This video made by National Geographic has some really enlightening and educational information about bed bugs. It sheds some light of the feeding habits of bed bugs and allows you to see actual bed bugs feeding.
Click here to learn more about bed bugs.
Bed bugs survive on the blood of warm-blooded mammals. They are known as nocturnal insects since they tend to feed and usually come out of hiding at night-time.
While humans sleep, bed bugs extract blood in a very painless fashion. During their feeding time, they inject their saliva into your skin. The saliva contains anticoagulants and anesthetics. Bed bugs usually only feed for five minutes at a time. Those five minutes of feeding can keep the bed bugs filled up for a long period of time, so even if they do not have another immediate host, they can survive. If they cannot find a human, they would then feed on the blood of next closest warm-blooded host, such as a dog, cat, or other pet.
It’s easy for one to confuse a mosquito bite for a bed bug bite. So how do you determine if a bite on your skin is a bed bug bite? Research has said that bed bugs bite in a linear pattern of three bites so if you have three consecutive bites about your skin then you have been bitten by a bed bug. Some people even refer to these bites as “Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner”. Bites from bed bugs are usually red in appearance and can be either flat or raised bumps.
Many people react differently to bed bug bites. Some bites might show up immediately where as others may not see signs up to nine days after being bitten. In some people the bites do not show up at all. This makes it hard to determine if there is a bed bug infestation present in the home or not. To many, bed bug bites may even eventually lead to moderate to severe allergic reactions. Other symptoms of bed bug bites may include going into a state of shock, nausea, and even feelings of illness. Luckily these allergic reactions are not very common.
The most obvious factor when attempting to keep track of Bed Bug infestations in apartment and condo units is that Bed Bugs quite simply traverse from one unit to another. Bed Bugs are aware of our natural heat, CO2, not forgetting pheromones given off by people. Once a colony has found a point when it no longer has a food source that can keep it alive, break away bugs move on to the next unit by way of the walls and unsealed bottom plates,to the promise of sources of food in the adjacent unit.
Many families try unworkable home remedies for Bed Bugs or more troublesome measures– such as throwing out their Bed Bug-infested mattresses and bedding, and usually ripping out carpet and replacing furniture to rid Bed Bugs from their home! While this course of action seem to be understandable ways of behaving this isn’t an advised to go into the walls, under the baseboards or any other suitable place. If the sufferer is able to slide a credit card into a tiny space, a Bed Bug is likely to find a home and nice spot to breed. Often pest control routines attack Bed Bugs in a similar manner to that which they treat roaches – spray in the area of the baseboards. This will not be successful as a Bed Bug’s natural genetic instinct is entirely different from that of a roach!
Many victims of bed bug infestation have said they’ve actually been turned away by pest control contractors because they don’t have an efficient treatment for Bed Bugs! Can you understand where you infested these Bed Bugs originally? In most cases from a visit at a Guest House or Hotel while not at home and you carried them back in your clothing and luggage. It’s not very likely the problem is via a visitor at your place of living or second-hand furnishing.
As of late, there are several stories in the news, about bed bugs carrying diseases, and transmitting them to their victims. This isn’t hard to imagine, because other blood-feeding parasites, such as mosquitoes, are disease vectors, transmitting malaria, yellow fever, and even the deadly West Nile virus.
Well, thankfully with bed bugs, this is not the case. It seems one of the threats they do pose to humans, however, is the actual infestations themselves, which technically are a disease. A disease can include any parasitic relationship, where an ectoparasite (bed bugs) feeds on a host (humans).
One of the symptoms of bed bugs disease (read:infestations) include the red, itchy bite marks, often left behind after a nighttime feeding frenzy. The bites, interestingly enough, closely resemble mosquito bites, and are about as itchy. However, only about half of all people bitten by bed bugs suffer reactions to the bites.
The itching and swelling attributed to the bites is actually your body’s reaction to the bed bugs saliva, which contains anti-coagulants and anesthetics, to ensure your blood keeps flowing, and you feel nothing while they feed. Bed bug bite reactions vary among victims. Some experience the redness and itchiness almost immediately, some may not see bite reactions for 1 to 2 days after being bitten, and still others may show no signs of bed bug feeding at all. Most bite reactions subside a week to two weeks after appearing, and rarely, if ever leave long term evidence.
Other symptoms of bed bug infestations are psychological, and more lasting. These are the nightmares and insomnia many bed bug sufferers report. In fact, several of us here at the Bed Bug Bureau, after handling and feeding bed bugs, have sleepless nights worrying we’ve brought bed bugs home, either by nearly-invisible, hitchhiking nymphs or the extremely sticky, microscopic bed bug eggs.
Some severe infestations have caused people to have delusional parasitosis, or imagining bugs are crawling on your body, even though there is nothing physically on you. It can be very stressful condition, and disruptive to your everyday way of life. Imagine trying to be in a professional setting or having dinner at a nice restaurant, then it hits you, bed bugs are crawling all over your body, in your hair and ears, and even between your toes. To make matters worse, you’re the only one who can feel them, or even see them. Talk about horrifying! Thankfully, this only happens in extreme cases, but it’s still scary to think about.
While bed bugs are not disease carriers in the traditional sense, they can still inflict just as much pain and annoyance as other blood-sucking insects, mosquitos. Unfortuantely, there is no bed bug repellant you can spray on you, to keep bed bugs from attacking you in the night. But fortunately, by being proactive you can minimize your exposure to bed bugs, and hopefully never have to deal with these parasites, and the symptoms caused by their bites.
