How to Prevent Bed Bugs

Bedbugs have infested Arizona! Is your home protected with the right bedbug treatment? Bug and Weed Mart of Arizona, a chain of do-it-yourself pest control stores, offers the right products, equipment, and advice to residents throughout Phoenix. The sooner you start preventative measures, the sooner you can rid yourself of a more serious infestation.

Cimicidae or sometimes bed bugs, are small parasitic insects. The most common type is Cimex lectularius. The term usually refers to species that prefer to feed on human blood. All bed bugs in this family live by feeding exclusively on the blood of warm-blooded animals. The name “bedbug” is derived from the insect’s preferred habitat of houses, especially beds or other areas where people sleep. Bed bugs can be found singly, but often congregate once established.

Bedbug Symptoms

A number of health effects may occur due to bed bugs, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. Bed bugs, though not strictly nocturnal, are mainly active at night and are capable of feeding unnoticed on their hosts.

Adult bedbugs are light to reddish-brown, flattened, oval shaped and have no hind wings, but front wings. Adults grow to 4–5 mm in length and 1.5–3 mm wide. The life span of bed bugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding. Although bedbugs can live for a year without feeding, they normally try to feed every five to ten days. In cold weather, bed bugs can live for about a year, at temperatures more conducive to activity and feeding, about 5 months.

Bedbugs have been known as human parasites for thousands of years. Because infestation of human habitats has been on the increase, bed bug bites and related conditions have been on the rise as well. The exact causes of this resurgence remain unclear; many believe main causes to be greater foreign travel, more frequent exchange of second-hand furnishings among homes, a greater focus on control of other pests resulting in neglect of bed bug countermeasures, and increasing resistance to pesticides. The current wave of bed bug infestations across America has spawned an industry for bed bug prevention, eradication and the reporting of infestations.

If you think you have suffering from a bed bug bite or are suffering from getting rid of bed bugs, don’t hesitate to call one of the five Bug and Weed Mart store locations.