Health

BED BUGS – WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO CONTROL THEM

Bed bugs are very tiny insects about thrice the size of an ant, reddish brown in colour with a very flat body frame. 

They are wingless and they are often seen in enclosed places like furniture, luggages, foams, mattresses etc. They are usually discovered indoors and their contact with the human skin causes discomfort which leads to itching.

They really don’t need much to feed on to stay alive and they also suck human blood which makes the flat body frame become round whenever they feed on blood and more here #1 Pest Control & Bed Bug Extermination Company in Chicago.

Eradicating them completely can be very tasking because their multiplication rate is very fast as one bed bug produces at least one egg per beg which makes them exist always wherever they are.

This can be prevented and controlled by:

House Fumigation

It is important to keep the home clean and hygienic all the time. Asides from the regular routine day to day cleaning, it is also necessary that the house is periodically fumigated.

This cleaning exercise involves the use of pesticide chemicals to spray the house. This spraying kills any insects in the house including bed bugs.

During these exercises, occupants of the house are not pesticides because of the effect of the sprayed chemical on humans when inhaled.

Those carrying out the fumigation always cover their noses to prevent themselves from perceiving it.

This process makes the house pest and insect free for a period of some months until it is due for another one.

Sun Drying Of Furniture

This natural and manual method is a strategic way of bringing out the bed bugs from their hiding places within the furniture, bed and other household items they are known to infest.

Bed bugs are known to be comfortable with humid temperature habitats, which makes taking furniture to the sun an uncomfortable method for them to remain there.

Extreme heat from the natural sun is dangerous to their tiny body frame which makes it an effective strategy to put whatever items they have infested in the sun. Be it clothing, mattress, furniture etc.

Once these items get the effect of the direct heat, they will come out and find elsewhere that is comfortable to stay.

Sun Drying Of items should not be a one off exercise. It should be done from time to time to ensure they don’t return

Spraying Of Furniture With Insecticides

This is another way of attacking bedbugs without disturbing the entire house.

This control method is used when you are able to identify the exact places bed bugs inhabit.

Spraying the furniture with Insecticides could be indoors or the furniture could be taken out to be sprayed if occupants of the house are allergic to insecticides.

To avoid allergic effects and still get rid of bedbugs, you could use a combination of kerosene and camphor in powder form to spray on the affected furniture which will kill or bring them out from their hiding.

The use of insecticides or some specific mixtures can be applied from time to time, at least every other month to prevent a return or laying of eggs from the existing bed bugs.

Move Bed And Furnitures From The Wall

Research shows that bed bugs are crawling insects and they easily get into household furniture that are close to the wall.

Bed bugs are known to crawl on walls looking for where to occupy. So, moving beds and wooden furniture away from the walls won’t encourage them to stay in the house. They realise they have nowhere to hide, so they leave.

Controlling bed bugs can be demanding, because it’s a continuous exercise to ensure they no longer inhabit the furniture in the house.

Christopher Stern

Christopher Stern is a Washington-based reporter. Chris spent many years covering tech policy as a business reporter for renowned publications. He has extensive experience covering Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commissions. He is a graduate of Middlebury College. Email:[email protected]

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