7 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BED BUGS

We all know bed bugs are bad, they multiply, live in your bed, and feed on you at night. There are many misconceptions when it comes to these creepy crawly pests. Here are seven things you didn’t know about bed bugs.

1. Not Just ‘Bed’ Bugs

Bed bugs aren’t always necessarily found in your bed. Couches, baseboards, and picture frames are just a few places in your home you might find these pests. They can also hitchhike to your bed through fabric on public transit, in movie theatres and hotels. A lot of public spaces are high traffic areas for bed bugs.

2. Not Really Nocturnal

Bed bugs usually feed between 2a.m. and 5a.m. but if you work midnights or are planning on tricking them by sleeping during the day it won’t work. Bed bugs are attracted to the warmth of our bodies and the carbon dioxide we exhale. So when you get into bed during the day this will wake them and they will end up feeding on your regardless.

3. Don’t Throw It Away

If you have a beg bug infestation don’t think you need to go out and buy a new mattress or burn all your clothes, couches, etc. Bed bugs die in heat so washing all your clothes in hot water and then drying them on the highest setting for 30 minutes will kill any bed bugs. As for taking care of your mattress or couches, leave that up to a professional pest control company.

4. Anyone Can Get Them

If you think because you shower every day, clean your nails, wash your sheets, and vacuum that you won’t get bed bugs? Think again. It has been noted that bed bugs prefer neatly made beds as opposed to messy unmade beds. The made bed provides more warmth and less chaos. Bed bugs have no preference when it comes to who they want to attach themselves to. If you are in a movie theatre, they might cling onto your clothes or purse and follow you home.

5. All Bites Not Alike

You might wake up with some bites and think a number of things; bed bugs, spiders or mosquitoes. Usually bed bug bites occur in clusters of threes, but it has also been shown that some people might not even react to bites. And some people might just have a single bite. It just goes to show that no bed bug bites are the same.

6. Trained Dogs Can Sniff Them Out

Dogs can be trained to sniff out bed bugs. Although dogs can only detect there is a bed bug problem in a general area. You still need to hire a pest control company to come in and find out where the problem resides specifically. Here at Environment Pest Control we were the first company in Canada to utilize K-9 detection. K-9’s can sense a bed bugs presence long before humans can see them—they can sniff out bed bugs through walls, floors, and even underground. It is our most valuable tool when determining if bed bugs are present.

7. Not a Problem You Can Deal With

If you think you have a bed bug problem do not attempt to take care if it yourself. If you attempt to fumigate with products that claim to kill bed bugs it could end up making them scatter throughout your house or if you live in an apartment building they could spread to your neighbours. This can turn a concentrated problem into a problem throughout your entire home or apartment. You need to hire a pest control professional and immediately. A single female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime.