Posted on Thursday, 15th April 2010
Before calling a bed bugs exterminator it is important to know what bed bugs are. Bedbugs are small parasitic insects that feed on human blood as well as that of other warm blooded animals. They are nocturnal insects that feed at night, usually in the hour or so just before dawn. They usually only feed once every week or so, and can live in a state of dormancy for over a year without feeding. To feed, bed bugs will insert a hollow feeding tube through the skin of the host and suck blood for roughly 5 minutes. After feeding the bugs retreat, usually to inside the mattress, but can be anywhere near enough to feed such as: nearby furniture, books, linens and walls.
Once bitten by a bed bug, the host will not actually feel the bite area for a few hours. It will then begin to itch, often quite intensely. The bite site itself will usually be a red swollen bump or flat welt. Bites are very similar in appearance to mosquito bites and can take up to nine days to appear after being bitten by a bed bug.
Since 2000, bed bug infestations in New York alone have reached near epidemic proportions. Hotels, schools and hospitals are some high occupancy areas that bed bugs are spread from. The infestations are so bad in New York that bed bugs infestations have been nicknamed “house herpes.” Pest exterminators are working overtime to try and quell these outbreaks.
There are many supposed ways to kill bed bugs. Many of these involve pesticides and rubbing alcohol which will work if the medium is placed directly on the bugs. The most dependable way to kill bed bugs, and the main way that bed bugs exterminators use, is with intense heat which will kill the bug within a couple of minutes. It has been stated that all bed bug stages of life can be killed with 7 minutes of exposure to 46 degree Celsius (115 Deg. Fahrenheit) temperatures.
The easiest way to achieve these temperatures for the desired length of time is to use a fabric steamer. This will kill all the bugs and the eggs instantly. The steam will also penetrate deep into the mattress and into the bed corners to kill bugs in the entire mattress. The US Department of Defense recommends that a temperature of at least 49 Deg. C or 120 Deg. F be used for at least twenty minutes to ensure that all bugs are killed. There are oven type machines on the market for this purpose. Placing a mattress in a black bag in the sun on a hot day is not sufficient to kill bed bugs.
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