Bed bugs, bed-bugs, or bedbugs are parasiti insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known, as it prefers to feed on human blood. Other Cimex species specialize in other animals, e.g., bat bugs, such as Cimex pipistrelli (Europe), Cimex pilosellus (western US), and Cimex adjunctus (entire eastern US).
The name "bed bug" derives from the preferred habitat of Cimex lectularius: warm houses and especially nearby or inside of beds and bedding or other sleep areas. Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on their hosts without being noticed.
A number of adverse health effects may result from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. They are not known to transmit any pathogens as disease vectors. Certain signs and symptoms suggest the presence of bed bugs; finding the insects confirms the diagnosis.
Bed bugs have been known as human parasites for thousands of years. At a point in the early 1940s, they were mostly eradicated in the developed world, but have increased in prevalence since 1995, likely due to pesticide resistance. Because infestation of human habitats has been on the increase, bed bug bites and related conditions have been on the rise as well.
Bed bugs can cause a number of health effects, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. They can be infected by at least 28 human pathogens, but no study has clearly found that the insect can transmit the pathogen to a human being.Bed bug bites or cimicosis may lead to a range of skin manifestations from no visible effects to prominent blisters.
Diagnosis involves both finding bed bugs and the occurrence of compatible symptoms. Treatment involves the elimination of the insect and measures to help with the symptoms until they resolve.They have been found with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), but the significance of this is still unknown.
Investigations into potential transmission of HIV, MRSA, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis E have not shown that bed bugs can cause this. However it might be possible that arboviruses are transmissible.
Cause Dwellings can become infested with bed bugs in a variety of ways, such as:
Bugs and eggs inadvertently brought in from other infested dwellings on a visiting person's clothing or luggage;
Bed bugs can exist singly, but tend to congregate once established. Though strictly parasitic, they spend only a tiny fraction of their life cycles physically attached to hosts. Once a bed bug finishes feeding, it relocates to a place close to a known host, commonly in or near beds or couches in clusters of adults, juveniles, and eggs—which entomologists call harborage areas or simply harborages to which the insect returns after future feedings by following chemical trails. These places can vary greatly in format, including luggage, inside of vehicles, within furniture, amongst bedside clutter—even inside electrical sockets and nearby laptop computers. Bed bugs may also nest near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, birds, or rodents. They are also capable of surviving on domestic cats and dogs, though humans are the preferred host of Cimex lectularius.
A bed bug detection dog in New York. Bed bug fecal spot.Bed bugs can also be detected by their characteristic smell of rotting raspberries. Bed bug detection dogs are trained to pinpoint infestations, with a possible accuracy rate of between 11% and 83%. A few companies are experimenting with high speed gas chromatography to detect bed bugs.
Management See also: Bed bug control techniques Eradication of bed bugs frequently requires a combination of nonpesticide approaches and the occasional use of pesticides.
Mechanical approaches, such as vacuuming up the insects and heat treating or wrapping mattresses, are effective. A combination of heat and drying treatments is most effective. An hour at a temperature of 45 °C (113 °F) or over, or two hours at less than −17 °C (1 °F) kills them; a domestic clothes drier or steam kills bedbugs. Starving them is difficult as they can survive without eating for 100 to 300 days, depending on temperature. For public health reasons, individuals are encouraged to call a professional pest control service to eradicate bed bugs in a home, rather than attempting to do it themselves, particularly if they live in a multi-family building.
As of 2012 there were no really effective pesticides available. Pesticides that have historically been found effective include pyrethroids, dichlorvos and malathion. Resistance to pesticides has increased significantly over time, and harm to health from their use is of concern. The carbamate insecticide propoxur is highly toxic to bed bugs, but it has potential toxicity to children exposed to it, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been reluctant to approve it for indoor use. Boric acid, occasionally applied as a safe indoor insecticide, is not effective against bed bugs because they do not groom. The fungus Beauveria bassiana is being researched as of 2012 for its ability to control bed bugs.
Natural enemies of bed bugs include the masked hunter insect (also known as "masked bed bug hunter"),cockroaches, ants, spiders (particularly Thanatus flavidus), mites and centipedes (particularly the house centipede Scutigera coleoptrata). However, a 2007 publication said that biological pest control was not considered practical for eliminating bed bugs from human dwellings.
