Bed Bug

Bed bugs are small, blood-sucking insects that can infest your home and cause a lot of trouble. They are notorious for their ability to hide in cracks and crevices, feed on humans and animals, and resist many types of treatments. They can be found all over the world, including Madison Wisconsin.

Identification

Bed bugs belong to the family Cimicidae, which means “bug that lives by sucking”. They have the following characteristics:

• They have antenna with four segments each, which they use to sense their surroundings.
• They have compound eyes, which allow them to see a very large angle of view.
• They have a proboscis, which is a small tube under their mouth that they use to feed on blood.
• They are reddish brown in color but may appear darker after feeding.
• They are about 5 to 7 mm long, which is about the size of an apple seed.
• They have two wings, but they cannot fly. They have six legs, which they use to crawl and cling to surfaces.
• They have two antennae, which they use to communicate with each other.

Lifecycle

Bed bugs undergo incomplete metamorphosis, which means they have three stages of development: egg, nymph, and adult. Their lifecycle from egg to adult takes about 4 to 6 weeks. Here is how it works:

• The female bed bug lays eggs in clusters of 10 to 50 in hidden places, such as mattresses, furniture, walls, or clothing. The eggs are white and oval-shaped, and about 1 mm long. The egg stage lasts about one week.
• The eggs hatch into nymphs, which are immature bed bugs that look like smaller versions of adults. The nymphs go through five stages of growth, called instars. They molt between each stage, shedding their old skin and growing a new one. The nymph stage lasts about 3 to 5 weeks.
• The nymphs need to feed on blood at least once before each molting. They can feed on humans or animals, such as dogs or cats. They usually feed at night when their hosts are asleep. They use their proboscis to pierce the skin and inject saliva that contains anesthetic and anticoagulant agents. This makes the bite painless and prevents the blood from clotting. The feeding process takes about 10 minutes.
• The adults are fully grown bed bugs that can reproduce. They can live for several months without feeding, but they prefer to feed once a week if possible. They can mate multiple times during their lifespan. Only fed adults can mate.

Habitat

Bed bugs can be found in various habitats around the world. They prefer areas that have plenty of hosts to feed on and places to hide from predators or light. Here are some of the factors that influence their habitat selection:

• They are not usually found in nature, but rather in human-made environments. They are brought into homes or buildings by people or their belongings, such as clothing, luggage, bedding, or furniture.
• They like warm and humid conditions, between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Bedrooms of most homes provide this ideal environment for them.
• They hide in cracks and crevices near their hosts’ sleeping or resting areas. They can be found near piping, seams and tags of mattresses, box springs, cracks on the bed frame or headboard, seams of chairs and couches, in between cushions, in the folds of curtains, and in clothing in closet or dresser drawers.
• They can also spread to other rooms or buildings by hitchhiking on people or their belongings. They can travel up to 100 feet in a night, but they usually stay within 8 feet of their hosts.

It is incredibly difficult to eliminate bed bugs without professional help. If you think you have bed bugs, reach out to Kwik Kill Pest Control to schedule an inspection so a treatment plan can be put in place.  Call the Experts Today for an honest quote and evaluation to meet your specific needs!

Kwik Kill Services to control Bed Bugs:  

• Bed Bug Elimination- Please call our Office for a Bed Bug inspection to determine your custom treatment plan needed to gain control. 
• Bed Bug Prep Sheet

Additional Information:

https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef636
https://extension.umn.edu/biting-insects/bed-bugs
https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/bedbugs/knowTheFacts.php