Bed Bug Pest Control
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are blood sucking parasites that are extremely difficult to get under control. They can hide in just about any crack or crevice, survive for up to a year without feeding, and reproduce at an alarming rate. These tiny nocturnal bugs are reddish brown and search for their host by following warmth and CO2 that we release when we breathe while we sleep. These bugs can cause serious problem like uncomfortable and itchy bites that impact healthy sleep patterns and take a toll on mental health. We understand how difficult exterminating bed bugs are, which is why we stand by our promise to eradicate your bed bug problem, guaranteed. Our technicians are ready to come inspect your property to see if there is any bed bug activity that needs to be taken care of. Call today!
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Why Do I Have Bed Bugs?
A common misconception about bed bugs is that they are caused by unhygienic living conditions. This is simply not true. Bed bugs are prolific breeders, and they can travel easily between hotel room walls, luggage hold areas, cab trunks and furniture. They can also hitch a ride on clothing and have been known to infest movie theaters. Bed bug infestations can happen to anyone, and it doesn’t matter how clean you keep your home or office.
Immediate Bed Bug Control
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Experienced Bed Bug Exterminators
Griffin Pest Management offers bed bug control services for your home or business. Our licensed and trained exterminators have access to the most effective tools used to combat a bed bug infestation so let Griffin’s bed bug exterminators come check your property today. Call today for a free estimate.
How to get rid of bed bugs
Bed bugs are one of the greatest nuisances to humans in the pest industry. They can leave a family feeling violated knowing that they are being fed on. At Griffin Pest Management, we know how to use different bed bug treatment options effectively to ensure that bed bugs are eradicated from your home or business. Identifying signs of bed bugs early is important to successfully treating against bed bugs so Griffin offers bed bug monitoring during regular services so we can find these bugs as soon as they become a problem. We know what signs to look for and know what steps to take to maximize the effectiveness of our treatments.
If you have seen evidence of Bed Bugs call us right away and we will get an inspector out there to confirm that it is bed bugs and what type of treatment is recommended.
Griffin Bed Bug Treatment Options
Bed bugs are one of the greatest nuisances to humans in the pest industry. They can leave a family feeling violated in that they are being fed on. Griffin Pest Management offers different forms of treatment for Bed Bugs. Preparation for each treatment is different and the costs will vary based upon the type of treatment. If you have seen evidence of Bed Bugs call us right away and we will get an inspector out there to confirm that it is bed bugs and what type of treatment is recommended and the cost.
Bed Bug Fumigation
In rare instances, bed bug infestations can be so severe that a thermal or localized treatment may not be enough. This can be with an entire house showing evidence in multiple rooms or a multi unit apartment complex where they are present in multiple units. Fumigation can be used, like it is with termites, to rid bed bugs of a structure. The gas dose of a bed bug fumigation is higher than that of termites so the cost is greater, however if you are fuming for bed bugs you will also rid the structure of any dry wood termite infestation that may be present. Again, in order for a bed bug fumigation to be successful it is important that the bed bugs are not reintroduced after fumigation. Griffin Pest Management will provide you with the information necessary to make sure that this does not happen.
Heat Remediation
The service will begin with a Griffin technician inspecting your home or office for the problem areas. Once identified, the technician will recommend using a chemical free heat treatment. Heat treatments are the most effective way to treat bed bugs because the heat penetrates areas that are hard to reach with traditional pesticide. Heat also destroys bed bug eggs which are also hard to eradicate with pesticides.
Heat treatments are scheduled with the home owner and do not require being out of the home for more than a couple of hours. This service can easily be done while you are at work. Our technicians bring specialized heat treatment equipment that raises the temperature of your home or office to about 140 degrees. This temperature is hot enough to destroy bed bugs, without damaging your electronics or other belongings.
Localized Treatment Options
These targeted treatments involve the use of chemicals in the infested area which is typically found close to where you sleep, hiding in your baseboards, bed frame, box spring, cabinets, furniture, head board, mattress night stands, picture frames and even behind electrical plate covers in wall voids.
Items Commonly Used During Localized Treatment
- Conventional Chemical Treatment – If your bed bug problem was identified early and has not become a widespread problem, local treatment options may work using chemical sprays and dusts.
- Steam Treatment – A different type of heat treatment using steam can be applied to surfaces and cracks to destroy bugs and their eggs on impact.
- Encasement – These mattress and furniture covers completely seal in all bedbugs and prevent them from feeding. The recommendation is that these encasements are left on for 18 months to ensure that bed bugs starve.
- Monitoring Devices – These help to determine the level of bed bug activity by catching bed bugs in areas they are likely to be found.
Signs Of Bed Bugs
- Bed bug bites – Bed bugs feed on their prey at night which can result in itchy red welts. These welts occur when an individual’s body has an allergic reaction to the secretion the bed bugs use as an anesthetic to allow them to pierce the skin with their needle like mouths.
- Blood stains on sheets – If there are signs of small reddish-brown stains by where potential bites are occurring, this could be the result of the initial bed bug bites.
- Dark spots / bed bug waste on bedding - Areas that show tiny dark reddish and brown spotting in the corners and edges of the mattress are usually the sign of bed bugs excrements.
- Molted skins and eggs – Bed bugs molt 5 times over their life cycle before becoming mature adults so finding shed skins and eggs are a good indicator of a thriving bed bug problem.
- Musty odor – Bed bugs tend to have a musty unpleasant odor which becomes much more noticeable when an infestation gets out of hand.
- Infestations in neighboring apartments – Bed bugs are capable of traversing through wall cavities into new rooms. This means that hotels, motels, and other buildings that are dealing with a bed bug problem could mean that these pests have found their way into your room.
Bed Bug Bites
Bed bugs feed on their prey at night and often leave bite marks on the back, sides, and under arm areas. Their presence can also be detected by small blood stains or fecal spots left on sheets. While they have not been known to spread human pathogens, they can cause skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms.
Over the last 5 years, bed bug control has become a real problem in southern California. Bed bugs were once looked at as a third-world only pest, but as these nations develop, world travelers and shipped goods are beginning to cause their resurgence in southern California. Bed bugs are a reddish brown pest, roughly 4 to 5 mm in length. Bed bugs like to nestle into tight spaces for protection and are able to fit into cracks the thickness of a credit card. Bed bugs typically congregate in groups, but can be found on their own. Bed bugs generally bite just before dawn, though they have been known to feed at other times. Attracted by warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide, the bed bug pierces the skin of it’s host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects anticoagulants and anesthetics, while the other withdraws blood. The bites cannot usually be felt until some time later, as a reaction to the injected agents. Small infestations are difficult to detect, and most victims don’t realize they have bed bugs until the infestation is out of control.
Quick Facts About Bed Bugs
Habits
Bed bugs are obligatory hematophagous (bloodsucking) insects. Most species feed on humans only when other prey are unavailable. Bed bugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals.
Habitat
Bed bugs are elusive and usually nocturnal, which can make them hard to spot. They often lodge unnoticed in dark crevices, and eggs can be nestled in fabric seams. Aside from bite symptoms, signs include fecal spots, blood smears on sheets, and molts.
Threats
A number of health effects may occur due to bed bugs including skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms. Although bed bugs are able to be infected by at least 28 human pathogens, no study has ever found that the insect is able to 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.
Prevention
Eradication of bed bugs frequently requires a combination of pesticide and non-pesticide approaches. Pesticides that have historically been found to be effective include: pyrethroids, dichlorvos and malathion. Resistance to pesticides has increased significantly over time. Mechanical approaches such as vacuuming up the insects and heat treating or wrapping mattresses are recommended.