Where Do Bed Bug Infestations Come From

Bed bug infestations can seemingly appear out of nowhere, and you may be wondering how they came to infest your home. There are several ways bed bugs can enter a new area and plenty of places where they can come from. We’ll discuss ways to treat them and where they may have come from. 

What Are Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs are tiny reddish-brown insects that love to live in our furniture or in between the cracks in our floorboards and come out at night to feed off the blood of whoever they can find near them. Bed bugs are infamous because, although not a particularly dangerous insect, they are tough to deal with when facing an infestation. Bed bugs feed off of blood , and although they don’t jump as fleas do, they do crawl pretty quickly. If you’re facing a bed bug infestation or want to know how to prevent one, this article will hopefully answer all your questions.

How Can Bed Bugs Get Into My Home?

You first need to know that bed bugs have been around for thousands of years and will likely be around for thousands more. They are common pests that unfortunately many people run into during their lifetime. The good news is that they aren’t particularly dangerous and there are ways of getting rid of them if they get into your house.

Bed bugs can enter your home from other infested areas or used furniture. If you buy a second-hand sofa, rug, or mattress, it would be highly recommendable to wash it thoroughly before bringing it into your home. There are other ways that bed bugs can enter your house, such as traveling from an infested area close by (this is common in apartment complexes), or they can latch onto a suitcase or backpack you’ve set down in an infested area. Additionally, if someone experiencing a bed bug infestation visits your home, it’s possible they may leave some friends behind. Bed bugs can be hard to notice due to their small nature and hiding skills. . Bed bugs hide in beds or other furniture during the day (mattress seams, box springs, bed frames, sofas, headboards, rugs).

How Do I Know if I Have a Bed Bug Infestation?

Signs of bed bug infestations are relatively easy to recognize if you know what to look for. Bed bugs like to hide, so check mattresses, headboards, behind picture frames, and other concealed spots for signs of activity.  The bugs themselves are about one-quarter inch long in the adult stage and leave casings and fecal matter behind as they feed and grow. . Another sign  you might also see is blood stains on your sheets from bugs that have been squashed . Bed bug bites are extremely itchy. They look similar to other insect bites, as they are usually smaller than a quarter-inch across and red or pinkish (depending on your skin color).

How Do I Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

If you have identified a bed bug infestation, you need to immediately get to work on getting rid of them. Clean up any areas bed bugs could live in. Wash linens, curtains, bedding, clothing, stuffed animals, and any other infested item in hot water and dry them on high heat for at least one hour. Scrub and  vacuum mattress and sofa seams thoroughly. Vacuum your floors and once done, immediately put your vacuum bag in a plastic bag and remove it from your house.

Thorough cleaning can help keep these pests at bay, but fully eradicating bed bugs is difficult.  It is  highly likely you will need to hire a pest control professional to help you completely eliminate your problem. Bed Bug Barbeque’s heat treatment will treat all infested areas and items in just one day, giving you peace of mind. Let the experts handle it so you don’t have to. 

Call us today at (216) 221-1227!