Bed bugs are ectoparasites which feed on the blood of humans, but they have not been shown capable of transmitting human disease. Females attach the tiny whitish eggs in protected sites, such as the seams of mattresses, cracks and crevices in furniture and behind woodwork, along baseboards among carpet fibers, and within nearby furniture where the adults hide during the daytime. Eggs are extremely difficult to see. A single female may deposit 200 - 500 eggs in her lifetime. Under favorable conditions, the time from egg-hatch to adult may only take 35 - 48 days. Adult bed bugs can live 6 to 7 months and sometimes even longer.
Habitat
These insects live in cracks and voids near areas frequented by people, usually in bedrooms or other sites where a person might sit or rest for long periods of time. They are increasingly more common in the United States, infesting hotel rooms and apartments.
Bed bugs are accomplished hitchhikers and are usually first carried into a home, apartment, or hotel room by people, hiding in luggage, furniture, or other belongings. Signs of infestations include bloodstain fecal smears on bedding, walls, curtains and other light-colored surfaces.
At first, bed bugs hide in the cracks, seams, and folds of mattresses, bedding, upholstery, and the bed frame or furniture itself. Picture frames, peeling wallpaper, and any area forming a crack can serve as a harborage, including at the ceiling level. As the population increases, they move out into the rest of the room, harboring behind door frames, window frames, molding, under the edges of carpets and rugs, and inside walls. With larger numbers of insects or if poor control efforts have been used, bed bugs may become scattered within rooms and may move to adjacent hotel rooms, apartments, etc.
Tips for Control
Successful control and eventual elimination of bed bugs from any building includes the following steps:
- Correct identification
- Thorough investigation of infested rooms and suspect areas
- Education of the unit or building's occupants and/or management
- Implementation of nonchemical control measures
- Application of necessary treatments to infested and non-infested rooms by a pest professional
- Evaluation inspections to determine the possible need for further action
Identification
When cimicid bugs are found in buildings, they are usually bed bugs. On rare occasions, however, bat bugs or swallow bugs are the culprits. If bat bugs or swallow bugs are found inside a building, likely only one to a few will be seen. Birds and bats, if present, need to first be excluded from the building. Bird nests should be removed and bat droppings cleaned up. The area where the bird nests were located or the bats were roosting may be treated using a residual dust or a spot treatment with a residual product. Wall voids below this area, as well as cracks around windows and doors, may require treatment with a residual dust product in the event bugs have migrated into those sites.
Investigation
Due to the secretive nature of bed bugs and their small size, it may be quite easy to overlook some critical harborage or clutch of eggs. The inspection is very intense as even the smallest cracks need to be checked. Beds and other furniture need to be dismantled, turned over, etc. and carefully examined and treated as necessary. In cases involving hotel rooms and apartments, it is prudent to include rooms or units adjacent, above and below those that are infested, especially rooms or units sharing plumbing.
Nonchemical Techniques
Because mattresses are items on which people spend extended periods of time, treatment of them using residual pest control materials should be avoided. Some nonchemical techniques are helpful in a comprehensive bed bug treatment program.
- Bed bugs can be removed using a vacuum from mattresses, box springs, furniture, and other sites where these insects are found. However, vacuums do not remove eggs and may not extract insects deeply hidden in some cracks or voids.
- Steam machines can be used in controlling bed bugs on mattresses and box springs as well as in cracks in some situations. The high heat in steam will kill eggs, nymphs, and adults on contact.
- Bedding or clothing taken from infested rooms can be "treated" by washing it in soapy water at the hot setting on washers.
- Where a mattress has been treated using a nonchemical technique, it can be enclosed in a large plastic bag to contain any bed bugs or prevent new bugs from accessing the mattress. This is a temporary measure that may be helpful in a few situations.
- Bed bugs can be denied some harborages by sealing cracks in furniture, behind baseboards and moldings.
- Sealing openings around plumbing penetrations into walls and floors may help limit the movement of bed bugs between rooms and units.
- Mattress seams where bed bug eggs are attached may be brushed vigorously with a stiff brush to dislodge and crush eggs.
- Cluttered conditions attract bed bugs. Good storage practices may be helpful in long-term bed bug control for some situations.
Evaluation
Within the first 3-4 weeks following a treatment, a follow-up evaluation should be conducted. The following may occur during an evaluation visit.
- Interview with the facility contact person, maintenance, and household personnel
- Thorough inspection of previously infested areas of infested rooms
- Visual inspections
- Follow-up treatment services each month for several months are recommended. With severe infestations, follow-up monthly services should be maintained for a minimum of 6 - 12 months.
- Where bed bug activity is still present, it is generally necessary to again dismantle beds, turn over furniture, etc. in an attempt to discover any bed bug harborage that has been overlooked.
- The facility management should be aware that although in most cases bed bugs can be successfully controlled by the first treatment, persistent and difficult-to-control infestations can be encountered. Such situations may require weekly service visits to achieve effective control.
