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Bed Bug Facts in Chicago, IL
Windy City Bed Bug Specialists
Windy City Bed Bug Specialists, "It's All We Do". "NO PREP REQUIRED" 90 Day to 6 Month Warranties, Family Owned & Operated. Discrete Service For Peace Of Mind. Rated Illinois Best Bed Bug Service.
Quick Bed Bug Facts
• Bed bugs can detect a host within 5 feet of them.
• They become active at night between the hours of midnight and 5am.
• 40% of people that have been bitten have no reaction at all.
• When the bed bugs feed they inject their saliva into its host and the saliva contains several proteins that routinely cause an allergic response from their hosts.
• They will aggregate near their host until the infestation becomes heavy. Then because of crowding, they many start seeking refuge farther away. When they feed they will probe the skin until they find the most suitable spot with good flow.
• They will feed for about 5 to 10 minutes.
• They can ingest 7 times their body weight. That is equivalent to an average sized male drinking 120 gallons of liquid.
• Each one will feed every 3 to 7 days.
• A female will produce 3-4 eggs per day and up to 300 to 500 in a lifetime.
• The eggs will hatch in about 10 to 15 days.
• The life cycle from egg to adult is between 5 weeks and four months, depending on temperature and availability of a blood meal.
• After 10 days they will need another blood meal in order to produce any more eggs.
• Under optimal conditions (temperature between 70 and 90 and with the host available) the bed bug population can double every 15 days.
• The ideal temperature for bed bugs is between 70 to 82 degrees.
• On average a starved bed bug at any stage in room temperature will last for 70 days.
• They will die instantly at a temperature of 120 degrees
• At 0 degrees it will take bed bugs 2 weeks to die.
• Wingless, reddish brown in color, size of an apple seed when they are adults.
• First instar bed bugs that have not fed are clear, about 1mm, barely visible to the naked eye.
Facts, Identification
Latin Name: Cimex lectularius L.
Appearance:
Bed bugs are flat, reddish-brown, oval insects up to 4 to 5 mm long or the size of an apple seed. Swollen and reddish after a blood meal.
Behavior, Diet & Habits:
Bed bugs only feed on blood. Under cool conditions, bed bugs have been able to survive up to a year without a meal. They prefer to be more active at night when the host is asleep. Found in cracks and crevices, including mattress seams, sheets, furniture, behind baseboards, electrical outlet plates and picture frames. Often found in hotels, where they can travel from room to room and in visitors’ luggage or other personal belongings such as purses and briefcases.
Reproduction:
Females can deposit one to five eggs a day, and may lay 200 to 500 eggs in a lifetime. Under normal room temperatures and with an adequate food supply, they can live for more than 300 days.
Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation:
There are many possible signs of bed bug activity. The first would be seeing the bugs. Adult bed bugs are about the shape and size of an apple seed. A second sign would be case skins. As the juvenile bugs grow, they shed their skins, discovery of which can indicate their presence. After feeding, bed bugs return to their harborage to hide. They eventually defecate in these areas, which appears as black to brown stains on porous surfaces or black to brown mounds on nonporous surfaces. Bites also may indicate bed bug activity, but further signs will need to be found, since other sources can cause red welts on the skin.
More Information:
Bed bugs (often misspelled as bedbugs) are small, nocturnal, wingless insects that belong to the family of Cimicidae. They feed on human blood and other warm-blooded hosts. They are oval in shape and grow up to 4 to 5 mm long when fully grown. Their skin color is rust brown to a deeper red brown. Bed bugs are also known as “mahogany flats,” “red coats” and “chinches.” The adult bed bug does not have wings and has a flattened body. Bed bugs are both dorsoventrally flattened and thin, which creates a great advantage for them. They can hide in unusual places such as behind baseboards, floor cracks, and under carpets or behind loose wallpaper, which can make them difficult to detect. Not only can they be hard to detect, but bed bugs also tend to stay close together and have a distinctively sweet, yet unpleasant smell. Fecal smears on mattresses and nearby furnishings are also signs of a bed bug infestation. Their bites can leave itchy welts on the skin and can cause allergic reactions, such as severe itching, though not everyone reacts to their bite. Bed bugs have existed since the ancient times and are found throughout the world. There are different species of bed bugs, but the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is particularly adaptable to human environments. Other species are known to prefer birds and bats but also will feed on humans if necessary. Since they can survive in birds’ nests, they can be seen in houses and buildings that have several bird nests, particularly on rooftops. . Bed bugs have a great worldwide distribution, due to human travelers who transport them in luggage, clothing, bedding and furniture. Though they may reside in unusual places, they are also likely to be found in small cracks near a bed or in comforters and bed sheets.
How you pick them up:
It’s possible to pick up bed bugs almost any place—they’ve infested offices, stores, hotels, gyms and countless other places. They can hide in your luggage, personal belongings, or even on you, and hitchhike a ride back to your home, condo, townhouse or apartment. Once indoors, they can be extremely difficult to control without the help of an experienced pest specialist. A bed bug infestation has nothing to do with cleanliness — you can pick them up in the finest hotels, and they can hitchhike into the cleanest homes at any time. But, you can help reduce your chances of a costly bed bug infestation by catching them early.