Bed bugs can be found almost anywhere, including in child care facilities, schools, and colleges.
Bed bugs are known as excellent hitchhikers so it’s important to learn ways to prevent them from coming home with you.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown, oval-shaped insects. These parasites are blood feeders, and they crawl into beds during the night while their victims are sleeping.
Eggs are deposited in small cracks in the bed frame, mattress seams, or in baseboards, trim or furniture near the bed. The nymphs and the adults reside near one another, hiding in such cracks awaiting nightfall when they might venture out to feed. In some cases, the offending bed bugs are harboring many feet from the bed in cracks in furniture, baseboards, doorframes, or even within voids in the wall. If populations become large, or when a host becomes scarce because no one sleeps in the bed for a period of time, bed bugs may crawl into other rooms or squeeze through walls to enter neighboring locations. They may also be transported from place to place hiding in furniture.
Bed Bugs in Schools
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), bed bugs are one of several pests that are a concern in schools. Bed bugs are known for traveling into bags, backpacks, and clothing, which means they can easily travel from school to home.
Bed bug bites are painless and a number of bed bugs may feed for an extended period of time on any area of exposed skin. The resulting bite wound may show generalized minor swelling into a raised bump followed by itching.
Identify, Prevent and Treat Bed Bugs
- Positive identification of bed bugs is important because their close relatives, bat bugs and swallow bugs, can easily be confused with them. Misidentification can lead to unsuccessful control efforts.
- Bed bugs can be very difficult to eliminate, therefore consultation with an experienced pest control professional is recommended.
- Successful control depends on finding every crack or void where the insects are harboring and removal of the bugs by vacuuming or treatment of the harborage with an appropriate product. Overlooking even the smallest crack in furniture may lead to a persistent infestation, therefore beds, nightstands, and related furniture often require disassembly and careful inspection.
- Carpets may need to be gently lifted along the edge and the space beneath treated.
- Baseboards, door and window frames, and any visible crack will require treatment in infested rooms. Should furniture be moved from an infested unit to another unit, it should be carefully inspected and cleaned or treated as necessary to prevent the spread of bed bugs to the new room.
Trust Terminix
If you suspect you have bed bugs, call us immediately. Our local experts will conduct a thorough, free examination of your home, furniture and bedding to determine the extent of the problem, and recommend the best course of action.