Pest Control Services
Bedbug Details
Cimicidae or bed bugs, are small parasitic insects. The most common type is Cimex lectularius. The term usually refers to species that prefer to feed on human blood. All insects in this family live by feeding exclusively on the blood of warm-blooded animals.
Adult bed bugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval and wingless. Bed bugs have microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4–5 mm in length and 1.5–3 mm wide. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they molt and reach maturity. Bed bugs may be mistaken for other insects such as book lice and carpet beetles, or vice-versa.
Bedbugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, feeding and reproduction. And will follow you from room to room over time.
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. Bed bugs can survive for at least five days at -10 °C (14.0 °F) but will die after 15 minutes of exposure to -32 °C (-26 °F). The thermal (Heat) death point for Bed Bugs is high: 45 °C (113 °F), and all stages of life are killed by 15 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.
DO NOT TRY CARBON DIOXIDE WITHOUT PROPER UNDERSTANDING. YOU CAN SERIOUSLY HURT YOURSELF OR ANYONE ELSE IN THE DWELLING.
Bed bugs have six life stages (five immature and an adult stage). They will shed their skins through a molting process (ecdysis) throughout multiple stages of their lives. The discarded outer shells look like clear, empty exoskeletons of the bugs themselves. Bed bugs must molt six times before becoming fertile adults.
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Bed Bug Fast Facts
| Diet: | Parasitic |
| Avg Life Span: | 1 year but can very shorter or longer |
| Size: | 1/4 Inch (4 to 5mm) |
| Weight: | Various weights but up to .05 grams |
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Please keep in mind these are just the most common pest we deal with on a regular basis. There are many, many other pests we can deal with that are not in our database. Just call us and we can help.