Bed Bugs 101

The viscousness of bed bugs show that vampires are not the only blood suckers that are around. Scientifically known as Cimex lectularius, bed bugs are small, brownish flat-like insects that operate mostly during late hours when it is dark out.

When it is daytime bed bugs prefer to situate themselves in areas people normally sleep on. Their small bodies enable them to fit in the narrowest of spaces, especially those related with basebords, crevasses on mattresses, and pillow cases. Unlike ants or bees, bed bugs do not congregate in just one area alone.

The problems with bed bugs go back as far, as documented, as medieval Europe and classical Greek during the time of Aristotle. Bed bugs were already known to feast on wild hosts mainly birds and bats.

Bed bugs were a huge problem especially before World War II due to the poor focus on cleanliness and proper hygiene. However, the bugs nearly vanished in the 1940’s and 1950’s because of the widespread use of various pesticides. However, less effective pesticides and reforms in pest control methods enabled these creatures to make a comeback and again become a pest in society.

The adult bed bugs are normally confused for ticks or tiny roaches, as they are approximately ¼ inch in length with flat and hard bodies. These insects can move swiftly in floors, ceiling, walls and other surfaces, but even though they have wings they cannot take flight. The female bed bugs can lay as many as 500 eggs during their lifespan and choose inconspicuous areas to make their move.

As soon as the female eggs hatch, the baby bugs or nymphs can fully develop in as little time as a month. Cool areas or where there is no access to blood will prolong the development time. The nymphs can live for several months without feasting, while the adults can last for around a year.

People that are asleep counting sheep are normally the prime targets of bed bugs. A person who is being bitten may not even notice that he has become dinner for the bed bug, as engorgement normally lasts for around three minutes or even less than that. Bite scars result in a red welt or slight swelling of the skin, depending on how sensitive the person’s skin is.

People that are traveling often, do not regularly clean their beds or use pre-owned beds, should be concerned that they will sooner or later be attacked by bed bugs. However, bed bugs are not considered a serious disease threat, as there is only a small chance that they can transmit any harmful virus to humans. Those that want to prevent complications from bed bug bites should spread antibiotic cream or antiseptic to the infected area of the body.

In addition, it is best not to scratch the infected area, as depending on how sensitive your skin is you could expand the rash even more. Similar to mosquito bites, scratching only makes the infection worse.

The proliferation of bed bugs has been a problem for many hundreds of years. The length of time they have been causing headaches indicate that the perfect way control them has yet to be developed. It is wise for a person with a bed bug issue to hire a professional exterminator to help remedy their dilemma.

Those with extensive experience in the pest control industry should know where bed bugs settle. To aid the pest solvers, clients should at least clean their surroundings from excess clutter. The inspectors could be forced to search in nearby rooms, as bed bugs have the ability to disperse in different areas of a building.

The mattress is normally the main breeding ground of bugs. If a bed has holes and tears it is likely that these contain bed bug eggs inside or out. Pest control companies normally advise their clients to get rid of the mattresses that are heavily infested or in poor shape.

Bed bugs are not picky about what type of bed they will settle in, as they put more importance on the warm blooded person occupying it for an extended period of time. Bed bugs can even settle in sleeping bags, egg foam, or even stacks cardboard on the floor.

Any place where people sleep is always the ideal area for bed bugs to roam. Water beds are not excluded, as these have nooks and crannies and are often warm, which is the preferred temperature of these insects.

Despite various methods to control bed bugs, it is safe to say they are here to stay. Possibly, the best way not to become a bed bug victim is by putting a premium on good hygiene and cleanliness, it wont stop them but it will give them less places to hide, making them easier to get rid of.

To Kill Bed Bugs - You Must Find Them

Now I have already gone over some ways on how to kill bed bugs, but how do you really know that you have these disgusting blood sucking insects visiting you early in the morning a couple of hours before sunrise? The first sign of that you may have bed bugs is that you have insect bites on your body, this could or could not be bed bugs, if you are noticing bumps that were not there before you went to sleep, then you should start being concerned as to if you really have bed bugs in your house or apartment, or wherever you are sleeping at.

So now you suspect that you may have a bed bug problem, but just insect bites alone will not determine this, you don’t even know for sure that the bumps you have are even insect bites or bed bug bites. Every ones skin reacts to bed bug bites differently, so you will have to do some deep searching around your room. First place I would look for some traces of bed bugs would be on the mattress of the bed. Take off all of the sheets, and closely examine the crevices that are in the mattress, if you see a bunch of black spots, this could be a very good indication that you may have a bed bug infected mattress. The black spots could either resemble their eggs or even blood stains, you should be checking your sheets to if they are that of a light color, look for any kind of little blood trails.

