Bed Bug Resource Page
Bedbugs are becoming a reality for homeowners in Colorado. This page is intended to provide customers of K3 Management Services a resource for information on dealing with a bed bug problem.
Why we can't kill bedbugs - Very interesting article.
Dealing with Bed Bugs in home - from Consumer Reports - the Harvard site link in this article is now down so here is another form the University of Kentucky Entomology Department
Avoiding Bed Bugs on the road from Consumer Reports
Several owners have said to us "I know when its a bed bug bite"
Harvard School of Public Health entomologist Richard Pollack says:
"
It's difficult to distinguish a bedbug bite from a common mosquito bite or rash. The parasites feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, and are usually more of a nuisance than a health threat. But some people have severe reactions to their bites, while others lose quite a bit of sleep, and scratching can lead to infections. Bedbugs aren't known to transmit disease and not everyone bitten will develop red bumps commonly associated with the bites, though some might experience mild to severe allergic reactions. " From article on consumer reports.org.From another article on WebMD:
Forget everything you've heard about being able to tell the biter was a bed bug by looking at a bite. "I feed all kinds of bloodsuckers on my body, and in the vast majority of cases you can't look at a mark and tell what made it," says Pollack. "I recently gave a talk to physicians and quizzed them on pictures of bites, and their batting average was zero. The bites resemble those of other blood-feeding insects, such as mosquitoes, fleas, biting gnats, or mites."
Many owners believe they have bed bugs when the cause could be something else -
From article on consumer reports.org.
The Professional Pest Management Alliance's 2005-06 media campaign
did a lot for public awareness--if not hysteria. An ongoing NPMA
informal online poll reported
in late June that 68 percent of more than 20,000 respondents say
that they or others they know have encountered bedbugs.
Pollack isn't so sure they have. He receives dozens of specimens
daily from horrified homeowners, tenants, building managers, and
pest-control pros looking for confirmation of infestation. But those
bags, bottles, canisters, and envelopes don't usually contain the
dreaded bedbug. More often than not, Pollack says, the samples turn
out to be dandruff, crumbs, roaches, or crushed carpet beetles,
which are common.
Some hints for dealing with Bedbugs from the Mayo Clinic
Treating your home
Once your symptoms are treated, you must tackle the underlying
infestation. This can be difficult because bedbugs hide so well and
can live for months without eating. Your best bet may be to hire a
professional exterminator, who may use a combination of pesticides
and nonchemical treatments.
Nonchemical treatments may include:
- Vacuuming. A thorough vacuuming of cracks and crevices can physically remove bedbugs from an area. But vacuum cleaners can't reach all hiding places.
- Hot water. Washing clothes and other items in water at least 120 F (49 C) can kill bedbugs.
- Clothes dryer. Placing wet or dry items in a clothes dryer set at medium to high heat for 20 minutes will kill bedbugs and their eggs.
- Enclosed vehicle. If it's summer, you can bag up infested items and leave them in a car parked in the sun with the windows rolled up for a day. The target temperature is at least 120 F (49 C).
- Freezing. Bedbugs are also vulnerable to temperatures below 32 F (0 C) but you'd need to leave the items outdoors or in the freezer for several days.
Some professional exterminators use portable devices to produce steam, heat or freezing temperatures to kill bedbugs. In some cases, you may have to throw out heavily infested items such as mattresses or couches.
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More to come....