Bed Bug Control In Tampa: Essential Steps For Elimination

Examining Your Home: Where To Look For Bed Bugs

Learning how to check for bed bugs is the best way to determine whether you have them in your home. As we said, bed bug bites alone cannot confirm an infestation. But knowing what evidence to look for and where to look for it will give you a definitive answer.

Bed bugs are elusive pests that are good at hiding. They are small and able to fit in places you might never think of, such as inside electrical switch plates and wallpaper. We'll provide a list of the most common bed bug signs in homes and elaborate on them below:

• Red, itchy, bed bug bites
• Actual bed bugs
• Blood spots on sheets
• Bed bug fecal spots
• Molt skins and eggshells

While bites are not enough evidence on their own, it does help to know what bed bug bites look like, to help you rule out bites from mosquitoes or fleas. Unlike these other pests, bed bug bites tend to be in a cluster or zig-zag line of three to five bites. Bites are often on the arms and legs and may take up to three days to appear.

The surest sign is seeing the bugs themselves, and many people ask, What do bed bugs look like anyway? Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, mahogany in color, and are flat, broad, and oval when unfed. After feeding, they will be reddish-brown, swollen, and elongated.

When bed bugs bite, they inject an anesthetic so you don't feel the bite and an anti-coagulant to keep the blood flowing for the ten minutes or so they need to eat. If you look closely at the sheets, you might see small spots of blood left behind where they were feeding. 

While checking the sheets, you may also notice darker spots. Bed bug feces primarily consists of the blood they digest, and these dark reddish-brown spots are about the size of a dot from a magic marker. You may also notice the marks on walls, upholstery, and furniture.

As bed bugs mature, they molt and discard their skins as they grow. You'll notice these translucent, off-white shells look similar to the bugs. You might also find hatched eggshells that appear hollow and are nearly transparent.

One or two of these signs in your home is enough to indicate it is time to find a company that offers bed bug control near you. Contact EcoTech if you need help determining whether or not you have an infestation or assistance eliminating these pests.

Bed Bug Problems: They Aren't Just Going To Go Away

Bed bugs are not a problem you can ignore, hoping they will go away on their own. If they have made their way into the house, and there are people to get blood from, they aren't going to leave. These bugs can even go several months without feeding if they need to. 

If you search "how to get rid of bed bugs" online, you'll see plenty of ideas. People suggest steam cleaning the house or freezing your belongings for several days, but these pests can survive nearly freezing temperatures and up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Over-the-counter products may seem to work at first, but they aren't enough to destroy the eggs, and the problem will soon return when they hatch.

Bed bugs are resilient pests that know how to survive. Store-bought bed bug treatments will send them running to the next room or hiding deep inside furniture or crevices where the treatment can't reach them. These insects can slide into a crack the width of a credit card, making every baseboard, picture frame, and crack in the floor a potential hideaway.

Another issue is how quickly these pests reproduce. Female bed bugs can lay one to five eggs per day, which amounts to around 540 in their one-year lifetime. These eggs hatch and become reproductive adults in just 21 days, and the problem continually multiplies.

The pros at EcoTech provide the best pest control for bed bugs near you. Our Green Pro specialists know how to check for bed bugs, determine which areas of your home require treatment, and can efficiently eliminate these pests. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule a free inspection.