What should I know about bed bugs?

• Bed bugs are wingless, oval shaped, flat bodied, opaque, blood feeding insects that generally appear reddish in color due to being engorged with a previous blood meal. Bed bugs cannot jump or fly, but crawl to their desired destination.
• A female bed bug can lay 200 - 400 eggs in her life cycle. The female will generally lay 3-4 eggs per day, with hatching occurring 6-17 days later.
• The female bed bug pastes her eggs in cracks and crevices, most commonly of mattresses and box springs, but will also lay eggs in nearby surrounding areas such as baseboards, windowsills, décor items, and electrical outlets. Because bed bugs are flat they can easily access the most minute cracks and crevices.
• After the eggs hatch the nymphs will instinctively feed on any available blood food source as soon as possible.
• The bed bugs’ adult lifespan is between 10 months and 1-˝ years in a good environment where food is plentiful and temperature conditions are favorable.
• Bed bugs can generally live without a blood meal for up to 140 days. During this time the bed bug may lay dormant and can often be misinterpreted as an infestation being eliminated.

Why are bed bugs a problem?

• The primary reason bed bugs are such a problem is because they feed off of human and animal blood. Generally a bed bug bite will cause redness, itchiness, and swelling similar to a mosquito bite. In turn the bite may cause an allergic reaction leading to large itchy welts and in extreme cases infection. Bed bug bites will generally go away by themselves and do not call for treatment. You will want to keep skin clean and try not to scratch. In some cases antihistamines or oral antibiotics may be prescribed if excessive itching or infection is present. Thankfully, there are no known cases of infectious diseases being transmitted by bed bugs.
• Bed bugs are most active at night and feed during your sleep. The reason for this is bed bugs are sensitive to light and are attracted to gases and pheromones we emit.

How did I get bed bugs?

• There are many possible ways bed bugs were introduced into your home:
• They could have been brought into your home in your luggage if you have recently traveled. The hotel, resort, hostel, etc. may have had a problem with bed bugs
• They may have entered your home through second hand bedding or furniture.
• They may have been introduced into your home on clothing, accessories of visitors. If a visitor was previously in a location of infestation, the bed bugs can travel on the human to a new location.
• They may have traveled from infested neighboring or attached homes.

Where do I look if I think I may have bed bugs?

• If you think you may have a bed bug problem you will want to check for live bed bugs, eggs, shells, or fecal matter in some of the following areas:
• Seams, creases, tufts and folds of mattresses and box springs.
• Cracks in the bed frame and headboard.
• Under beds, couches, chairs and dust covers.
• Between cushions of couches and chairs.
• Under area rugs and edges of carpets.
• Between the folds of curtains.
• In all drawers
• Behind baseboards and around window and door casings.
• Behind electrical plates and under loose wallpaper, paintings and posters.
• In cracks in plaster.
• In electronics such as telephones, radios, clocks, etc.

How will the infestation be treated?

• All mattresses, box springs and large furniture will be aerosol sprayed to eliminate eggs and live bed bugs.
• A residual spray treatment will be performed along all baseboards, box springs, and in cracks and crevices around home.
• It is advised to purchase mattress and box spring covers through ICI in order to engulf the bed to prevent insects from traveling or laying new eggs in seams and underneath the box spring.
• All mattresses, carpets, furniture, etc., may be sprayed with disinfectant depending on size of infestation.

In some cases follow up treatments may be necessary to eliminate any eggs that were not hatched before initial treatment or not exposed to the chemical during treatment. If bed bugs are still visible and active 3 weeks after treatment, a follow-up treatment may be necessary to fully eliminate the infestation. These follow up treatments will be billed on a case-by-case basis but discounted from the original treatment cost. We at Infestation Control, Inc. will do everything in our power to eliminate your infestation as swiftly as possible. We look forward to working with you and resolving your pest control problems. If you have any further questions or concerns feel free to contact us.

View the treatment contract (pdf).