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Servicing all of Brisbane
RESULTS TERMITE & PEST CONTROL SERVICES
Bed Bug Pest Control Brisbane
Identifying and eradicating bed bugs for over 35 years
Bed bug control in Brisbane for commercial and residential homes
Here in Brisbane, the incidence of bed bug infestation has risen dramatically in the last few years. “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!” was just a cute bedtime expression that our parents or grandparents use to say as we headed off to bed. We had no idea what a bed bug was, as bed bugs were virtually eradicated in the western world by the late 1940s. Why are we still seeing bed bugs around today, and what are the chances of sharing a bed with them? To understand this, we need a quick bed bug history lesson.
A brief history of bed bugs
Bed bugs have been biting us since the beginning of recorded time. Experts believe that the bugs first parasitised bats and then moved to humans who inhabited the same caves in the Mediterranean region. Bed bugs have been unearthed from archaeological sites dating back more than 3,500 years, when they were considered to be both a pest and a potion. In the 1800s, washing bedding, breaking down beds, and dousing the slats, springs, and crevices with boiling water or grease from salt pork or bacon proved helpful. In the 1900s, chemicals such as mercury chloride and hydrogen cyanide were used to eradicate bed bugs. One recommendation was, “Sometimes it is possible to destroy a light infestation of bed bugs by thoroughly soaking the bed and other places with high-test gasoline.” Other extreme recommendations were burning sulphur dioxide or sulphur trioxide.
The global rise of bed bugs
As we moved into the 1960-the 70s, a perfect bed bug storm was brewing. At about the same time, dangerous insectoids that were used for treating bed bugs were banned. The rise in the affordability of air travel and the ability to travel to many exotic countries also meant that the humble bed bug got the “travel bug”. Many countries had bed bugs, and the bed bugs simply hitched a ride with travellers in their luggage and sometimes even in the lining of clothing. Since the mid-1990s, bed bugs have become a significant problem around the world.
How do bed bugs spread?
Bed bugs spread by passively hitching rides on infested personal belongings like luggage, clothing, and furniture, or through active migration between rooms in multi-unit buildings. They can also be transported in items like used furniture or boxes from one location to another, such as homes or businesses. Once in a new location, they hide in cracks and crevices and move to new areas to find hosts to feed on, which can lead to new infestations.
Bed bugs glue their translucent eggs to surfaces, which enables them to spread quickly. They are nocturnal and hate the light, so they wait until dark to creep out for their meals, which is why it can take so long to discover you have been sharing your home with them. Bed bugs can live up to 12 to 18 months. A female can lie between one to twelve eggs per day but typically lays 5 to 7 per week. Over the course of her lifetime, a female can lay 200 to 500 eggs.
Why do bed bugs like beds?
Bed bugs prefer beds because they provide easy access to their food source (humans) and offer numerous dark, protected hiding places like mattress seams and bed frames, which are ideal for shelter and breeding. They are attracted to human hosts by the carbon dioxide exhaled during breathing and by body warmth and they are nocturnal, emerging at night to feed
Each bed bug in your home will spend around 10 to 15 minutes with you once a week, sucking your blood while you sleep. Bed bugs pierce your skin with their “beak” and inject two hollow tubes into your skin. One tube injects saliva with anaesthetic’s and anticoagulants, and the other tube is used to suck out blood. Bed bugs also like to eat together and will bite in rows, lining up along a fold on a sheet, which is why the bite marks often seem to be in a neat row. At first, you may notice 1 or 2 bed bugs around your bed but given time, as the infestation worsens, you may see them spreading to your bed frames, baseboards, door and window frames, skirting boards, picture frames and other furniture.
How do I know if I have bed bugs?
You likely have bed bugs if you have itchy bites on your skin, particularly on areas exposed during sleep, and can find dark spots of excrement on bedding and mattresses, rust-colored blood spots from crushed bugs, or shed skins in seams and crevices. A thorough inspection with a flashlight is crucial to locate these bugs, as well as live bed bugs, in mattress seams, bed frames, and other furniture. A severe infestation may also produce a distinct, musty odor. Bed bugs are wingless, oval-shaped insects 4-5mm long in adulthood. They are reddish-brown but become darker in colour after feeding.
Signs of a bed bug infestation:
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Bites: Look for red, itchy, raised welts or bites that appear in lines or clusters, often on exposed skin. Some people may have no bites at all.
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Blood Spots: Small red or rust-colored stains on your sheets or mattress may be from crushed bed bugs.
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Fecal Spots: Dark brown or black spots, about the size of a period, are bed bug droppings. You may find these on bedding or furniture.
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Shed Skins: As bed bugs grow, they shed their exoskeletons. You might find these empty, pale shells in crevices.
Signs of a bed bug infestation also include the presence of small, flat, reddish-brown adults and their tiny, pale eggs in mattress or furniture seams, as well as a sweet, musty odor in more severe cases.
How to get rid of bed bugs
To get rid of bed bugs, thoroughly wash infested items in hot water and dry them on high heat, then vacuum daily, focusing on seams and crevices and dispose of vacuum bags immediately in a sealed outdoor container. Consider using mattress encasements, reducing clutter and for a complete treatment, hire a professional pest control service.
It is best to stop bed bugs before they get out of control. Results Termite and Pest Control Services specialise in treating bed bugs in Brisbane so that they are quickly and effectively eliminated with minimal disruption to your household. We use a comprehensive approach to eliminate bed bug infestations; this includes the safest and smartest chemical treatments available as well as traps and specific physical methods that are proven to be very successful in combating any bed bug problems
Call Results Termite and Pest Control Services
on
ph 07 3823 2500
Our friendly staff will answer all your questions and send a qualified technician to your home right away. After performing a full inspection of all the rooms that you suspect are infested, we will confirm whether or not bed bugs are present. If so, our technician will go right ahead and treat those rooms. After treating, we highly recommend having Bug Lock Mattress encasements installed on all mattresses to prevent any re-infestation.
We recommend you continue sleeping in the same room to encourage the bugs to emerge and walk on the treated areas, killing them in the process. We also suggest putting your bed linens through a hot wash and dry cycle, but not before our inspection, because our technician needs to see your bedding to gauge the severity of the infestation accurately.
The key to solving your bed bug problem is to act quickly
We can have a technician out to your home ASAP! We can also offer packaged pest control services as well. Give us a call today regarding bed bugs or any other problem you may be having with insects or pests of any kind. If untreated, a bed bug infestation will only worsen with time, making it more difficult and more expensive to eradicate. With our proven techniques and using the latest technology, we can solve your bed bug problem. Our treatments are proven pest control solutions designed to eliminate bed bug infestations specifically.
To successfully treat the bed bug problem, we always respond quickly and also provide an ongoing inspection and treatment program to keep your home free of the problem. If you think you have bed bugs, call Results Termite and Pest Control Services now on tel: 07 3823 2500 and speak to one of our friendly staff members to schedule an inspection. We travel and treat bed bug problems throughout the Brisbane, Queensland area, City CBD and surrounding suburbs.
Tips for preventing Bed Bugs while traveling
