BED BUG INFORMATION
KNOW THE ENEMY!
- Three important things that you need to know:
- • You will come in contact with bed bugs
- • There are health concerns
- • We have invented a proactive solution to kill them – without pesticides!
THE INSECT SPECIES
Cimex lectularius is a common species of bed bugs found throughout North America but there are others. Of the less than 90 species of the bloodsucking insect family Cimicidae found globally, only three are known to feed on humans: Cimex lectularius, Cimex hemipterus, Leptocimex boueti.
BED BUG IDENTIFICATION
Bed bug identification is not always easy and often requires an experienced professional pest management technician or entomologist.
In general, when compared to other insects, bed bugs can be identified as small insects with two antennae, six legs and oval–shaped bodies. Often their adult size is compared to an apple seed but may range between 3/16 to 1/4 inch long (5-7 mm). The first stage nymph is about the size of a pinhead. As shown in the chart below, bed bugs grow progressively in size with each molting.
Before they eat, bed bugs have an extremely flattened profile that allows it to fit into almost any crack or nook, often making them impossible to locate or control. Such as, within bookbinding and between picture canvas and frames. While the adults are easier to identify with a brownish or reddish–brown body, the nymphs are semi–translucent making them very hard to see against surfaces until they move. After eating, their body will expand and take on a balloon–like oval shape with a red color, that is commonly photographed.
BED BUG LIFE CYCLE
Female bed bugs lay 200 to 500 tiny, white eggs in batches of 10 to 50. Reproduction will increase or decrease, dependent on the availability of their food supply.
Stages of Development
Stage |
Days |
Week |
Length |
Feeding Habit |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Egg | 12 | 2 | 1.0 mm | |
| 2. | First Instar Nymph | 7 | 3 | 1.5 mm | feeds on blood |
| 3. | Second Instar Nymph | 7 | 4 | 2.0 mm | feeds on blood |
| 4. | Third Instar Nymph | 7 | 5 | 2.5 mm | feeds on blood |
| 5. | Fourth Instar Nymph | 7 | 6 | 3.0 mm | feeds on blood |
| 6. | Fifth Instar Nymph | 7 | 7 | 4.5 mm | feeds on blood |
| 7. | Adult | 32–48 | 8 | 5.5 mm | feeds on blood |
OPTIMUM LIVING CONDITIONS
| RH Humidity: | 75–80 % |
| Temperature: | 82–89F (28–32C) |
| Dwells: | mattresses, pillows, headboards, furniture, dressers, libraries, hidden dark crevices, fiberboard, baseboards, inside walls, floors, closets, ceilings, picture frames, electrical outlets, backpacks, and travel luggage |
| Feeding: | requires blood to live and reproduce, feeding required every two weeks during early development, adults can live over a year without feeding |
| Travel: | 100 ft (30m) or more hunting for a host, along or inside floor, walls and ceilings, between rooms, floors and between buildings |
| Activity: | day and night |
| Methods: | will utilize floors, follow pipes and wiring inside walls |
IT'S NOT JUST A BITE
People may have joked, "Don't let the bed bugs bite." But it is no joke, if you have had to deal with them. After World War II, these pests were reduced in number by the extensive use of DDT. But they adapted and are now resistant to most pesticides and even DDT.
In addition to humans, they also feed on warm–blooded animals, including dogs, cats, birds and rodents. They require blood to survive, develop and reproduce. Thus, they will hunt for blood day or night.
It's not just a simple bite. When bed bugs take a blood meal, they first identify an optimum location along a surface vein, then pierce the skin with an elongated, tubular, segmented proboscis attached to the head (as shown) through which they inject an anesthetic into the surrounding tissue so that you won’t feel the bite. After that takes effect, they then inject an anti–coagulant to ensure flow while they withdraw blood from their host. The same bed bug may pierce the skin in the same area several times, to withdraw blood until full. When not feeding the proboscis is retracted and positioned beneath the body, projecting it backwards between the legs by means of a special joint.
Immediately after feeding, they will crawl to a secluded location or return to the colony to digest their meal. When the numbing effects of the anesthetic wears off, then some people will detect the bite(s), but the bugs are long gone. Many may not even realize they have been bitten until they see the bites which can look similar to bites from other insects. We have noted that the size of the puncture can indicate the stage of development of the bed bug. Some may have a reaction to either the anti–coagulant and/or the anesthetic and will feel an itchy irritation, which can lead to infection. Still others over time can build a more severe allergic reaction that can complicate and seriously scar their skin.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
We share the abhorrence of an insect that adversely affects millions of people directly and indirectly. However, they are not as primitive as scientists once thought. We have noted from our experience working with them, that there are many valuable things that we can learn and benefit from, this small insect.
PROTECTION FROM BED BUGS
Bed bugs are hunters! They require blood to grow and reproduce. Adaptable and intelligent they will work individually and/or collectively with other bed bugs to detect, locate, and mark a trail to a source of blood and as we have observed in the lab, communicate that information to other bed bugs who will immediately respond. Minimizing their effort, they are ideally looking for a source that will remain in one position at regular intervals, for an extended period of time. They commonly will nest near an identified source and their growth and reproduction cycles will increase or decrease accordingly. They will feed on you, your children, and your pets. By the time you feel their bite, it is too late. They've come and gone. But, they will be back.
We are therefore, promoting a “Proactive Approach” to protect you and your family. At home, in the office and when you travel. Why wait until they bite?