DESCRIPTION:
Bed bugs are from the Cimicidae family and there are over 100 species. They feed from bird and mammal blood. The species that is found in Québec is the Cimex lectularius. The color of Bed bugs ranges from a yellowish brown when fasting to brownish red when gorged with blood. They have a flatten form and reassemble an apple seed but when fed, they will have a rounded form. Males’ abdomens are pointy whereas females tend to have a more rounded abdomen. They also characterize themselves by having a piercing and sucking oral appliance.
LIFE CYCLE
Bed bugs are insects with incomplete metamorphose, they have to undergo 5 stages and will have to feed between each stage prior to becoming adults. The life expediency for bud bugs varies between 10 to 12 months and this can increase depending upon the temperature. A female can lay between 200 to 500 eggs during her life. An egg will measure 1 mm in length, is whitish in colour and it will usually take 10 to 14 days to hatch but sometimes can do so within less of a week. Prior to breeding, the female must feed in order to ensure that the eggs come to maturity. The bed bug breeding process is very brutal, for, the male pierces the female’s abdomen with his reproductive organ and injects its sperm directly in the female’s reproductive system. Injuries resulting from the reproduction process diminishes the female’s life expediency by 30%.
HABITAT
Bed bugs prefer staying in groups. They are generally found in edges of a mattress but can also find refuge in furniture, wall frames, etc. Bed bugs are not very fast but can move from one room to another through the walls, floors, ceilings and infest adjacent rooms in the quest of food. They can also transit in suitcases, traveller’s backpacks and furniture.
POSSIBLE PROAGATION
- When purchasing used furniture.
- In hotel rooms or in a building that is already infested.
- Visitors caring infested luggage.
- Multiple detection and prevention tools are available in our store.
DETECTION
When purchasing used furniture, one must conduct a good visual inspection with a flashlight and pay attention to the hem of the cushions or all openings, such as screw holes, where they could be lodged.
If you are required to travel, the first thing that should be done is to verify the mattress in your hotel room. Inspect the mattress seams and look for bed bugs or excrement stains (small black stains resembling an ink drop from a pen). Avoid placing your luggage near the bed. The ideal location is in the bathtub because bed bugs cannot crawl up on sleek surfaces.
SIGNS THAT CAN BE FOUND ON SKIN:
- Bites can resemble the one of mosquitos and can cause itchiness;
- Bites located on parts of the body that were left uncovered during sleep. The first sting marks can be grouped or aliened on the skin of the person who slept in a highly infested area. Subsequently, if the person continues to live in the infected area, the bites will appear almost everywhere on the skin.
SIGNS THAT CAN BE FOUND IN A BED:
- Small black stains on the sheets, on the mattress and bedspring. The stains are bed bug excrement.
- Presence of bed bugs dead or alive, bed bug moulted skin or eggs near the sleeper. These traces can be found in or near the bed.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Bed bugs most often are transported in luggage, handbags, clothing, furniture and most particularly, in mattresses. Even though they do not jump or fly, the hang onto clothing. They also can spread from one apartment to another.
- Clothing and furniture, more specifically mattresses and sofas can host bed bugs and in turn, can be introduced into your apartment. Avoid picking up objects found outside or in garbage. They can be infested.
- Bed bugs can be in sleep mode for long periods without eating if they feel threatened. They can also live in an empty apartment for a good while and resurface.
(Source: Direction de l’Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal, Service des communications de l’Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal, Ville de Montréal)
WHY EXTERMINATE BED BUGS?
Your health and your tranquility justify the cost of having a professional exterminate bed bugs. A certified exterminator constitutes your best ally in the fight of parasites and this for many raisons. Firstly, you will have the certainty that the extermination services will be done to norms. In addition, you will exempt yourself from manipulating dangerous products which are not adapted towards your environment. If used wrong, the insecticides can make bedbugs more resistant to the treatment.
