Bed bug / cimex lectularius

/Preparation Guidelines (What to do before treatment)

Don’t throw away your bed or furniture,
Don’t move anything,
Don’t spray any product.  
Let us get you rid of bed bugs.

These four steps will help you avoid many problems and save you time and money in the end. It is always easier for us to solve a problem if you do nothing before the treatment.

The inexperienced people will have great difficulties to solve a bed bug problem. They may even spread the infestation in the building, to friends or relatives. Moreover, they exposed themselves to insecticide because of repeated or inappropriate use they make of it.  

The best solution would be to hire us while taking care of not throwing away, moving or spraying anything so the bugs won’t be scattered all around. That would increase the chance of success at the first treatment.   

/The treatment

The key is in the effort to discover the bugs and the evidences they leave followed by an appropriate application of insecticides.

A thorough inspection of furniture, items and places likely to host the bed bugs will be conducted. The liquid insecticide kills adults, larvae and sometimes eggs and its residual effect is limited to a few days. An insecticide dust will be applied after and will eliminate the survivors and the larvae that hatched a few days after the treatment. It is therefore important to keep the powder in place at least 3 weeks.

All rooms of the apartment or house will be inspected and treated if necessary.

You must leave your home and 4 to 6 hours is required before returning to your place. Wait at least 8 hours if you want to sleep in a treated bed and put clean sheets.

We will put some clothing and beddings in plastic bags that you need to wash with hot water and dry at warm temperature.

All our treatments are guaranteed for 6 months and sometimes 1 year.

/Identification of bed bugs

Video reportage 1
Video reportage 2

Adults : 5-8 mm
Nymphs : 1-5 mm
Eggs : 1 mm
Antennas : 4 segments

The color of the bed bugs varies from pale yellow to dark red-brown depending on the stage of development and blood ingestion.

/Signs of infestation

• Reaction to bites
• Bloodstains
• Feces (black spots)
• Cast exoskeleton skins from molting
• Adults bed bugs and nymphs
• Eggs (shinny white)
• Sometimes a musty odor (severe infestations)

/Biology

Egg production :

• 1 to 5 eggs per day per adult female
• Up to 500 eggs per female in her lifetime
• The eggs are attached by a sticky secretion
• 6 to 10 days to hatch

Lifecycle

• Egg to adult: Typically 45 to 60 days but 21 days at 30 ° C and 120 days at 16 ° C (relative humidity 75-80%)
• 5 nymphal stages requiring a blood meal to grow and molt to next stage
• Life expectancy under normal conditions: 316 days
• 3 to 4 generations per female per year

Development Factors

• Minimum temperature for development: 13 ° C
• Lethal temperatures: Low: -16 ° C constant for 4 days. High: 50 ° C for 3 hours or 80° C for 5 minutes.
• Prefer human blood but can feed on a warm-blooded animal.
• A blood meal requires 3 to 12 minutes.
• At 10° C constant, once-fed bedbug can survive 1 year without feeding.

/Habits

• Bed bugs move into bags, suitcases, furniture and other objects and are carried by people.
• Once introduced, they often spread inside the building.
• They tend to settle as close as possible to their food source.
• They can settle anywhere when the population increases.
• When disturbed or repelled, they can hide anywhere.
• They aggregate in their hiding places where they mate, lay eggs, defecate and molt.
• The bed bugs come out at night but could be active in daytime in heavy infestation or if food is not available at night.
• Bedbugs are attracted by carbon dioxide, heat and body odor.
• We observed generally that when given a choice, they prefer to bite the children first, then women and men as a last choice.
• Bedbugs prefer a dry environment, semi obscure, fabrics, or uneven surfaces.
• His preference is for wood surfaces, paper and fabrics.
• Bed bugs disdain drafts, polished surfaces and metal objects, but they could adapt.
• They do not like movements.
• After treatment, if no evidence of bedbug is found in a period of 45 days, the problem is more likely to be solved. If reappearance occurs after a period of 45 days without activity, bedbugs have very likely been reintroduced.
• They only realistic way to monitor the bed bugs is to live in the place.

/ Factors of resurgence of bed bugs in the world

• Although nearly exterminated in North America after World War II, bedbugs have remained widespread in Asia, Africa, Central America and South America and Europe.
• The bedbugs move naturally into bags, suitcases, furniture and other objects and are carried by the millions of visitors and tourists.
• The more targeted use of insecticides, baits and traps for several years has given a break to bed bugs.
• The ban and restrictions of several insecticides that were effectives against bed bugs.
• Lack of knowledge of health personnel and the general population contribute to disperse the bed bugs before diagnosed and appropriately treated.

/Health concerns

• Although bed bugs can carry pathogens, conclusive evidence of transmission to humans is lacking. For this reason, Health Canada does not consider it a public health problem. We believe their position could change.
• Lack of sleep leading to accidents.
• Bacterial infection by scratching the bite.
• Isolation or psychological problems.
• Intoxication caused by inappropriate or repeated use of insecticide or other products.
• Possible respiratory problem caused by particles of shed skins that become airborne.

/Bite Reaction

• Reactions can vary greatly from one person to another depending on its degree of sensitivity.
• Normally, small reddish marks appear because of an allergic reaction to the saliva injected by the bed bug.
• One bug often inflicts multiple bites when feeding.
• 20 to 30% of the population has no reaction after a bite.
• The reaction can occur up to 2 weeks after the bite.