bed bug pest control sydney Archives • Pest Busters Sydney

BEDBUG PEST CONTROL

Vampires of the insect world

Need Help with Bed Bugs?

Bedbug pest control Sydney – Bed bugs are mostly associated with human beds where they are often found hiding during the daylight hours. Bed bugs come out to feed at night and are attracted to body heat. The bite of a bed bug itself is normally painless; however, about 80% of the population will develop an allergic reaction to the bite. The bite can cause general swelling that extends beyond the area of the bite leaving no red spot at the bite point.

What do bedbugs look like?

Bed bugs are flat, reddish-brown, oval and flat. They are about 5-6 mm long or about the size of an apple seed. In the early stages of their life cycle, bedbugs are almost transparent until they start to feed. As they feed their bodies swell and appear to be red in colour due to the blood they have ingested. An unfed bedbug would usually be a cream colour.

The Young:

Small and colour-less.
General body appearance of adults.
Turn red or purple when engorged with blood.

Adult:

4-5 mm long.
Reddish-brown in colour.
Wingless (oval structure in their place)
Flat, oval shaped body.
Body appears to be shiny.
Piercing/Sucking mouth parts.

Where can bedbugs be found?

Bed bugs can be found hiding in Cracks and crevices, the seams of the mattress, on sheets, furniture, behind baseboards, electrical outlet plates and picture frames. Bed Bugs are often found in hotels, where they can travel from room to room and in visitors’ luggage.

What do bedbugs eat?

Bed bugs preferably feed on human blood, but they can also use bats, poultry and other birds as hosts.

How many eggs can a bedbug lay?

An adult Bed bug under good conditions, can live over 300 days. Female bed bugs lay their eggs in cracks and crevices or on any rough surface. The female bed bug lays one to five eggs a day and may lay 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime.

What is the life cycle of a bedbug?

The bed Bug cycle takes about 21 days from egg to adult. Nymphs go through 5 moults and require a blood feed before each moult. In the absence of blood meals, nymphs have been known to survive for 2 years.

What Impacts do bedbugs cause?

Bed bugs feed on the blood of humans and other mammals.
Bed bugs are not known to transmit any diseases.
The fear of bed bug infestations and their bites has known to lead to emotional distress
Bites may result in an itchy welt that can cause discomfort and may lead to a secondary infection

Do I have bedbugs?

The real answer to this and to know 100% for sure if you have bedbugs is to see the bug itself. Not all bites are caused from bedbugs and by presuming you have bedbugs, you could be giving yourself unnecessary stress!

It is not possible to provide a diagnosis simply by examining bites, the reason being is that simply that everyone reacts differently to bites!

If you are being bitten you should consider all possible causes of the bites also taking the following questions into consideration

Have you recently returned from travelling?
Did the bites start after you have come home?
Has anyone stayed over that has been travelling?
Do you have pets?
Have you seen or heard any birds nesting in or around the window seals/roof cavity/balcony etc?

Bedbug Inspection

If you believe you may have bedbugs you should inspect the areas marked in the image below looking for:

Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses
Dark spots, similar in size to this dot • which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a mark from a permanent marker or texta
Eggs & egg casings, which are about 1 mm, pale yellow skins that baby bed bugs shed as they grow larger.
Live bed bugs

Pay Special Attention to:

The seams of the
mattress, chairs and couches, between cushions, in the folds of curtains.
Mattress Base – Bed Joints especially where the bedhead and side rails meet – Bed slats – Bed legs etc
In drawer joints
In electrical outlets & appliances.
Under loose wall paper and wall art/pictures
Where the wall and the ceiling meet
Where the wall and floor meet