The second place I would look, to find a trail from bed bugs would be in the corners of the ceiling, especially if you have popcorn style ceiling, this gives them and excellent place to hide and lay their eggs, you may even see a couple of shedding of skin from maturing bed bugs, so if you check all of these things, then there is a very good chance that you may have a bit of a bed bug problem. From this point you can either take the necessary steps that I have explained in previous posts on how to kill bed bugs, or you can call your local pest control. They will have to come inside your home and do a major fumigation to once and for all get rid of bed bugs in your household, and sometimes this can be expensive.

On another note, if you live in an apartment complex, and you discover that your apartment is infected with bed bugs, in most all cases it is the apartments responsibility to treat the problem immediately. Although all scientific studies that have been done prove that bed bugs do not carry or transmit any dangerous diseases, the bites you receive from bed bugs always have a chance of getting infected from the irritation and scratching at them, so yes it is the duty of the landlord to solve the problem immediately, in most cases. Either way you can either move to a different location to live, or you can make a stand and kill bed bugs, the choice is up to you.

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How To Kill Bed Bugs

So you are here because you want to learn how to kill bed bugs. While there are many ways to do this, but mostly every blog out there that has some good information, and not trying to sell their own product, will tell you that you need to get a professional exterminator. While this is very true in most cases, but if you only have a minor bed bug problem, and it’s not a major infestation, then you may want to save your money and try a couple of do it yourself tricks on how to kill bed bugs.

One thing that is very important, is that you need to know bed bugs cannot live very long if the heat is above 120 degrees, this is also very true for bed bug eggs, they will not survive at 120 degrees or more, they will almost die instantly. Bed bugs and their eggs, can also be killed by extreme cold, 32 degrees will kill them, but the problem with this is it could take days, as they can withstand cold a lot longer than they can heat. Here I will show you 5 different ways that you can kill bed bugs, without buying any pesticides or hiring a professional exterminator to come out and drain your pockets of money. So with that being said I will go over 5 different ways on how to kill bed bugs.

1. Steam Cleaning – While a normal vacuum will work decent, if some of the little pests are hiding their eggs in the carpet. But no type of vacuum can compare to a steam clean, some of the places that you are going to want to steam clean would be the carpet that’s surrounding the bed, or the place that you notice the bugs are at, or suspect where they may be hiding at. It would also be good to steam clean your mattress once a month, this will ensure that any bed bugs that are hiding out there will be dead in a matter of seconds after they are exposed to the hot steam.

2. Iron – If you don’t have access to, or can’t afford to have a steam clean, an iron is another option. You will want to set the iron onto the steam setting, and you will want to have it as high as it will go. Be sure to hit all of the cracks and crevices that are on the mattress, being that this is where bed bugs like to hide, and also keep their eggs at. If you are ironing the mattress make sure to go in quick motions, giving the bed bugs less chance of escape, iron everything, especially the pillows.

3. Hair Dryer – This is good for hitting spots that the steam cleaner or the iron cannot get to. Remember, bed bugs just don’t hide inside mattresses, they hide everywhere and anywhere that they can. They are not that mobile, and will usually be no more than 20 feet away from you. So grab yourself a hairdryer, and again, set it to the hottest setting possible, and go over any spot where you think that they may be hiding. Hit every outlet, take of the outlet plate and blow dry that too, any night stand or table that may be around your bed, if you have blinds make sure to hit them too, any crack or crevice on the window sill. If you have a popcorn ceiling, be sure that you pay special attention to the corners of the wall, look for any little black spots that you may find, and if you find them, blow them with the hair dryer as long as you want. If I suspect a spot where there are bed bug eggs I will keep the hair dryer on that spot for a couple of minutes to ensure that they have no chance of survival what so ever. This is a war on bugs and you cannot let them win.

4. Wash Sheets In Hot Water – This step should be done prior to any effort in killing bed bugs. Whenever you are planning on mass extermination you want to make sure that you wash all of your sheets in hot water, water that is at least 120 degrees. If you have laundry baskets in the sleeping room where you suspect might have bed bugs, make sure you wash all of those clothes in hot water, as they can hide out there also, the hot water will ensure their death.

5. Tropical Weather – If you have furniture that you think might be infested, or even a mattress and you live in a tropical climate, you can use this against them to rid your furniture of bed bugs. You will have to wrap up the furniture or mattress in a large black trash bag, or anything else that would keep heat contained, and leave it out in the hot sun for a couple of days, if you do this, you will kill any bed bug or egg that is in the furniture.


These are not the only ways on how to kill bed bugs, but they are very effective and they are cheap alternatives to calling out pest control, or using excessive flea bombs or similar products that claim to kill bed bugs. While using all of the methods above is not a sure way to kill all bed bugs, they are some efficient ways to get rid of bed bugs, and when combined with excessive bombing and bug treatment, you can get rid of them altogether. Every situation is different and different measures must be taken to get rid of them. The more junk you have lying around, the more placed the bed bugs have to hide. Do not give them the advantage, take away their hiding spots, kill them with heat, and then kill them with bombs and pesticides, use every method that you know about, do it. This is once and for all, how to kill bed bugs, and once they are gone, be very careful not to invite them back into your house.