Bed Bugs:
A bedbug is a small nocturnal insect of the family Cimicidae that lives by hematophagy, or by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts. It is found in temperate climates throughout the world and was once thought of as exterminated in the Western World through the use of DDT. Since DDT was found to be a carcinogenic substance and was prevented from being used, the bed bug has made a comeback.

How Did They Get Into My Place?
There are several means by which dwellings can become infested with bedbugs. People can often acquire bedbugs at hotels, motels, or bed-and-breakfasts, and bring them back to their homes in their luggage. They also can pick them up by inadvertently bringing infested furniture or used clothing to their household. If someone is in a place that is severely infested, bedbugs may actually crawl onto and be carried by people's clothing, although this is atypical behaviour - except in the case of severe infestations, bedbugs are not usually carried from place to place by people on clothing they are currently wearing. Bedbugs may travel between units in multi-unit dwellings, such as condominiums and apartment buildings, after being originally brought into the building by one of the above routes. Bedbugs can also be transmitted via animal vectors including wild birds and household pets.

Symptoms:
Signs of Bed bug bites will usually only affect the surface of your skin, much like a mosquito bite. Some people have no reaction at all, hence why sometimes one person in the same bed complains of bites while the other one doesn’t. In all likelihood, both are getting bitten.  The bites will show as small itchy red bumps known as papules or wheals. Some people react strongly to the bites showing blisters or large skin inflammations. The bites can be quite random or in a linear or clustered fashion, which is indicative of a single bed bug feeding.

DESCRIPTION OF BED BUGS

Size: Approx: 1mm-6mm long (see photo).

Description:
Bed bugs look like a flattened oval "apple seed" or "lentil" shape. They are wingless and do not move that quickly; about the same speed as a ladybug on the ground. Adults are reddish brown, while nymphs are a translucent, lighter cream colour. They get progressively darker as they feed and grow larger.

What Am I Looking For?
You are looking for a bug with the above description hiding in the tinest seam or crevice. Also look for telltale signs of black spots (see photo) usually along a mattress/ box spring/ wooden bed base or baseboards. Also blood spots may be spotted on your sheets. Although you can find them, bedbugs are known for being elusive, transient, and nocturnal, making them difficult to detect. Our trained technicians can find them where most people cannot.

Where Do I Look For Them?
Bed bugs are usually found in the immediate sleeping area. Unless it is a badly infested room, they want to be close to you, and they prefer not to travel long distances to you every night.  3-5meters is the usual longest distance they will travel, unless it is a heavily infested room.

These are the Areas (in most likely sequence) That You Will Find Them:

• Box spring, especially the plastic Cnr. protectors and inside among the "horse hair" under the cheese cloth fabric, making them extremely hard to find. (hence why we recommend bed bug proof covers)
• Creases and folds in mattresses
• Any porous material close to the bed, eg:  wooden slats
• Headboards
• Side tables or clutter around the bed
• Carpet
• Baseboards

Why Can’t I Always See Them:
Bedbugs travel easily along bedframes, sheets and boards, and their bodies are very flat, which allows them to hide in tiny crevices.  In the daytime, they tend to stay out of the light, preferring to remain hidden in places mentioned above.

Disease Transmitted:
The only good news about bed bugs so far is that there have been no cases of bed bugs passing diseases from one host to another.  It is more likely and more dangerous for the common flea to transfer diseases.

SOLUTIONS

Before BC BUG comes to your place, we will send you a preparation sheet (also online) that outlines what you need to do before we come and do a treatment. As mentioned bed bugs are one of the most difficult to eradicate, hence it takes effort from all sides to get rid of them. Also, to solve bed bugs as a one treatment application is never going to fix the problem as the cycle from egg to larva to adult is not broken (see photo).Not only the area infected must be cleaned and treated, but the adjoining areas must be also. This is where a lot of treatments are unsuccessful; when bed bugs are treated they simply crawl within the walls or to another room until it is safe to come back or infest the adjoining room permanently. For this reason, all rooms and adjoining units must also be treated.

At BC Bed Bug we make sure that all rooms are treated so the life cycle of the bed bug is ended-for good!

• Education to all concerned
• Commercial insecticide spraying by a BC licensed pest controller
• Thermal and steam treatments
• Bed bug traps
• Enclosed bed-bug applications

TREATMENT PREPARATION FACT SHEET

BC Bug has developed sets of guidelines for the treatment of bed bugs for single and multi-unit dwellings. To help our technicians get to all areas of your home, please prepare your home as close as possible to these guidelines. The easier we can get to all areas of your home, the better treatment we can do. Please download the PDF sheet, below, for the treatment preparation guidelines.

AFTER TREATMENT GUIDELINES

Not sure what to expect after a treatment? BC Bug has developed these sets of guidelines for what you should expect and do after we complete a treatment for bed bugs. Please download the PDF sheet, below, for the After Treatment Guidelines.