We all know about the consequences of bed bugs and how they can be an absolute nightmare to get rid of once they get into your home. These nocturnal pests are sneaky about hiding around our properties and emerge only at night to feed on our blood.
It's not easy to deal with bed bugs, but you can do a few things like eliminating clutter throughout your home, washing your linens on high heat, and inspecting items for bed bugs before bringing anything into your house. Despite your best efforts, the reality is that a bed bug infestation is intrusive, and the best way to deal with it is to secure professional pest control in Louisville. Before worrying about bed bugs, however, it's important to understand their lifecycle and behaviors, so you know how to deal with them.
The Lifecycle Of The Louisville Bed Bug
When it comes to the lifecycle of a bed bug, there are seven developmental life stages to review. Each new stage requires the bed bug to shed its exoskeleton (molts) to grow larger. Here are the seven parts of the bed bug life cycle:
- Stage 1: Eggs – Every bed bug begins as an egg. The average bed bug egg hatches in about 4-12 days. Once they hatch, they enter their first nymphal stage.
- Stages 2-6: Nymphs – There are five nymphal stages that every bed bug goes through. Each one takes around five days, during which time the nymph feeds on blood meal to go through the molting process effectively.
- Stage 7: Adults – Once they complete each of their five nymphal stages, the bed bug becomes an adult. They feed on a blood meal, so they can reproduce and start the process all over again.
From an egg to an adult, the entire development process of a bed bug can take around 37 days, depending on the environment and temperatures.
What's It Like To Live With A Bed Bug Infestation?
It can be challenging to spot bed bugs around your home, not only because they're nocturnal but also because they're tiny in size. They hang around beds, box springs, mattresses, behind baseboards, upholstery, wallpaper, picture frames, and other remote areas.
There are some telltale signs to look out for if you're trying to figure out whether or not you're experiencing bed bug activity in your home. If you wake up with a linear formation of little red bites that you didn't go to sleep with the night before, you may have a bed bug infestation on your hands.
Something else to keep in mind is that you may discover eggshells and molted skin sheddings around their harborage areas. Throughout a bed bug's life cycle, they develop and leave discarded remnants behind them.
Watch out for rusty, dark excrement and fecal spots on your linens, upholstery, mattresses, clothing, and walls. Bed bugs leave these behind in their hiding spots and active areas. Also, there may be small red spots on your bedding and linens. These are stains left behind after bed bugs finish feeding on human blood at night.
Five Simple Ways To Keep The Bed Bugs Away
If you want to be proactive in your efforts to prevent bed bug infestation, there are some things you can do. Here are five simple tips to keep the bed bugs away:
- Examine all items for bed bugs or their eggs before bringing them inside.
- To minimize harborage areas, remove any clutter and mess around the home.
- Regularly steam clean upholstery, curtains, and carpets.
- Use protective encasements on mattresses and box springs.
- Wash and dry all linens, bedding, and clothing on high heat to kill any bed bug activity.
While taking precautions can help you reduce your exposure to bed bugs, there's still no method of bed bug control as effective as professional pest control solutions.
Permanent Bed Bug Removal For Louisville Homes
In the event of household bed bug activity, the best thing you can do is to contact pest professionals. Here at Action Pest Control, we offer comprehensive bed bug inspections and extermination services that you can depend on all year long. Contact us today to further discuss your bed bug control needs; we look forward to hearing from you.