Did you know the chances of bringing bed bugs into your home are higher if you travel? However, your plans shouldn't be put off just because bed bugs can quickly hide and spread. Don't wake up to swollen, itchy bites and the fear that blood-sucking insects are crawling around in your bed. Avoid bed bug infestations by checking for bed bug eggs at home and while you travel.How To Identify Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are insects that feed on the blood of mammals, including humans. They prefer to emerge past midnight when their prey is asleep, the better to go undetected. Unfortunately, neither daylight nor artificial light prevents bed bugs from emerging to sneak a snack if they're hungry.
Many people develop a swollen red mark on their skin from a bed bug bite, but others show no symptoms of being bitten. A bed bug infestation is challenging to confirm based on bite characteristics alone because skin conditions such as eczema or mosquito bites can mimic bed bug bites.
The best way to find out if you have a bed bug problem is to find and examine the culprit. The main physical characteristics of bed bugs include:
- Flat, oval-shaped body
- Length of 5 millimeters
- Brown color before feeding
- Rust color after feeding
These parasitic insects must feed every two weeks to reproduce but can stay alive for a year or more without feeding as they wait to mate. This endurance is a large part of why bed bug problems can be difficult to eradicate on your own. Enlist the expertise of a licensed pest control company to verify the nature of the infestation and resolve it quickly and competently.
Identifying Bed Bug Eggs
One bed bug colony can double in approximately two weeks due to rapid growth and reproduction rates. It also takes just over a month for a bed bug to achieve reproductive capabilities, and female bed bugs can lay over one hundred eggs during their year-long lifetime.
The eggs of bed bugs are a milky white color and are difficult to detect with the naked eye due to their tiny size, no bigger than the eye of a needle. Eggs older than five days have an eyespot and are closer to hatching.
When you're traveling, always check the following items in your hotel room for bed bug eggs:
- Luggage rack
- Mattress seams
- Bedding
- Couch cushions
- Curtains
- Electrical outlets
- Wooden frames
- Carpet edges
The presence of bed bug eggs indicates an active infestation and that they're feeding on you, your family or your pets. It's critical to catch bug eggs before they hatch and worsen an infestation.
How To Recognize Bed Bug Look-Alikes
Some insects resembling bed bugs are harmless, while others carry potential hazards. Among the most common pests mistaken for bed bugs are:
- Carpet beetles
- Cockroach nymphs
- Ticks
- Swallow bugs
- Spider beetles
While bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, other common pests do. Watch out for the following bed bug look-alikes.
Cockroaches
Pre-adult cockroaches called cockroach nymphs possess similar coloring and shape to bed bugs. Cockroaches eventually grow to become much larger than bed bugs, however. They can spread disease-causing microorganisms through food exposed to their feces and vomit.
Ticks
Ticks consume the blood of humans and animals like bed bugs do. However, they feed for hours rather than minutes and are more likely to be discovered latched onto the skin of animals and humans. Bed bugs and ticks share similar coloring and shape, but ticks are usually smaller. Ticks can also transmit diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease to humans.
Fleas
Fleas suck blood like bed bugs, though they usually prefer animal blood to human blood. When fleas aren't actively feeding, you can find them lounging in pet beds, bedding or toys. Fleas are different from bed bugs due to their smaller size and long back legs, enabling them to jump far distances. These parasitic insects can transmit dangerous diseases such as typhoid and plague.
A licensed pest control agency can handle an infestation best, whether you suspect you have bed bug eggs or some other pest. They have the knowledge and experience to correctly identify the bug species and form a treatment plan to evict your unwanted guests.
How To Spot a Bed Bug Problem
Bed bugs inhabit dimly lit, compact spaces close to animals, regardless of living conditions. Their small size enables them to hide and travel without being immediately detected. If left untreated, bed bugs spread when people move contaminated furniture, baggage or clothing, eventually settling throughout entire houses, hotels and apartment complexes. Here are some ways to look for bed bug infestations at home or while you travel.
Look for Adult Bed Bugs
In addition to eggs, bed bugs leave behind other signs that they've made themselves at home. Check for these signs when you change bedding at home or first thing after entering a hotel room:
- Rust-colored excrement on bedding
- A bad musty smell coming from the mattress
- Translucent skins discarded in or around the bed area
The high blood content of bed bug waste gives it a rusty brown color. Bed bugs shed their waste and their skins as they feed and grow. The sweet, musty smell is the product of pheromones released by the bed bugs and usually indicates a worse infestation.
Some bed bugs have developed pesticide resistance, rendering some treatments less effective. Avoid uncertainty by consulting a licensed pest control company. They are best equipped to eliminate any level of bed bug infestation.
How To Eliminate Bed Bug Eggs and Adults
Don't hesitate to hire a licensed pest control company to handle an infestation. It may seem tempting to save money by taking care of a pest problem yourself. However, inexperienced attempts to get rid of pests often cost more time and hassle due to incomplete eradication and spreading of the pest. Contact Bug Ninja Pest Control to eliminate pests at any stage of life, including bed bug eggs.
