St. Louis pest control experts say that bed bugs are one of the most challenging pests to get out of your house. Once thought to be nearly extinct, bed bugs have had a resurgence in the past few decades and are now a common pest across the U.S. The truth is that you will likely be exposed to these bugs at least once in your lifetime. Everyone needs to understand their habits to help avoid contact with them. Arenz Pest Management will help you understand more about these parasitic pests and help you get rid of them for good.
Habits Of Common Bed Bugs
Learning these insects' habits and characteristics will help you understand how to check for bed bugs in your home. Knowing where and what to look for is crucial for early detection.
Bed bug habits include hitching rides on luggage or clothing, feeding on human blood, and hiding behind headboards. Bed bugs are opportunistic. They live on many different surfaces, but mattresses, box springs, and the headboards of beds are frequently where they reside. By hiding in beds, they can feed on humans while the human is sleeping, so they go virtually undetected until they go from being a few bugs in the house to a full-blown infestation.
They attach themselves to pieces of clothing, luggage, and furniture so that a human carries them away from one place to another place. Wherever you find large groups of people or where large numbers of people visit, you will most likely find these St. Louis pests. Because they are hard to see and do not make noise, learning to spot bed bugs signs will help you stop an infestation.
The Symptoms Of A Bed Bug Infestation
One question that people often ask professionals about bed bugs is how do you know if you have bed bugs? Bed bug signs include reddish-brown fecal spots on bedding, the presence of eggs, eggshells, or shed skins from molting. You may also notice a musty odor you cannot identify and discover bites on your body. Most people first realize that these insects live with them when they discover the bites.
What do bed bug bites look like? Typically, these bites are clusters or lines of small, red, itchy welts. The bites will be on the arms and legs most of the time. It can take two or three days after you are bitten before you notice the bites, and during those two or three days, the number of bed bugs in your St. Louis home has had time to grow. You can help avoid an infestation by learning a few prevention tactics.
Why Bed Bugs Are So Hard To Prevent
Knowing how to prevent bed bugs can be tricky. The insects move into your home on clothing, bags, and furniture. They are tough to see because they are less than ¼ of an inch long and are nocturnal. Most people are asleep when these bugs are out of their nests. The main reason bed bugs are so hard to prevent is the vast number of places they like to call home.
The presence of these bugs has been found in single-family homes, office buildings, apartments, schools, public transportation hubs, hotels, movie theaters, and more. Any public space comes with the risk of picking up bed bugs. Some things you can do to reduce the possibility that you will bring one of these bugs home from a public place include:
- Avoid setting your luggage on the floor in hotels.
- Avoid setting your purses and bags on the floor.
- Vacuum your suitcases when you get home.
- Inspect secondhand furniture carefully.
- Inspect the hotel rooms you are staying in.
These prevention tactics may reduce the chances of you bringing a hitchhiking bed bug back to your St. Louis home, but there is not a 100% effective prevention method. When you walk down the sidewalk or brush up against other people, you take a chance of picking up a bed bug.
The best way to manage a bed bug infestation in St. Louis is to call a pro to inspect and treat your home as soon as you suspect the bugs are present.
Call The Professionals At The First Sign Of Bed Bugs
Recognizing the early signs of bed bugs will help you in the long run. The sooner you call the professionals, the easier it will be to eliminate the problem. When you wait, you give bed bugs more time to multiply and spread through your home. We're experts at identifying infestations, treating your home, and devising a plan to prevent another infestation. If you suspect that you have bed bugs, give us a call today to get started on getting rid of them and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in St. Louis.
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