What Are Bed Bugs?

You’ve likely heard that dreadful word…bed bugs. What are bed bugs? If you have never had an experience with these tiny pests you may not fully be aware of what they are.

A lot of people aren’t really familiar with them because they’ve never had an issue with them. It’s helpful to educate yourself on different bugs, even if you’ve never seen them or had them in your home.

This way, should you come across one at any given time, you’ll have an idea of what to do; this is especially helpful for bed bugs.

In fact, you could have bed bugs in your home right now and not know it. They could be in your bed, your carpets, your bedroom furniture and other areas throughout your room or home.

When bed bugs are left untreated they’ll have an opportunity to spread to other rooms so it’s important that you take action immediately once you discover signs of them.

It’s helpful to educate yourself on different bugs, should you come across one at any given time, you’ll have an idea of what to do or at least understand what you’re dealing with.

Bed bugs are very small and like to feed on the blood of humans. Blood is their primary source of food and will feed on animals if humans aren’t available.

That said, if you have pets they could be at risk of enduring bed bug bites as well. They are usually found in areas where people frequent regularly; airplanes, hotels, medical facilities, prisons, shelters, public transportation and even restaurants have endured bed bug invasions.

It may be hard to tell where they came from and we don’t advise dwelling on that. Instead, take immediate action to start treating them.

If you live in an apartment building you may have a harder time getting rid of them; especially if they came from a neighboring unit.

How Did I Get Bed Bugs?

As mentioned above, it can be hard to determine exactly where the bed bugs may have come from. If you travel a lot you likely picked them up while out and about and brought them home with you.

If you visited a place of business or rode in public transportation where they were present, you could have easily brought some home with you.

They’re great at hitching a ride on just about anything or anyone and if you’re not actively looking or watching out for them, you could easily bring them into your own home.

The ideal location for bed bugs is any location where there are lots of people at any given time. They have an abundance of hosts to choose from and find their way inside homes, causing even more problems.

Regardless of how the bed bugs may have ended up inside your property, you’ll need to take immediate action to get them out.

2 Common Ways Bed Bugs Enter the Home

1) Buying used furniture, bedding and other items that come from a bed bug infested home is very risky. When buying anything used where bed bugs could easily hide or hitch a ride, be sure to inspect the items before bringing them into your home.

2) By riding in your luggage. If you travel frequently and stay in hotels often you could be at a higher risk of bringing bed bugs home with you. Always check your luggage and don’t bring anything into the house until you know for sure that no bed bugs are present.

Those are the two most common ways bed bugs find their way inside a property and start multiplying if not caught right away. There are other ways but simply being aware and inspecting yourself, your vehicle and your home regularly can help you protect against an invasion of these horrible pests.

The Relation of Bed Bugs and Hygiene

Do bed bugs prefer a dirty house or dirty host? Absolutely not! Your home can be clean as a whistle and still encounter a bed bug infestation.

However, if your home is cluttered and they start spreading, it can be even harder to eliminate them because everything in the infected area will need to be treated. Keeping clutter to a minimum is a great way to avoid this scenario, should you ever endure these little bugs.

They’re great hiders and can flatten to conceal themselves in places not easily seen by the human eye. Especially if you aren’t sure where to look for them.

A professional bed bug exterminator is going to be able to perform a thorough inspection to determine signs of active bed bugs and assess the level of infestation so the appropriate treatments can begin.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

If you suspect you have bed bugs check out our bed bug inspection checklist to learn where to look for these little nuisances and call an expert right away to inquire about treatments. Look for a local bed bug exterminator near you today and start taking the steps necessary to get rid of them once and for all.