for:
- Dark or rust-colored spots on your bedding, mattress, or walls
- Bloodstains on the bedding
- Musty smell bed bugs use to communicate.
- Dead bugs or molted skins
- Eggs attached to the bed frame or in the nooks and crannies around it
The infestation is likely in advanced stages if you see any of the above signs of bed bugs, especially eggs and dead bugs. At this point, you will definitely benefit from involving a Snohomish bed bug control professional.
Bed Bugs Won't Just Go Away On Their Own
Bed bugs spend most of their life looking for a place to settle in and an abundant food resource. Since they can't travel far on their own, they're not going anywhere once they've found a host to provide blood to feed on and a place to reproduce.
Now they'll start looking for perfect places to hide, feed and lay eggs. >And the longer a bed bug infestation is allowed to progress, the more bed bugs you'll have to deal with and the harder they will be to dislodge.
Why Do-It-Yourself Bed Bug Control Often Fails
Bed bugs in Snohomish multiply amazingly fast. Each female bed bug will lay 7 to 10 eggs a day after each time it feeds. That's up to 500 eggs in a lifetime, and each egg will be a full-grown, reproducing bed bug in less than a month. Bed bugs can wait over a year for their next meal and survive extreme cold and heat.
Once bed bugs are in your home, they are tough to clear off, and a single egg missed can start a whole new infestation up to a year and a half later.
Call The Pros At The First Sign Of Bed Bugs In Your Home
The earlier you can spot the infestation, the easier it will be to clean the bed bugs out of your house. A pest control professional will know what to look for and make sure to clear out every last bug, their young, and their eggs to avoid a reinfestation later on.
If your home is under siege from bed bugs, call Guard Pest Control today to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Snohomish.