BED BUGS MANAGEMENT

KEY POINTS

• Bed bugs can be extremely difficult to detect. Proper diagnosis requires highly trained professionals.
• Bed bug services are very labor intensive, rely heavily on the careful use of residual pesticides and should only be conducted by highly trained professionals.
• Proper service requires that ALL possible harborages are treated. This usually requires the complete cooperation of the customer to acces all areas that need to be treated.
• One service WILL NOT eliminated bed bugs from your home. A typical bed bug management program consists of an intesive initial service followed by a number of follow up visits over a period of several months.
  These follow up visits are necessary to ensure a maximun level of control.
• In rare cases, total elimination of bed bugs may not be possible through our regular program. We will work with the customer to design custom treatments to give the best control possible.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT BED BUGS

Bed bugs occur world-wide and bridge all economic and social strata. Bed bug infestations in North America have bcome much more common over the past 10 years. Adult bed bugs are brown to reddish-brown, approximately 3/16-inch long, 1/8-inch wide, broadly oval, and flat. Immature bed bugs (nymphs), are tiny and appear translucent or pale in color. TRhe eggs are pearly white in color and only 1 mm in length, thus they can be very difficult to detect with the naked eye. Inspections for the bed bugs include looking for live bugs, shed exoskeletons and characteristic black stains created by fecal droppings. These insects feed exclusively on blood however there has been no evidence to suggest that bed bugs transmit any diseases.

Bed bugs do not enter homes from the natural outdoors environment; instead they must be introduced into the home from a previously infested environment. This can occur by picking them up during travel, bringing them in on rented or used furniture, introduction by guests or visitors, or others means. Often the exact source of the infestation is unknown. Once in the home bed bugs will seek small, protected areas to hide. Although called bed bugs, they can live in almost any area of the home such as beds, couches, picture frames, night stands, wall voids, under carpeting, or virtually any available small crack or crevice. However, they will most likely try ot live very close to where people sleep. Only highly trined professionals can correctly identify and treat all of these potential harborages. Bed bugs are nocturnal insects and therefore usually hide during the day and are most active at night when they leave their harborages to seek a blood meal. Bed bug bites are essentially painless and often go unnoticed while the bugs are feeding. Bed bugs mature quickly, lay hundreds of eggs, and can live almost a year. Therefore, infestations can grow rapidly and persist indifinitely until proper corrective actions are taken.

WHAT OUR COMPANY CAN DO FOR YOU

• Provide a thorough inspection to confirm the presence or absence of bed bugs.
• Provide education and training on how to reduce likelihood of bed bug infestations and how to recognize be dbug infestations if they do arise.
• Reactionary Treatments: Our company can provide services to control current bed bug infestations.
• Proactive Treatments: Our company can provide services to try and prevent and infestation from occurring or prevent a current infestation from spreading to uninfested areas.