Think you're safe under the covers?
Think you're safe under the covers? Find out what may be lurking there.
Call in the professionals if you notice signs of bed bugs in your home
Fecal stains
Egg cases
Shedded skins
Reddish-brown oval insects
Bed Bugs Biting?
Call Best Exterminators 405-272-0451
Bed Bug Facts
• Bed bugs are small, oval insects that feed by sucking blood from humans or animals.
• Bed bugs cannot fly. However, they are able to crawl rapidly.
• Bed bugs have flat bodies and may sometimes be mistaken for ticks or small cockroaches.
• Adult bed bugs are reddish brown in color, appearing more reddish after feeding on a blood meal. Nymphs are clear in color and appear bright red after feeding.
• Bed bugs can live in any area of the home and can reside in tiny cracks in furniture as well as on textiles and upholstered furniture. They tend to be most common in areas where people sleep and generally concentrate in beds, including mattresses, box springs, and bed frames. Other sites where bed bugs often reside include curtains, edges of carpet, corners inside dressers and other furniture, cracks in wallpaper (particularly near the bed), and inside the spaces of wicker furniture.
• Bed bugs are most active at night and bite any exposed areas of skin while an individual is sleeping. The face, neck, hands, and arms are comm
on sites for bedbug bites.
• A bed bug bite is painless and is not noticed. Small, flat, or raised bumps on the skin are the most common sign; redness, swelling, and itching commonly occur.
• Typically, no treatment is required for bed bug bites. If itching is severe, steroid creams or oral antihistamines may be used for symptom relief.
• Fecal stains, egg cases, and shedded skins of bed bugs in crevices and cracks on or near beds are suggestive
that bed bugs may be present, but only observing the bugs themselves can confirm an active infestation.
Bed bugs!
- A professional pest-control company may be required to help identify and remove bedbugs from the home.
- Since bed bugs can live for months or even longer under favorable conditions without feeding, they can also be found in vacant homes.
- They may also be present in boxes, suitcases, or other goods that are moved from residence to residence or from a hotel to home.
- Bed bugs can live on clothing from infested homes and may be spread by a person unknowingly wearing infested clothing.
Everyday Bed Bug Prevention Tips
Never bring second-hand furniture, especially mattresses and box springs, into a home without thoroughly examining for signs of a bed bug infestation.
When you first arrive at a hotel, actually take the time to inspect the mattress, box spring, and visible parts of the headboard, especially around the edges. Start looking at the bottom of the box spring. Pull back the sheets and look along the ribbing and corners of the mattress, and around the headboard. You’re looking for bugs themselves or for little brown spots that are a sign they’ve been around. Also, if you squish a bed bug, there will be a blood spot. Use a flashlight for optimal visual inspections.
If you experience bed bugs, unpack all your suitcases outside your home (like in a garage or on the fire escape). Pull out clothes and put them through a hot wash or dry cycle—if you have delicate items, seal in a garbage sack and put in the sun. Disinfect your suitcase with no-pest strips that you can drop into a garbage bag along with your emptied suitcase. Seal up the garbage bag and store it for two or more weeks.
The first and biggest warning signs are bites. These look like little mosquito bites, but usually come in clusters of at least three. If you find suspicious bites, conduct a basic inspection the way you would at a hotel.
You can buy encasements for your bed and box spring—this won’t prevent bed bugs from entering your home, but it will make the problem way easier to fix if they do.