Here’s What You Need to Know About Bed Bugs

In the past decade, bed bugs have been making a significant comeback in the United States.

International travel and commerce are thought to grow the spread of these insects by being readily transportable in luggage and clothing. Bed bugs are found everywhere, but more so in specific locations like hotels, motels, dormitories, shelters, apartment complexes, and prisons due to their high turnover in occupancy. Bed bug infestation at a particular place is not generally a reflection of poor hygiene or bad housekeeping. Bed bugs are opportunists and take advantage of every opportunity to breed and thrive wherever humans are.

There has been a significant outbreak of bed bugs in North America, parts of Western Europe, and in Australia.

For example, there were over 10,000 complaints filed with the New York City Department of Health in 2009 alone. It is safe to assume that many complaints go undocumented to avoid the negative publicity that a hotel, for instance, may receive if their infestation became public.

Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed and hide in mattresses, clothing, furniture, carpets, and other household items.

Female bed bugs lay 200-500 eggs during their lifetime at a rate of 3-4 per day. They emerge at night to feed on unsuspecting warm-blooded hosts for 3-8 minutes.

A single feeding can sustain a bed bug for months before feeding again.

Bed bugs are not known to carry disease, but their bites result in skin irritations similar to mosquitoes or fleas.

The bites can take a psychological toll on people who may not sleep well for months after being bitten.

Businesses and hotels can suffer financially from the loss of business if an infestation is not detected early.

If you have bed bugs or think you have bed bugs, call us at to schedule an inspection today!