In recent years, there have been lots of enlightenment talks on how to identify bed bugs and their effect on human health. And a lot of hotels (even five-star hotels) have been sued by angry guests who woke up to find bed bug bites all over their body. Findings from some travel review website have confirmed the fact that bed bugs are still found in several hotels by guests.
It’s easy for hotels to be infested with bed bugs because they receive guests with bags and luggage from different homes or other hotels harboring them. Not just in hotels, bed bugs have been discovered in places where people congregate such as movie theaters, office building, laundry and transport vehicles. You can visit Bed Bug Registry when choosing a motel.
How Do Bed Bugs Spread?
Bed bugs can make a piece of furniture or clothing, their home. Hence, their eggs could be present there as well. They spread as they crawl into newer regions in the home such as the kitchen, dining, and other rooms. When they crawl to a new area, they easily contaminate the place. They can also hide in bags, briefcase, and clothing. A person can become infected when he accidentally wears an infested clothing.
Where Can You Find Bed Bugs?
You can find bed bugs in any part of the world. They were particularly prevalent in the US before World War II and was reduced to a minimum after then. Recently, it became scarce due to the religious use of insecticides DDT for controlling pest in the 1950’s and 1960’s. But they continued to spread in other parts of the world.
Recently, they were increasingly observed again in the US. The increased rate of immigration from developing countries into the US coupled with the restriction on the use of stronger insecticides might have triggered the increased bed bug infestation. It is commonly believed that bed bugs strive in areas with poor sanitary conditions or where mammals such as bats are nesting near a home. Notwithstanding, bed bugs have also been seen in clean environments. The primary cause of bed bug spread arises from crowded living facilities.
Bed bugs can live in any part of the home, and they can hide in a little crack of furniture, textiles and upholstered furniture. They are commonly found in sleeping areas of the house, especially on the bed, mattresses, bed frames and box springs. They infest the cracks and crevices of the bed frames and mattress even more than the bed surface.
Other places bed bugs use as hiding spots include edges of carpet, curtains, corners in the closet, inside furniture, inside wallpaper cracks as well as on weak furniture. You may also find bed bugs in vacant homes because they can go several months without food and still survive.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Bed bugs are oval-shaped insects that belong to the insect family of Cimicidae; there are three species of bed bugs that bite. The adult bed bugs are about 5mm-7mm long while the juveniles or the nymphs are 1.5mm in length. They are sometimes mistaken for small cockroaches or ticks because they have flat bodies. The scientific name for bed bugs is Cimex lectularius, and they feed on human blood as food.
The adult bed bug has a reddish-brown color that turns into a full red color after feeding. Although they can craw very well, but they can’t fly because their wings are vestigial. They can survive mostly in temperature between 70F to 80F, and they can produce up to three generations within a year. This has contributed to their increased population.