• Bed bugs are resurging without a doubt; the general industry thought as to cause includes increased international travel, changes in the way we perform pest management services, and even changes in products used to control general pests. Currently, bed bug work is over 5 percent of the industry sales.
• Both males and females feed on blood and a blood meal is necessary to move on to the next stage of development. For comparison, mosquitoes only bite when adults and only the female bites as she needs blood meals to develop eggs.
• Bed bugs can go for a long period without a meal; generally months is the typical maximum, but literature reports that they can live for over one year.
• Bed bugs can survive temperatures near refrigeration if acclimated and can survive to about 113 degrees F.
• Bed bugs will feed on other animals; both warm blooded and cold blooded, to obtain blood meals.
• Spilled food and sanitation are irrelevant; this is why the fanciest and cleanest places can have bed bugs; since bed bugs only feed on blood, spilled human food is not a factor.
• While spilled human food and sanitation such as clutter are not direct factors in bed bug success, they can lead to infestation by ants, roaches, rodents, and clutter can provide hiding places making inspection and control more difficult.
• Since bed bugs are such good hitchhikers, clutter removed for inspection and treatment can lead to spreading of the bed bug problem.
• There are similar pests to bed bugs such as the swallow bug, the bat bug, the poultry bug, and the tropical bed bug. While the differences are in some cases minor, it is important to identify the pest observed; swallow bugs have different biology and habits than bed bugs and the source will be different.
• If a customer claims that they have welts or bites, it does not necessarily mean that they have a bed bug infestation; it is important to inspect to verify.
• Reactions to bites can take days to manifest so there is no guarantee that the bites were from the previous night; bed bug bites which become visible may be due to bites sustained days prior in other locations.
• New treatment methods are being developed constantly. From heat to cold, to liquids to monitoring, technology is improving and company options should be discussed so that a monitoring and treatment system can be devised which will be suitable for the account.
• Each company should have a pre-treatment list of things that the customer should do; be cautious of moving things around and possibly spreading the infestation.
• Canines (dogs) have a great success rate for finding bed bugs; customers might ask if your company can use a dog to inspect for bed bugs.
• If you have heat tolerant infested items such as a child's stuffed animal, shoes, and even clothing, bed bugs, including eggs, in these items can be controlled by putting the material in a clothes dryer on high for fifteen to twenty minutes.
• Make sure that communication about bed bugs is consistent with company policy as well as making sure that the customer understands reasonable expectations so that there is no confusion

Great Story on Bedbugs in Apartment complexes in the New York Times from March 22nd, 2010.

Reported by: Roxanne Stein
Email: rstein@wptv.com
Last Update: 2/26 10:13 am

Read entire Story at WPTV

BACKGROUND: Although bedbugs were virtually eradicated in the United States by the 1960s, increased international travel and restrictions on pesticides have caused a resurgence in places ranging from nursing homes to dormitories to movie theaters. In fact, travelers who carry the insects in their luggage and clothing are the most common recipients of bites. The National Pest Management Association has reported a 71-percent increase in bedbug infestation in the U.S. since 2001.
 
Bedbugs leave a bite similar in appearance to that from a mosquito, which takes 10 to 14 days to surface. Once the itching starts, the bite normally lasts for about a month. While bothersome, a recent U.S. study found bedbugs rarely, if ever, transmit disease. Systemic reactions have been reported but are rare.
 
According to researchers, the name "bedbug" can actually be misleading. "They don't stay in the bed," Phil Koehler, Ph.D., an entomologist and bedbug expert at the University of Florida in Gainesville, told Ivanhoe. "They can be found just about everywhere in the room, and they can be found in sofas. They can be found even in wall sockets, and even inside wall voids ... Probably, about 30 percent are going to be found in other areas of the room you wouldn't even think of."

Bedbug infestations are on the rise across the United States.  Putting in the term 'Bedbugs' in a news search engine and you will find literally hundreds or reports filed on these parasites daily.  The reason they have become so prevalent is tied into the rise of international travel over the past 2 decades.  Living in Central Florida, it shouldn't be difficult to see how they spread so easily.  A family traveling from overseas may have just a few bedbugs in their luggage, they come to Orlando, visits a local shopping mall, and suddenly a storefront has an infestation.  Maybe their stay at a hotel causes the infestation, and then a maid brings a few home with her, and so the cycle continues. 

A big shock that comes to people when they experience or learn about Bedbugs is that what they heard about them is in fact true.  They are like very much like tiny vampires, they latch onto our bodies and suck blood out of us.  They do come out in the dead of night to feast.  They do multiply in population at an alarmingly fast rate.  Bedbugs are truly a disturbing parasite and living with them is an absolute nightmare.  The good news is they are highly treatable and a professional pest control company can eradicate a bedbug population from a building of just about any kind.

Through the use of Bedbug detecting canines (yes you read that right) and a proper fumigation, these pests can be eliminated.  A bedbug detecting canine is important because they can find these bloodsuckers in places a human inspector simply can't.  A fumigation will kill Bedbugs deader than a doornail, much like a proper vampire hunter - a pest professional can truly wipe these suckers out.