Adult bed bugs are light brown to reddish-brown, flattened, oval-shaped and have no hind wings. The front wings are vestigial and reduced to pad-like structures. Bed bugs have segmented abdomens with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) long and 1.5–3 millimetres (0.059–0.118 in) wide.
Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they moult and reach maturity. A bed bug nymph of any age that has just consumed a blood meal has a bright red translucent abdomen, fading to brown over the next several hours, and to opaque black within two days as the insect digests its meal. Bed bugs may be mistaken for other insects, such as booklice, small cockroaches, or carpet beetles; however, when warm and active their movements are more ant-like and, like most other true bugs, they emit a characteristic disagreeable odor when crushed.
Bed bugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, feeding and reproduction.
The life span of bed bugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding.
Bed bugs can survive a wide range of temperatures and atmospheric compositions. Below 16.1 °C (61.0 °F), adults enter semi-hibernation and can survive longer; they can survive for at least five days at −10 °C (14 °F), but die after 15 minutes of exposure to −32 °C (−26 °F). Common commercial and residential freezers reach temperatures low enough to kill most life stages of bed bug, with 95% mortality after 3 days at −12 °C (10 °F). They show high desiccation tolerance, surviving low humidity and a 35–40 °C range even with loss of one-third of body weight; earlier life stages are more susceptible to drying out than later ones.
The thermal death point for Cimex lectularius is 45 °C (113 °F); all stages of life are killed by 7 minutes of exposure to 46 °C (115 °F). Bed bugs apparently cannot survive high concentrations of carbon dioxide for very long; exposure to nearly pure nitrogen atmospheres, however, appears to have relatively little effect even after 72 hours.
If you are experiencing any of the Bed Bugs bites or if you think they live in your Home, Let the Professionals at S.W.A.T. Team Pest Control take care of you.
The name "bed bug" derives from the preferred habitat of Cimex lectularius: warm houses and especially nearby or inside of beds and bedding or other sleep areas. Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on their hosts without being noticed.
A number of adverse health effects may result from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. They are not known to transmit any pathogens as disease vectors. Certain signs and symptoms suggest the presence of bed bugs; finding the insects confirms the diagnosis.
Bed bugs have been known as human parasites for thousands of years. At a point in the early 1940s, they were mostly eradicated in the developed world, but have increased in prevalence since 1995, likely due to pesticide resistance. Because infestation of human habitats has been on the increase, bed bug bites and related conditions have been on the rise as well.
Bed bugs can cause a number of health effects, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. They can be infected by at least 28 human pathogens, but no study has clearly found that the insect can transmit the pathogen to a human being.Bed bug bites or cimicosis may lead to a range of skin manifestations from no visible effects to prominent blisters.
Diagnosis involves both finding bed bugs and the occurrence of compatible symptoms. Treatment involves the elimination of the insect and measures to help with the symptoms until they resolve.They have been found with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), but the significance of this is still unknown.
Investigations into potential transmission of HIV, MRSA, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis E have not shown that bed bugs can cause this. However it might be possible that arboviruses are transmissible.
Cause Dwellings can become infested with bed bugs in a variety of ways, such as:
Bugs and eggs inadvertently brought in from other infested dwellings on a visiting person's clothing or luggage;
- Infested items (such as furniture, clothing, or backpacks) brought in;
- Nearby dwellings or infested items, if easy routes are available for travel, e.g. through ducts or false ceilings;
- Wild animals (such as bats or birds) that may also harbour bed bugs or related species such as the bat bug;
- People visiting an infested area (e.g. dwelling, means of transport, entertainment venue, or lodging) and carrying the bugs to another area on their clothing, luggage, or bodies. Bedbugs are increasingly found in air travel.
- Though bed bugs will feed on pets, they do not live or travel on the skin of their hosts, and pets are not believed a factor in their spread.
