They are typically found in the areas that you spend the most time at rest. While this is usually the area where you sleep, it typically also includes your couches, recliners, and other furniture in the living room. If you try to treat yourself with over the counter products you can chase the bed bugs throughout your entire home.
Bed Bug Control & Treatment for Eastern Pennsylvania
Bed Bugs are one of the most feared pest infestations in North America. The mental stress they cause is like no other pest we deal with. People have reported signs of anxiety, paranoia, and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.) related to bed bug infestations.
Bed Bugs are also one of the most difficult pests to get rid of, often requiring several treatments even by professionals. The likelihood of success will depend on several factors, including:
- How many bed bugs have infested the property
- How much clutter is available for hiding
- Whether or not your neighbors have bed bugs
- Whether all residents of the house or building participate in the process of extermination
Procor’s bed bug experts will:
- Identify if you have a bed bug problem
- Develop a customized strategy for extermination
- Help you prepare for bed bug treatment
- Keep the infestation from spreading
- Evaluate and protect from reinfestation
PROCOR’s Bed Bug Control & Treatment Process:
Your treatment process will begin with a thorough inspection by your Procor technician.
If we are able to confirm the presence of bed bugs we will complete a three-stage treatment process. A comprehensive list of required preparation work will be provided at the time of your initial inspection.
Stage One: Treatment to all areas of activity. This will typically include the bedrooms and living room.
Stage Two: High Heat Treatment. Your home will be heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit by our trained professionals. Heat is proven to kill all stages of the bed bug life cycle. By utilizing electric heaters and fans, we are able to safely and effectively heat your home to the required temperature, hold it there for the necessary amount of time, all without causing damage or harm to your home or belongings.
Stage Three: Inspection of home and spot treatments to any areas of activity, if necessary.
Once the service is complete there is a 30-day warranty.
All About Bed Bugs:
Bed Bugs are ¼” by ⅛” in size, think of an apple seed as a good reference. They vary in color from translucent to light brown to mahogany depending on their age and when they’ve last eaten. Their only source of food is blood from humans and animals.
They are mainly active at night since that is when the majority of people are sleeping but they can adapt to alternative sleep schedules. To obtain their blood meal, they pierce our skin and suck blood. Because they emit an enzyme on our skin prior to piercing it that essentially anesthetizes that area, we never actually feel them piercing the skin.
Unlike mosquitos who are able to feed off of our blood fairly quickly, Bed Bugs require 5 to 10 minutes to take in a meal and can consume 3 times their body weight in a single blood meal. Bed Bugs typically like to take a meal every other night, however, they are able to go several months in between meals if necessary, making starving them out next to impossible.
HOW TO CHECK FOR BED BUGS:
Bed bugs are gifted hitchhikers and it is incredibly easy for them to enter your home. It can be as simple as sitting in a seat that someone previously sat in that has bed bugs or having someone in your home that is dealing with them in their own home.
If you think you may have bed bugs, here are some signs to look for.
Signs of Bed Bugs:
- Live Insects: Bed Bugs hide and cluster together in groups; they do not nest. Typical hiding places include hiding along the seams along mattresses, bed frames and headboards, couches, chairs, and anywhere else within 3’ of your sitting and sleeping areas.
- Droppings: Look for black spots along the seams of your mattress, on your box spring, and in the seams of your furniture. When bed bugs digest our blood they leave behind blackish colored stains.
- Bites: Not all people get a reaction to bed bug bites, but bed bugs bite all people. It is important to never diagnose a bed bug infestation based solely on bites alone. The chemical makeup of our individual bodies dictates how we react to bed bug bites, because of these variations even doctors are unable to diagnose bites specifically as bed bug bites. The most common reaction is small reddish bumps, sometimes in a row of three. When bed bugs feed while you sleep, they go for your exposed skin first, which is typically your arms, shoulders, neck, and face. A very small percentage of people have severe allergic reactions to bites, causing sores or large bumps. Roughly 25% of the population get no reaction at all, they are getting bit but there is just evidence of it.
HOW BED BUGS HUNT:
Bed Bugs sense our body heat, carbon dioxide output, and our activity. They wait until we are at rest, either sleeping or going long periods without activity, so Bed Bugs like when we binge-watch on Netflix too!
IDENTIFYING A BED BUG:
Bed Bugs are ¼” by ⅛” in size, think of an apple seed as a good reference. They vary in color from translucent to light brown to mahogany depending on their age and when they’ve last eaten.
WHERE TO LOOK:
Typical hiding places include along your bed frame, the seams along your mattress, your headboard, couches, chairs, and anywhere else within 3’ of your sitting and sleeping areas.
Tips to reduce your risk of getting bed bugs:
- Thoroughly inspect any second-hand furniture or clothing prior to bringing it into your home.
- Purchase bed bug proof mattress and box spring encasements. They must be a fully enclosable encasement, not just a cover, and they need to be rated for bed bugs. They will prevent the bed bugs from entering your mattress and box spring and eliminate any seams or other areas that bed bugs may hide, making it easier to spot them. Contact Procor Pest Control today for information on ordering these encasements.
- Reduce the clutter in your home to cut down on potential hiding places for bed bugs.
- Use caution if using a laundromat. Put clothes directly into a bag from the dryer and fold your clothes at home if possible. The heat from the dryer will kill any bed bugs present, by putting your clothes directly into a bag you are reducing the risk of other bed bugs from getting on that clothing.
- If you must enter areas that have an active bed bug infestation it is VERY important to take nothing out of that environment and to reduce the amount of time you spend in it. Refrain from sitting if at all possible and when you return home it is vital that you immediately launder all clothing worn and dry on the highest heat setting.
Where do bed bugs live besides beds?
Does replacing your mattress get rid of bed bugs?
Replacing your mattress will not help with getting rid of bed bugs, however, it may occasionally be necessary to do so if your mattress is severely ripped or torn. Since bed bugs easily travel 3 to 10 feet in any direction from their food source (us), they can be in any piece of furniture, wall hanging, baseboard, and any other crack and crevice they can find.
Can an exterminator get rid of bed bugs in one session?
No. It normally takes two treatments at the very least, but three treatments are the most effective. The gestation period for bed bug eggs is 10 to 14 days and those eggs are hidden and protected VERY well by female bed bugs.
They lay those eggs in the most secure, protected, out of the way areas they can find. It is impossible to find and kill each and every one of those eggs in one treatment, even with heat alone. That is why we use a combination of traditional treatments as well as heat to eliminate your bed bug concerns.
Is there any permanent solution for bed bugs?
If you have bed bugs in your home, it is possible to eliminate them but it’s not possible to permanently ensure you never get them again in the future. In fact, short of building a dome over your home, never leaving, or allowing another person to enter your home, there is no way to prevent getting bed bugs. There are some precautions you can take to reduce your risk of bringing bed bugs into your home.