FAQs
Has some one reported a Bedbug incident ?
Fact : Bed bugs are back!
Infestations of Bedbugs are up nationwide including Michigan. They know no class distinction, and they can happen to anyone anywhere!
What do Bedbug bites look like?
Bites from the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius)
Facts about Bed Bugs:
• Will leave dark fecal spots on mattresses, clothing, walls etc...
• Feed generally at night
• Will travel up to 20 feet to feed and occasionally further
• Can go up to 1 year without feeding
• Average lifespan is 18 months depending on temperature and environment
• Feed 3-5 times per week
• Hide during the day
• Scent glands emit a sweet odor
• Transported to new locations by "hitchhiking" on luggage, used furniture or clothing
• Can migrate to a new location through pipes, wiring runs and ventilation systems
• A female can lay 10-20 eggs per week (500-1000 eggs per year)
What do bed bugs look like?
Bed Bug Life Cycle
Different Life Stages
Adults: are small, brownish insects, just under a 1/4” long and are relatively flat. They are nearly as wide as they are long, and oval.
Nymphs: Before Bedbugs mature, they are called nymphs. Nymphs are almost devoid of color. Before they feed and are about the size of a poppy seed. After five molts, which take approximately ten weeks, the nymphs reach maturity. Becoming straw-colored, microscopic, and slightly larger than a pinhead.
Eggs: are white and difficult to see on most surfaces without any magnification. Individual eggs are about the size of a dust speck. When first laid they are sticky causing them to adhere to surfaces.
mattress edge
HABITS: Hitchhike in luggage, cell phones, computers, clothing, diaper bags, furniture, shipping boxes, crates, etc. and on humans and animals. Cannot fly but capable of moving surprisingly quickly across surfaces including ceilings, carpet, and beds, etc. During daylight hours, hide and often commune in cracks and crevices including mattresses and bedding, bed frames, head boards and foot boards, baseboards, behind wall paper and electrical switch plates and outlets, furniture, and basically any place they can wedge their paper thin bodies into. Nocturnal, can withstand temperatures between close to freezing up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, can complete development from egg to adult in as little as one month. Attracted to carbon dioxide, indication of a warm-blooded body. Emits an oily-sweet odor from thorax glands.
FEEDING:
Can crawl up to 100 feet in search of its only food source – warm blood, preferably human, but will feed on animals. Prior to feeding, saliva containing a natural anesthetic and anticoagulant is injected into the sleeping food host thereby allowing an essentially painless feeding to occur uninterrupted. Both male and female of the nymph and adult feed on blood, and may move around several times during its 3 to 10 minute meal. After feeding, crawls into a crack or crevice for a few days to digest. Bites can be all over the body especially in exposed areas such as face, neck shoulders, arms, and hands.
