Bed Bugs
Bed bug infestation?
Bed bug infestations can be dangerous and best handled by professionals rather than DIY pest control options. A bed bug can lay 200-500 eggs during its lifetime and with an adequate food supply and normal temperature conditions, each bed bug can live for more than 300 days during which they can feast on any part of the human body that is covered in skin (which is basically all of it) creating a host of problems including:
Physical discomfort and lost sleep due to itchy, painful bites.
Anxiety and stress about being vulnerable to bites while asleep.
Symptoms of bed bug bites can range from mild to serious.
Some people may also have allergic reactions when bitten.
How do I know if I have bed bugs?
If there are any bites on your skin that you cannot explain, it might a clear sign of bed bugs. These bites appear as red bumps, or sometimes as an itchy red rash. While not usually dangerous, they can be, and they are always very annoying! It is important to take care of the bed bug infestation right away to stop them from reproducing and making the infestation worse.
What are bed bugs?
What exactly are bed bugs? Members of the Cimicidae family of parasitic insects, the common bed bug is known in scientific and entomological circles as Cimex lectularius; the variation that primarily resides in tropical climates (and are therefore less likely to be the bed bugs found in St. Louis) is known as Cimex hemipterus. They are reddish-brown, flat, oval insects up to 4-5 mm long. They appear red and swollen after a meal— they feed only on blood. In cold temperatures, they can go without food for up to a year which unfortunately means that you might not be in the clear even if you’ve gone months without experiencing a bite. That being said, they prefer to be actively feeding on their host at night when the host is asleep.
They are experts at evading detection so they’re not easily found by the average person. They often hide in cracks and crevices, in sheets, mattress seams, electrical outlet plates, behind baseboards, and picture frames. They are also excellent stowaways: unknowing travels can bring them along in their luggage, leaving them behind to infest new places as they travel. Don’t worry though, whether the bed bugs in your home are of the Cimex lectularius or Cimex hemipterus variety, we can take care of your problem fast so that you never have to worry about being an unintentional infestation carrier.
How do I identify bed bug bites?
You may never see a bed bug, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Because they live in places that it’s impossible to see— for example inside your mattress or boxsprings, often people only realize that they have a problem when they wake up to discover the appearance of painful, itchy bites on their bodies or their children, or get reports of similar symptoms from other members of the household. These bites tend to appear in areas that are exposed during sleep, including the face and neck. While bites usually resolve in about a week, sometimes it can take a few days for the full extent of symptoms to develop. This can lead to confusion as to the exact cause of the bites; people might wrongly attribute them to mosquitos encountered during a recent outdoor adventure. However, once you suspect there’s any chance that you could be dealing with bed bugs, it’s best to call in a professional to inspect your home or building right away.
Unless the infestation is cleared, the bites are likely to persist or reoccur once the bloodsuckers are hungry again. We pride ourselves on our quick service and on making things easy for our clients, so Call Pure Pest at the first sign of a bed bug infestation and we’ll get on the job right away! We’ll send a technician over to perform a thorough inspection of your home and identify the root cause and the scope of your problem and make a plan to deal with it that prioritizes your health and comfort.
How to get rid of bed bugs
St. Louis has had a difficult time achieving effective bed bug control—especially in hotels on a larger scale. Pure Pest often uses a combination of the described methods for more successful results.
Some of our methods include:
Chemical Management – Bed bugs have become very resistant to pyrethroid insecticides, so proper chemical management is very important.
Heat Treatment – This is effective, but the temperature must reach 140 degrees. It is labor-intensive, tedious and time-consuming. Pure Pest uses the best heating equipment to bring lethal to bed bug temperatures throughout the infested areas. Our team will arrive early and stay on site until the job is completed.
It is possible that several treatments may be required, and our bed bug technicians will do everything they can do to get rid of them and prevent their return.
You can trust Pure Pest technicians to be mindful of your safety, with minimal use of chemicals because bed bugs live in close proximity to humans, we take extra precautions to avoid any toxicity or allergies developing in our customers.
St. Louis bed bug exterminators
At Pure Pest we understand how urgently you want to get these bugs out of your bed and out of your life! That’s why we’ve become experts in treating active bed bug infestations and protecting you against future invasions with preventative measures. So, if you’re currently dealing with bed bugs or worried about a potential future infestation, don’t worry: your bed bug nightmares are almost over. Just call Pure Pest; well send over one of our expert technicians and in no time you’ll be having sweet dreams again.
