Bed bugs began making a slow comeback a few years ago with a steep rise in their population over the last six months. The resurgence is blamed on increased affordable travel, which has allowed people from all socioeconomic classes to take a trip and the banning of certain pesticides. The pesticides available to the pest control industry today are not as effective and have challenged these companies to research alternative methods to control this pest. Bed bugs have been labeled a huge liability therefore requiring a reputable company with an effective management program, not all companies are up to this challenge.

Bed bugs are brown to reddish-brown, 3/16 inch long, flat and oval. The nymphs or immature stages go through a series of five molts (from egg to adult). They range in size from 2mm to 3/16 inches long and are yellowish to almost translucent in color. The eggs are extremely small (1mm) and very difficult to detect without the aid of a magnifying glass. Bed bugs can utilize almost every crack and crevice in a home from the baseboards to the dressers. They are nocturnal making it difficult to identify all of the harborages bedbugs use. Highly trained professionals are able to identify these harborages and determine the infestation levels through a number of clues:

• shed exoskeleton
• fecal droppings
• live and dead bed bugs
• possible pathways into the home

Infestations can grow rapidly under radar and if not caught early can spread easily. Bed bugs can spread very easily from unit to unit in a multi-resident building and the best and most effective way to eliminate bed bugs is to inspect and treat all units surrounding the infested one.

Bed bugs have utilized almost every pathway into the house. Their presence may be a result of travel, hotels, universities, furniture (new and used), family and friends. Determining the source is very difficult in most cases but once you have them it doesn't matter where they came from, all that matters is getting rid of them.

To combat this pest, Buggin Out Pest Control has developed highly trained and experienced specialists. These specialists have been trained in all aspects of bed bug control from inspection to communication to confidentiality with the customer. Each situation is unique and we utilize several treatment techniques to design custom management programs. These programs depend upon the infestation levels and the needs of our customers. Bed bug management is labor intensive, requires more than one treatment and most importantly relies on the cooperation from the customer. Buggin Out  requires a certain amount of preparation by the customer before any treatment can begin. A preparation list can be found by clicking here.

There is a perception that bed bugs are linked to sanitation, but this not true. Bed bugs feed on us while we sleep in our beds and can leave a long lasting, traumatic impression. Here are some pointers to follow if bed bugs are suspected:

Do not throw out the bed or any furniture. This can spread the bed bugs throughout the home or building. Most pieces of furniture can be inspected and treated.

Do not remove any bedding or clothing from the infested room. This can spread the problem. If you need to move these items, place them in large plastic garbage bags, seal them tight and then move them.

If washing clothes, place them in plastic bags bring place them directly into the washer or dryer and discard the plastic bag outside immediately.

Pull the bed away from the wall so there is no contact with any other objects that are touching the bed.

Remove any items that are stored under the bed. Remember to bag them if moving them out of the infested room

Eliminate any clutter (piles of clothing, bags, boxes, closets, etc.). These conditions provide numerous harborages for bed bugs and make treatment and elimination more difficult.