Finding bed bugs in your home or place of business is definitely disturbing. Bed bug origins are simple; they will travel wherever humans transport them and infest wherever they can find a consistent blood meal. One female bed bug that has been inseminated can turn into a massive infestation if left untreated.
Bed Bug Reproduction Rates
Bed bugs can reproduce at rapid rates. A mated female that has hitchhiked to a new destination can lay up to 5 eggs per day and around 200 – 500+ eggs in her lifetime. Six weeks after hatching, the offspring are ready to reproduce as well. The numbers can quickly add up in only a few short months and the cycle will continuously repeat.
Infesting
Once a female bed bug has made her way into a new area, she needs to find a place to hide. This will need to be near an area where humans sleep.
Feeding
Next, she will need a blood meal in order to lay eggs. In order to lay eggs after mating, a female must have a blood meal. That means she’ll be looking to feed on a sleeping human as soon as possible.
Reproducing
Once fed, she will begin laying eggs. The eggs will begin hatching within 6 to 10 days.
Hitchhiking and Hiding
As soon as bed bugs hatch, they are able to hitchhike to a new destination or hide where they are. Either way, they will soon be infesting and repeating the process their mother began, and her mother before. As long as humans are present, bed bugs will repeat the process over and over.
Bed Bug Reproduction Rates
Bed bugs can reproduce at rapid rates. A mated female that has hitchhiked to a new destination can lay up to 5 eggs per day and around 500+ eggs in her lifetime. Six weeks after hatching, the offspring are ready to reproduce as well. The numbers can quickly add up in only a few short months and the cycle will continuously repeat.
Infesting
Once a female bed bug has made her way into a new area, she needs to find a place to hide. This will need to be near an area where humans sleep.
Feeding
Next, she will need a blood meal in order to lay eggs. In order to lay eggs after mating, a female must have a blood meal. That means she’ll be looking to feed on a sleeping human as soon as possible.
Reproducing
Once fed, she will begin laying eggs. The eggs will begin hatching within 6 to 10 days.
Hitchhiking and Hiding
As soon as bed bugs hatch, they are able to hitchhike to a new destination or hide where they are. Either way, they will soon be infesting and repeating the process their mother began, and her mother before. As long as humans are present, bed bugs will repeat the process over and over.
Bed Bug Origins Begin with Humans
Bed bugs depend almost exclusively on humans for food and transportation. If humans completely stopped traveling, bed bug infestations would decrease dramatically. Of course, that’s unlikely to happen and if it did, surely some greater problem than bed bugs would be the reason why. So, we’re stuck to deal with this blood-thirsty pest and education can help us bring them down.
Hitchhikers
Left to fend for themselves, bed bugs would fail as a pest. they depend on humans for their transportation. If we aren’t moving them about, their populations would die off.
Transportation Occurs on Personal Belongings
Prevention starts with not picking up the little hitchhikers to start with. If we don’t transport them, they can’t infest. The problem is that many people do not know how they travel. Bed bugs are hitchhikers and will travel on about anything personal to humans. Among those items are:
- Bedding
- Boxes
- Clothes
- Luggage
- Books
- Purses
Overnight stays away from home or if someone is staying overnight in your home, is one of the easiest ways to end up with bed bugs. When an overnight stay is planned, personal belongings should be paid special attention to. Practicing a few key things can help reduce the chances of transporting them.
Transportation Also Occurs on Large Items
The size of an items means very little to a bed bug. They will travel on small and large items alike. Besides personal belongs, the second most common mode of transportation is on furniture and other household items. Among those are:
- Mattresses and box springs
- Headboards and footboards
- Couches, loveseat, chairs
- Electronics
- Décor
Yard sales and used furniture items are a really good way to end up with bed bugs. It’s best not to purchase or accept used furniture unless there is no other option. Roughly 25 to 65% of all bed bug calls we take are due to movement of used furniture into living quarters.
Bed Bug Origins Begin with Humans
Bed bugs depend almost exclusively on humans for food and transportation. If humans completely stopped traveling, bed bug infestations would decrease dramatically. Of course, that’s unlikely to happen and if it did, surely some greater problem than bed bugs would be the reason why. So, we’re stuck to deal with this blood-thirsty pest and education can help us bring them down.
Hitchhikers
Left to fend for themselves, bed bugs would fail as a pest. they depend on humans for their transportation. If we aren’t moving them about, their populations would die off.