Bed bugs can exist singly, but tend to congregate once established. Though strictly parasitic, they spend only a tiny fraction of their life cycles physically attached to hosts. Once a bed bug finishes feeding, it relocates to a place close to a known host, commonly in or near beds or couches in clusters of adults, juveniles, and eggs—which entomologists call harborage areas or simply harborages to which the insect returns after future feedings by following chemical trails. These places can vary greatly in format, including luggage, inside of vehicles, within furniture, amongst bedside clutter—even inside electrical sockets and nearby laptop computers. Bed bugs may also nest near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, birds, or rodents. They are also capable of surviving on domestic cats and dogs, though humans are the preferred host of Cimex lectularius.
A bed bug detection dog in New York. Bed bug fecal spot.Bed bugs can also be detected by their characteristic smell of rotting raspberries. Bed bug detection dogs are trained to pinpoint infestations, with a possible accuracy rate of between 11% and 83%. A few companies are experimenting with high speed gas chromatography to detect bed bugs.
Management See also: Bed bug control techniques Eradication of bed bugs frequently requires a combination of nonpesticide approaches and the occasional use of pesticides.
Mechanical approaches, such as vacuuming up the insects and heat treating or wrapping mattresses, are effective. A combination of heat and drying treatments is most effective. An hour at a temperature of 45 °C (113 °F) or over, or two hours at less than −17 °C (1 °F) kills them; a domestic clothes drier or steam kills bedbugs. Starving them is difficult as they can survive without eating for 100 to 300 days, depending on temperature. For public health reasons, individuals are encouraged to call a professional pest control service to eradicate bed bugs in a home, rather than attempting to do it themselves, particularly if they live in a multi-family building.
As of 2012 there were no really effective pesticides available. Pesticides that have historically been found effective include pyrethroids, dichlorvos and malathion. Resistance to pesticides has increased significantly over time, and harm to health from their use is of concern. The carbamate insecticide propoxur is highly toxic to bed bugs, but it has potential toxicity to children exposed to it, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been reluctant to approve it for indoor use. Boric acid, occasionally applied as a safe indoor insecticide, is not effective against bed bugs because they do not groom. The fungus Beauveria bassiana is being researched as of 2012 for its ability to control bed bugs.
Natural enemies of bed bugs include the masked hunter insect (also known as "masked bed bug hunter"),cockroaches, ants, spiders (particularly Thanatus flavidus), mites and centipedes (particularly the house centipede Scutigera coleoptrata). However, a 2007 publication said that biological pest control was not considered practical for eliminating bed bugs from human dwellings.
Adult bed bugs are light brown to reddish-brown, flattened, oval-shaped and have no hind wings. The front wings are vestigial and reduced to pad-like structures. Bed bugs have segmented abdomens with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) long and 1.5–3 millimetres (0.059–0.118 in) wide.
Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they moult and reach maturity. A bed bug nymph of any age that has just consumed a blood meal has a bright red translucent abdomen, fading to brown over the next several hours, and to opaque black within two days as the insect digests its meal. Bed bugs may be mistaken for other insects, such as booklice, small cockroaches, or carpet beetles; however, when warm and active their movements are more ant-like and, like most other true bugs, they emit a characteristic disagreeable odor when crushed.
Bed bugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, feeding and reproduction.
The life span of bed bugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding.
Bed bugs can survive a wide range of temperatures and atmospheric compositions. Below 16.1 °C (61.0 °F), adults enter semi-hibernation and can survive longer; they can survive for at least five days at −10 °C (14 °F), but die after 15 minutes of exposure to −32 °C (−26 °F). Common commercial and residential freezers reach temperatures low enough to kill most life stages of bed bug, with 95% mortality after 3 days at −12 °C (10 °F). They show high desiccation tolerance, surviving low humidity and a 35–40 °C range even with loss of one-third of body weight; earlier life stages are more susceptible to drying out than later ones.
The thermal death point for Cimex lectularius is 45 °C (113 °F); all stages of life are killed by 7 minutes of exposure to 46 °C (115 °F). Bed bugs apparently cannot survive high concentrations of carbon dioxide for very long; exposure to nearly pure nitrogen atmospheres, however, appears to have relatively little effect even after 72 hours.
If you are experiencing any of the Bed Bugs bites or if you think they live in your Home, Let the Professionals at S.W.A.T. Team Pest Control take care of you.