Remember being told "don't let the bed bugs bite" when you were tucked into bed at night?

Well…..it’s not a fairy tale….there are bed bugs and they do bite! And once you have them, they can become an immense infestation if you do not take care of the problem. 

What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Certain kinds inhabit bird nests and bat roosts and await the return of their hosts; others have adapted well to living in the ‘nests’ (homes) of people.  These are the problem.  They are usually found in bedrooms and they tend to hide in the bed or near the bed in nightstands, behind picture frames and under the mattress.  Their flattened bodies allow them to conceal themselves in cracks and crevices around the room and within furniture  Clutter around the room offers additional sites for these bugs to hide, and increases the difficulty in eliminating bed bugs once they have become established.
Hatchling bed bugs are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4 of an inch in length. From above they are oval in shape, but are flattened from top to bottom.  Their color ranges from nearly white (just after molting) or a light tan to a deep brown or burnt orange. The host’s blood may appear as a dark red or black mass within the bug’s body. Because they never develop wings, bed bugs cannot fly.

How do bed bugs invade a home?
Because bed bugs readily hide in small crevices, they may accompany (as stowaways) luggage, furniture, clothing, pillows, boxes, and other such objects when these are moved between apartments, homes and hotels... One should carefully scrutinize and consider the history of any used furniture as bed frames and mattresses which, are of greatest risk of harboring bed bugs and their eggs

Treatment
There are different treatments available…chemical, organic and what we have found the best treatment; heat.  We have used chemicals for over 75 years for hundreds of different pests.  When it comes to bed bugs, it is virtually impossible to get chemical to all of the bed bugs hiding places.  Using our heat system designed by Chromalox, we can now penetrate the areas chemicals simply could not.  When a structure or room is heated to 120 degrees all live bed bugs and viable eggs will be killed within minutes.  The key is reaching these temperatures within the walls…mattresses, dressers, entertainment centers, behind pictures on the wall and any other possible hiding place.  We use a sophisticated monitoring system which, allows us to monitor and record the temperature and entire process.

If you are still experiencing a problem, please contact the professionals at Delk Pest Control.