What Are Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs are oval and small brown coloured insects. They basically live on blood of humans or animals. The adult ones have completely flat bodies. Their body size is like apple seed. After feeding, their bodies get swelled up and become red in colour. These insects don't fly but can move very quickly over ceilings, walls and floors. It is the female bedbugs that lay eggs about the size of a fleck of dust. The immature bedbugs are known as nymphs shedding their skins 5 times before they grow completely & need blood in their meal before every shedding. These bugs can fully develop within a month under favourable conditions & start producing 3 or 4 generations each and every year. Although these insects are a nuisance, they don't transmit diseases.

Hiding places for bed bugs 

Bedbugs can get entry to your home through clothing, luggage, used clothing & couches as well as other items and you may not even know that they have taken shelter in your house. It is basically the shape of their bodies that allow them to fit in any tiny space. They don't have nests like bees or ants. However, they usually live in groups in the hiding places. Their popular hiding places include box springs, mattresses, headboards and bed frames. It is in all these places that they hide and the worst part is it is from here that they get to bite people at night. However, over time, these creatures can scatter through bedroom and move into protected isolation or crevices. They can even spread to any apartment or room that is nearby.

When these creatures bite 

Bedbugs become active mainly during night. They bite people when they are asleep. They feed by getting pierced into the skin & withdrawing blood by their elongated beak. These creatures usually feed from 3-10 minutes & then go away without seeking anybody's attention. Most of the time the bites do not cause any pain. It is only that the area where it has bitten becomes itchy after a while. People often think the itching that's caused because of bedbug bites to be mosquito bites. Unlike the bites of flea, which are typically around ankles, bedbug bites are noticed on any region of skin that's exposed when sleeping. Their bites don't cause any red spot like the bites of flea.

If bedbugs are present in your Melbourne property, you should take immediate steps to get rid of them. Take the help of professionals if you need. You can find many companies offering the services of bed bugs removal in Melbourne. Get in touch with any one of them. You can also get rid of them by cleaning up the places where they live. Use steam to get rid of bed bugs  – that's the best thing that you can do. Also make sure to repair cracks and get rid of clutter around your bed.

How to Avoid Bedbugs When You are Travelling?

Bed bugs are commonly found in accommodation facilities such as hotels, rental apartments, motels and inns. So, when travelling, you need to be very careful that you don't bring bed bugs home. It is thus always wise to exercise a few precautionary measures when travelling to keep bedbugs away.

Tips for packing

In order to avoid packing up some nasty bed bugs with your luggage, use a suitcase with a hard shell because it has less seams and folds for the critters to conceal themselves. Put all your belongings including clothes, shoes and toiletries in plastic bags with seals.

Prior to unpacking at the booked room

Most travellers will throw their luggage on bed or zip it up and place it on the floor for keeping out wandering insects. But this trick does not work all the time. Consider placing all kind of baggage that you may be carrying on a baggage rack or inside the bathroom, where activity of bed bugs is more unlikely.

Inspecting the room where you are staying

Look for crevices, cracks, folds, and ruffles in your room, as these are common hiding places of bed bugs. Pull back and thoroughly check the bed covers and pillow, and also the corners of the mattress, bed frame and box spring. Complement your hunt with a flashlight. Sometimes the bloosuckers may also hide behind mirrors, paintings or wall hangings.

If you detect an infestation

Instead of taking things in your hands, inform the concerned person so that he or she can contact the pro who provides bed bugs pest control. Also keep one thing in mind, when changing the room, do not accept one that is directly above, below or adjacent to the infested room.

When you are back home

If you accidentally carry back even a few bed bugs with your luggage, they can quickly initiate a full-fledged infestation. Do not bring in your baggage immediately after coming back from your trip. Take them to the garage, shed or any other suitable place away from your abode and perform a thorough inspection. Wash all your clothes and place them in the dryer for around 30 minutes. In case, even after so much precaution, you catch sight of a bug or two at your house, sought the services of a residential pest control in Melbourne specialising in beg bugs removal. 

Bedbugs Identification and Removal

Bedbugs Identification and Removal from Amelia White

Important Facts You Should Know About Bedbugs

Bedbugs are found throughout the world but they are very common in Melbourne, Australia. They are oval, small insects, which feed by sucking the blood from animals or humans. They do not fly. Adult bedbugs may be 5 mm-7 mm in length whereas the nymphs may be as small as 1.5 mm. They may live anywhere in homes of Melbourne. They may live in the cracks in furniture or in any kind of textile, including the upholstered furniture. But they are commonly found in beds, including the bed frames, box springs and mattress. Since they can be alive for months under favourable conditions without eating any food, they may be found even in residences that are vacant. 

Several news report in the recent years have focused on discovery of the bedbugs in the upscale hotels in Melbourne and a number of cases have been filed by the guests in these hotels who only awoke to find several bedbug bites covering up their skin. Since bedbugs may arrive on clothing or in suitcases of the guests from the infested houses or hotels harboring pests, hotels are often an easy target for the bedbug infestations. Other than hotels, these creatures are even found in the office buildings, theatres, shelters, laundries and other places. 

Fecal stains, shed skins and egg cases of the bedbugs in the cracks and crevices on or near the beds can be present, but only observing bugs themselves may confirm the active infestation. They are however sometimes mistaken for small cockroaches or ticks. The assistance of a professional pest control company may be needed to help identify and remove the bedbugs from home. There are many pest control companies that offer the services of bed bugs removal in Melbourne.

These creatures are most active during night. They bite exposed areas of the skin when a person sleeps. Common locations for the bedbug bites include the neck, hands, arms and face. The bite of bedbug is painless and usually remains unnoticed. The bites are mostly mistaken for a rash of another cause. Flat, small or raised bumps on skin are a very common sign.The symptoms include swelling, itching and redness. Basically, there is no treatment needed for bedbug bites. Only if the itching gets severe, oral antihistamines or steroid creams can be applied for relieving the symptom.