Transportation Occurs on Personal Belongings
Prevention starts with not picking up the little hitchhikers to start with. If we don’t transport them, they can’t infest. The problem is that many people do not know how they travel. Bed bugs are hitchhikers and will travel on about anything personal to humans. Among those items are:
- Bedding
- Boxes
- Clothes
- Luggage
- Books
- Purses
Overnight stays away from home or if someone is staying overnight in your home, is one of the easiest ways to end up with bed bugs. When an overnight stay is planned, personal belongings should be paid special attention to. Practicing a few key things can help reduce the chances of transporting them.
Transportation Also Occurs on Large Items
The size of an items means very little to a bed bug. They will travel on small and large items alike. Besides personal belongs, the second most common mode of transportation is on furniture and other household items. Among those are:
- Mattresses and box springs
- Headboards and footboards
- Couches, loveseat, chairs
- Electronics
- Décor
Yard sales and used furniture items are a really good way to end up with bed bugs. It’s best not to purchase or accept used furniture unless there is no other option. Roughly 25 to 65% of all bed bug calls we take are due to movement of used furniture into living quarters.
Common Places Humans Pick Up Bed Bugs
It’s no secret that bed bugs can live in a variety of human dwellings, venues and other buildings. But where, exactly, do most people get bed bugs? The answer is simple; you can pickup bed bugs from anywhere humans are. Most bed bug travel coincides with human travel.
Hotels
Hotels or other accommodations put humans at risk for picking up bed bugs. No matter how hard a facility tries, they cannot stop a guest from bringing bed bugs in or the next guest from taking one or two with them when they leave. The good news is that most hotels have trained their staff to look for signs and contact pest control right away. This greatly reduces our risk as consumers and guests. There’s no harm in asking a hotel for their bed bug inspection policy. If they don’t have one in place, maybe you need to look elsewhere.
Venues
Venues are another place where bed bugs may hitch a ride. This can include places like movie theatres, auditoriums, churches and other places where lots of seating is available for lots of people. When bed bugs are introduced in facilities like these, their main goal is to hitch a ride. No overnight sleeping occurs in these facilities and therefore a bed bug will not be able to have a blood meal.
Homes of Friends and Family
Unfortunately, even the home of a friend or family member could be the culprit in spreading bed bugs. Often times, homeowners may go months and be unaware that they have picked up a bed bug hitchhiker. By the time they realize there is an infestation, many bed bugs could have long found a ride to another home.
Offices and Workplaces
When we have coworkers, that means we have potential for bed bugs. Even the cleanest, wealthiest coworker is not exempt. If they have an infestation at home, they could very well transport them to work. Once in the work place, the bed bugs will begin searching for somewhere to hide close to a human. If your purse, jacket or other personal belongings are nearby, that’s a great place for them to hide.
Helpful Tips to Prevent Bed Bugs when Traveling
When traveling, bed bug prevention starts with you. In order to be successful, here are a few key tips to help you:
- Inspect the accommodations for signs of bed bugs. Headboards, mattresses, bed skirts and box springs are the primary areas to inspect.
- When unpacking suitcase, do not do so near the bed.
- Use the provided luggage rack or a table to unload luggage.
- If possible, return luggage to vehicle immediately after unpacking. If not possible, store luggage as far away from the bed as possible.
- Bathrooms are a great place to store luggage away from potential infestation.
- Use sealed plastic bags to protect clothing.
- Reuse the sealed plastic bags for dirty laundry.
- Store personal items in bathroom when sleeping. (Watches, wallets, purses, shoes, hats etc.)
- Do not carry and use your own pillows or bedding. Use what’s provided.
- Wash laundry as soon as you return home. Dry on hot heat (following manufacturer’s recommendations).
- Do NOT take luggage into bedroom to unpack. If possible, store luggage in a garage and unpack from there, straight to the washing machine.
- Store luggage outside of living quarters once finished.
Four Seasons is Ready to Help!
Of course, we’re always here and ready to serve our customers. When you’ve taken all the precautionary steps and done everything you can to prevent bed bugs but still end up with them, give us a call. We can make life easy by eliminating the infestation with our A.C.T. Bed Bug Program and getting you signed up for our industry leading warranty!
It’s good to have Four Seasons on your side!
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