Behavior

Bed bugs (or bedbugs) live on mattresses, bed frames, headboards, in carpets and on furniture. They tend to hang around cool, dark places where they can feed on sleeping humans, like bedrooms. Their flat bodies make it easy to hide in mattress seams and in crevices. Bed bugs suck blood and feed at night, with peak feeding time about an hour before sunrise. They’re attracted by the carbon dioxide we exhale on our breath, as well as our body heat.

Bed bugs largely disappeared in the 1940s largely due to extermination efforts, but they started showing up again in the mid-1990s, and now they are a big problem again. They’re good at hitching rides in luggage, which means they can make the jump from infested hotel rooms to your bedroom with ease. Fortunately for us, bed bugs – unlike mosquitoes and mites – have not been determined to be vectors, or carriers of disease. But bed bug bites can be painful, and can cause an annoying rash.

Treatment

Bed bug infestations are very hard to eradicate completely. In fact, pest management professionals will tell you that an infestation of bed bug is more difficult to get rid of than an invasion of ants, cockroaches or termites. And because these insects are so adept at hiding once they get inside your home, it’s important to call on professional help, to make sure the job gets done right. Need a bed bug exterminator? Clark Pest Control offers complete bed bug services to rid your home of this insect pest. Schedule your free bed bug inspection today.

Latin Name: Cimex lectularius