Have you had the experience of leaving your home, traveling to the store, and realizing you left your wallet or purse at the house? Worse, have you been the victim of identity theft? In both scenarios, fear grips your soul because you don't have your ID. Suddenly, you wonder what will happen if the police pull you over and you don't have your driver's license or other means of identification. The inability to prove who you are is frightening.
What is required to make an identification of something or someone? In the case of people in America, it requires an official government-issued form of identification which may include a picture, fingerprint, address, etc. In other words, to identify something or someone, there must be a detailed description that correlates to reality.
How do you identify bed bugs? You recognize bed bugs the same way you pinpoint people — the details have to correlate to reality. If you think you have bed bugs in your Mooresville home, please keep reading because we will teach you how to identify bed bugs and what to do about them in your house. In the meantime, secure pest control in Mooresville from Lake Norman Pest Control.
For over thirty years, we have removed bed bugs from homes in the Mooresville community. Over the last several decades, our commitment to quality and community has earned us the reputation of being one of the best and most respected pest control companies in North Carolina.
How To Identify A Bed Bug
It may seem impossible to identify bed bugs because of their minuscule size and the fact that they are active at night while you sleep, but if you know what to look for and where to investigate, you can determine if they are causing your problem.
Before we list bed bug signs in a house, we need to direct the focus of your exploration. Bed bugs live near a host that can provide them with a blood meal. Bed bugs locate a future food supplier of blood meals due to a combination of carbon dioxide and body heat emitted by hosts as they sleep. Unlike other insects, bed bugs do not fly, so they cannot move quickly over long distances in a short time. Since bed bugs are active at night and live near a host, bedrooms are natural hiding locations for these insects. Now that we have narrowed down hiding locations, we must determine where to look in bedrooms.
As you search through bedrooms, look in the electrical outlets, behind picture frames and the headboard, cracks between the baseboard and walls, and in mattress seams and box springs. If you have furniture in the room, check the upholstery seams. Although few homes today have wallpapered rooms, if you have a classic house with wallpaper, check any loose seams for bed bugs.
Now that we know where to investigate, we can list the early signs of bed bugs. As you search the area, look for these bed bug indications:
- Stains
- Odor
- Bed bugs
- Bites
- Eggs
- Eggshells
- Molt skins
Investigate the area for reddish-brown fecal stains on bed linens, walls, box springs, and mattresses. If you have a significant infestation, you may notice a musty-sweet odor in the room caused by a secretion from bed bugs. Bed bugs use pheromones in their secretions to communicate with each other that they have found a good location. Although you may not realize it, you can see adult bed bugs without magnification. Unfed adult bed bugs have a 1/4 inch mahogany, flat, broad oval body, while fed bed bugs have a red-brown, swollen, elongated body.
Bed bug bites on your body are another sign they are in your house. Typically, you will not feel bed bugs when they pierce your skin to enjoy a blood meal because they inject an anesthetic that temporarily numbs the area. Therefore, it may be a few days before you notice small, red itchy bumps on your body. These wounds are usually on the arms, legs, and other exposed areas in groups or lines, although the bites may also be random and separate.
Finding eggs, eggshells, and molt skins may require magnification. Using a magnifying glass, search the area for cream-colored eggs and eggshells. Bed bugs are insects that must shed their exterior skeleton (exoskeleton) to grow. Initial molt skins may only be visible with help, but as the bugs progress through their five growth stages (instars), the size of the molt skins increases, and they become easier to find.
When you see these signs of a bed bug infestation, you need bed bug control in Mooresville from Lake Norman Pest Control. Our technicians know all the bed bug signs, where to investigate, and what to do if they find evidence of an invasion.
Bed Bug Infestations Only Get Worse With Time
When you are at the store, and you realize you don't have your identification, there is a sense that you need to get home and find your wallet or purse. In the same way, when you find bed bugs signs, there is no time to procrastinate; you need to get rid of bed bugs fast! You need to contact Lake Norman Pest Control quickly because bed bugs don't procrastinate when it comes to procreating.
When a fertilized female bed bug has access to a host, she produces one to seven eggs daily for about ten days after she consumes a meal. Under ideal conditions, a female bed bug can deliver over 100 eggs during its one-year lifespan. If the house temperature is between 70℉ and 90℉ and the bed bugs have access to a host, they mature from the egg stage to reproducing adult in less than 40 days. Hence, the bed bug population can double every 16 days. The more a person procrastinates getting professional bed bug treatment, the worse the infestation becomes.
When you see indications of bed bugs in your Mooresville home, you need local pest control for bed bugs from Lake Norman Pest Control. Our professionally trained technicians have the tools, experience, and knowledge to stop a bed bug infestation.
Why It Is So Hard To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs On Your Own
When you notice bites or other indications that bed bugs are sharing your house with you, the instinct is to rush to the local store and purchase a do-it-yourself bed bug remedy. While these products may have limited effectiveness, they will not eliminate bed bugs for these reasons:
- Bed bugs have developed a tolerance for many non-professional treatments.
- Bed bugs can detect areas treated with a non-professional product and avoid those locations.
- Homeowners do not always know how to prepare a house properly for treatment.
- Homeowners often fail to treat areas where bed bugs live or deposit their eggs.
Another cause for concern with DIY products is that they can be dangerous to pets and family members. It is not worth risking the health and safety of family members and pets trying to stop bed bugs in your house.
A few years ago, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) surveyed pest control professionals to determine the most difficult pests to remove from homes. According to the survey, 70% of pest control professionals said bed bugs were the most challenging pest to eliminate. Since removing bed bugs is difficult for many pest control professionals, one can only imagine that they are next to impossible to eradicate by an inexperienced homeowner using a DIY product.
Fortunately, at Lake Norman Pest Control, our three decades of experience have given us the knowledge, skill, and tools to provide the best bed bug pest control near you. We know the signs of bed bugs, where they deposit eggs, and the most up-to-date, safe treatments available to professionals. We are so confident that we can remove bed bugs from your Mooresville house that we back our work with a 30-day warranty once we complete the final treatment.
Call The Professionals At The First Sign Of Bed Bugs
When you contact Lake Norman Pest Control for bed bug removal, we will dispatch a trained service professional to investigate your home for bed bugs. If we find an infestation, we will provide you with a list of things to do in preparation for a successful treatment and schedule the day we begin eradicating the bugs based on your schedule.
On treatment day, we will cover the whole house to prevent bed bugs from traveling from one room to another. One week after we apply the treatments, we will return to ensure the bed bugs are gone. If we find any additional activity, we will re-treat as necessary. After we have determined the house to be free from bed bugs, our 30-day warranty begins. We will retreat your home if bed bugs reappear during the warranty period. Contact us today to learn more about pest control packages and for a free quote.
