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They have two major functions to the exclusion of all else: They eat and mate. That’s it.
Bed bugs live and eat closest to where humans sleep, because humans provide them with blood meals. If the members of your household primarily sleep in beds located in bedrooms, that’s where bed bugs will live. If, instead, many members of your house spend several hours sleeping or napping on your couch, bed bugs will make their way there instead. In fact, bed bugs will even live in and around pet bedding.
Once a bed bug has fed, it can take several weeks to digest just that one meal. Because they need so much time to digest their blood meals, they spend most of their lives hiding near your bed — and are extremely adept hiders. Bed bugs can flatten their bodies to fit into the tiniest of cracks and crevices anywhere in your home that’s close to a sleeping person. They look for hiding spots that provide the least threat of being disturbed — and will happily hang out and digest in the wall of your home, your floor, floorboards, furniture, picture frames and any other tiny place they can find. Bed bugs can live for up to a year without eating and will wait in abandoned homes and furniture until their next meal arrives.
Even if you do find what looks like a bed bug in your home, they resemble many other bugs, making them notoriously difficult to identify.
Bed bugs are nocturnal, which means that you aren’t very likely to see the bugs themselves while you are awake. Even if you do find what looks like a bed bug in your home, they resemble many other bugs, making them notoriously difficult to identify. There are, however, some tell-tale signs of bed bug infestations, including:
If you do happen upon a live bed bug, look for wings. If your identified bug has wings or is flying, it is not a bed bug. Adult bed bugs are flat and rusty in color, are about the size of an apple seed, and have six legs and two antennae.
Depending on the treatment needed and the area affected, a full bed bug removal treatment can cost between $500 and $1,750 dollars. It is often far more expensive than people anticipate, as it takes considerable effort and skill to completely eradicate a bed bug infestation. In fact, if you hire the wrong people and the infestation is not completely taken care of, you may have to hire a pest control service to start the process all over again.
Bed bugs are a serious problem and are notoriously difficult to get rid of on your own. Most infestations require a professional to perform inspections, find all the bed bugs and use proper equipment and chemicals to remove the problem completely. If bed bugs are on your mind, don’t hesitate to reach out to At Home Pros today, and get connected to the best pest control services for bed bugs in your area.