Bed bugs are not seasonal. They can be active all year long. On average, the peak of their
Other studies have shown that peak season for bed bugs runs from June through October. Bed bugs appear more prevalent in warmer months likely due to an increase in travel and hotel visits during spring break and summer vacation, as well as college students moving into dorms at the beginning of the school year.
In most cases, bed bugs thrive inside a home whether it's cold or warm outside. In fact, they can be extremely active in the winter months, especially if you keep your home nice and warm to combat the cold. So if you notice bed bugs in your home, don't wait for the cold outdoors to scare them away.
Bed bugs can live for as long as 4.5 months or more in an empty house before completely dying off. The two primary factors that determine how quickly or slowly the bed bugs could die off are the existence of a blood meal host, and the temperature of the house.
It typically takes anywhere from 2-4 treatment sessions over a period of 3-6 weeks to completely eliminate bed bugs, depending on the level of infestation and the size of the house. However, each situation is unique.
A bed bug cannot fly, they can only crawl, so chemical treatment makes the most sense. The University of A&M has shown that chemical vs. heat when properly prepared for and carried out by a proficient certified applicator both have a 97% kill rate leaving 3% behind to proliferate.
Following treatment, you should install bed bug monitors under each leg of your bed to screen for surviving bugs. The interceptors are inexpensive and effectively trap the bugs as they try to enter or leave the bed. Check the traps every day for evidence, if your treatment was effective there should be no bugs.
Those individuals who are not sensitive to bed bug bites may not know they have an infestation. Because bed bugs are nocturnally active, it's hard to see other signs of their presence—unless you're accustomed to waking up at 3 A.M. and taking a census.
Extreme temperatures are the best way to kill bed bugs. Washing your clothing and bedding in a high heat wash should effectively kill off any bugs, as well as any eggs they've possibly laid. It's important to exercise caution in moving infested linens during the process to avoid spreading the bed bugs to other rooms!
A bed bug treatment using heat kills bed bugs immediately, but there is no residual. A chemical bed bug treatment can take a few weeks, but it leaves a residual which provides continued protection from bed bug re-infestation.
If you've tried a bed bug treatment and it seems to be effective for a week or two, and then soon enough the bed bugs are back, it can be an extremely frustrating process. Bed bugs generally keep coming back because you haven't eliminated every bed bug in the colony, and only some of them.
Bed bugs are resilient to cold temperatures and adults may survive for up to a year without feeding and nymphs up to three months without taking a blood meal. Even when dormant, cold temperatures reach a point where bed bugs do not survive.
Myth: Bed bugs live in dirty places. Reality: Bed bugs are not attracted to dirt and grime; they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide. However, clutter offers more hiding spots.
Everyone is at risk for getting bed bugs when visiting an infected area. However, anyone who travels frequently and shares living and sleeping quarters where other people have previously slept has a higher risk of being bitten and or spreading a bed bug infestation.
It's best to keep the infestation localized to as few rooms as possible. This will also make remediation easier. Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home.
Technically, bed bugs can live through a cycle in the washing machine. The truth is that while washing your clothes or linens will kill most of the bed bugs, the heat of drying your items is what will ultimately exterminate any and all remaining bugs. As we mentioned above, bed bugs do not tolerate heat.
A. Let's tackle the issue on everyone's minds first: Bed bugs. If you wash or dry your clothes at the hottest temperature, your risk of catching bed bugs through shared machines is minimal. “Basically what goes into the dryer at high heat for half an hour comes out safe as long as it is not overloaded.
Although bed bugs certainly prefer living in mattresses, they can infest carpet, too! Instead of burrowing into the carpet, the bugs will stay close to the surface. This makes it easier to vacuum them up!
Hogan said that if you don't see any bugs and haven't traveled relatively recently, you may want to consider things like detergents, medications you may be taking, allergy issues, and more because one of those other things might be what's actually causing the itchiness.
Bed bug bites are often mistaken for many other types of insect bites. Mosquito, spider, and flea bites all look similar to the infamous bed bug, but treating each bite can be different per insect.
While they are visible to the naked eye, bed bugs are exceptionally tiny, so you'll need to look closely in order to spot an infestation. Use a flashlight in dimly-lit areas. Look for droppings, skin casting, and rust-colored stains as evidence of a bed bug nest.
A bed bug showing up a month or two post-elimination is most likely a reintroduction. Studies have shown that bed bugs are highly attracted to previous harborage. In fact, repellency studies have shown some products to have repellency in clean harborages, but not on harborages with previous activity.
How Long Do Bed Bugs Survive After Extermination? If your home is treated with insecticides/chemicals, any bugs caught by the spray will die in a few hours or less. Insecticides are incredibly effective and remain active for several days after use.