Check out the Bed Bug Bureau™ for more tips and advice that can help you destroy, and even avoid bed bugs from attacking you!
-Agent P
Our tradeshow loop from 2008.
One of the main challenges of hotel bed bug outbreak management is controlling the report details and keeping that information within staff boundaries — without letting it needlessly spread out to visitors and guests.
Luckily, the days of Egyptian Bed Bug Outbreak Management (100% deNIAL) have become more rare. If your company or chain policy is still Egyptian-centric, i.e., housekeepers are terrified to even report bed bug findings, then you are officially living in deNIAL. How’s that working out?
Let’s continue with the understanding that your hotel is grown up and taking a proactive stance to detect, deter and destroy bed bugs. This means that housekeeping and front desk staff are on the case when bed bugs are discovered or a guest report is filed.
Proper management of hotel bed bug outbreak information is critical to help you get rid of bed bugs in the hot zone before they spread. Now of course an loud talking, irate guest at the desk can make this difficult, but proper crisis management techniques can even minimalize this factor. You main goal at all times is calm quiet responce — and fast direct action.
Sometimes it’s hard to get things done quickly and quietly, but in most cases you will need to do exactly this. No matter the source of the report, the plan of action should flow something like thing.
Alert front desk to the zone and extent of the outbreak.
Alert housekeeping supervisor and schedule double close spot checks and bedding flips in the hot zone.
Alert maintenance to to the bed bug infestation and order adjacent room barrier treatments.
Log everything to document what you know and what was done to handle it. Remember, these notes should be stored for later in case litigation is brought against your hotel. Time, date, names, etc are critical to documenting the outbreak response and information management.
So yes the best practice is to keep bed bug outbreaks quiet, but also the folow up action is even more important to maintaining a safe and guest freindly hotel for all to enjoy.
–
Dwayne Coots
Bed Bug Bureau
Field Intelligence Agent 001
You’re invited to come and join the Bed Bug Bureau LIVE in Vancouver, BC on Monday November 23rd and Tuesday November 24th for the British Columbia Hospitality Industry Conference & Exposition!
We’ll be waiting for you in Booth #826 with presentations and free literature about our amazing bed bug treatment solution (you know… the one the exterminators don’t want you to know about!).
We’re so excited to be attending this conference and expect the turnout to be huge. Since it is focused on the hospitality industry we’re sure to see some of our commercial hotel clients. It’s going to be a blast and the weather is really mild so head out to the show. Stop by and say hey so we can put a face to your name.
We’ll also be circulating around the show all day long telling folks about our breakthrough Detect-Deter-Destroy solution for commercial bed bug management. If you have never seen one of our videos you’re in for a treat! We will have the big screen going the whole time so you can see first hand how easy it is for your cleaning and maintenance staff to manage bed bugs quietly as a simple daily housekeeping task — instead of shelling out millions on repeat exterminator visits.
We’ll also update the blog daily to let you know how the show is going and share any interesting stories we experience.
On behalf of the whole Bed Bug Bureau Covert Tactics Division, this is Field Intelligence Agent Dwayne Coots signing off for now!
See you at the British Columbia Hospitality Industry Conference & Exposition!
A Message to Parents, College Students, and College educators:
Being in college gives a young person the opportunity to experience many new exciting things. From building a foundation for a successful career to meeting life-long friends, college offers many ways to expand a young person’s horizon. However, not everything is so perfect with the college life. Do you remember that nasty old couch that your grandmother gave you for your first apartment? You know the one that your friend slept on every weekend until the day you all graduated? How about that recliner that you picked up for $20 at your neighbor’s garage sale? Well, nowadays these items are contributing to the rising Bed Bug epidemic sweeping mulit-person dwellings such as college apartments and dorm rooms. Due to their small size, overabundance of people, clutter, and often used furniture, dorm rooms are especially ideal breeding grounds for Bed Bugs. In fact, there have been reports popping up everywhere of costly Bed Bug incidents such as:
I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again. The only way to make this problem better before it gets worse is an integrated program in which students are properly educated on the dangers of Bed Bugs and take the necessary prevention measures. Proper Bed Bug deterrence such as using DE-Stroy Eco Dust with the combination of a Paravinyl encasements on the mattress and box spring can go a long way. And one more thing college kids, I know it’s tempting, but STAY AWAY FROM that wonderful hand-me down furniture….
-Agent Cooper
Unfortunately, Bed Bug responsibility is not a clear cut matter. With the constant barrage of Bed Bug related lawsuits and the easability at which people can shout out at each other via the Internet, is it any wonder that this is happening. Just look at this Chicago Fox Bed Bug News Story.As you can see the landlord and the tenants are not seeing eye to eye on hardly anything Bed Bug related. The news story tells how the landlord urges the tenants to throw out their infested mattresses and other furniture. Well, the next day, other tenants go and grab infested furniture and put it in their homes. Thus, infecting their homes with terrible, parasitic Bed Bugs! So, who is to blame in a situation like this?
Well the answer………………………………………WHO CARES! That’s right the proper answer is “who cares”. This will always be the case because wasting time pointing the finger is not going to solve this problem. In fact, it is wasted energy. Do you think the Bed Bugs eating those apartments in Chicago care? Absolutely not. A much better solution is for the tenants and landlords is to be proactive and to work together to solve this problem. The only approach to the Bed Bug epidemic is through proper education, and teamwork among all involved parties.
Agent Cooper