If you have lived with bed bugs before, you surely know how hard it is to eliminate them. Once these bugs take residence in your home, you may give up before you even try any control measures. Over time, bed bugs can develop tolerance to common treatments. To know the reasons why they are difficult to control, you need to understand their evasive anatomical features. Keep reading to know why getting rid of bed bugs on your own is almost impossible:
They Can Easily Hide
Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, measuring up to just 4 mm to 5 mm long. Because of their small size and flat shape, they can easily squeeze into the tiniest places. They can hide in hard-to-reach spaces. You can only fully eliminate bed bugs if you get rid of every single bug you have at home. That is why you need the help of local pest control experts. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to target them once they access their best hiding spots.
They Quickly Reproduce
A single bed bug can turn into a hundred quickly. A female bug will lay around 500 eggs in her lifetime and her offspring can start to reproduce within a few months. A small group of bed bugs can produce 3-4 generations in one year. And if you sleep in cool temperatures, you could create the main atmosphere for bed bugs to reproduce. They can quickly reproduce in temperatures between 70 degrees and 82 degrees F.
They Can Survive Without Food for Months
Bed bugs can go a long time without feeding. Research shows that adult bed bugs can go up to 550 days without feeding on blood and nymphs for several months. Even if you leave your bedroom for a while, it can’t take care of the bed bug issue.
They Can Resist Pesticides
Over the years, bed bugs have become resistant to deltamethrin and beta-cyfluthrin, the most popular pesticides available on the market. According to scientists, bed bugs have developed multiple genetic defenses against these pesticides. They have found three genes that can bind to, deactivate, and break down insecticides in these bugs. Because of this evolutionary advantage, controlling bed bugs is even harder.
To eliminate a bed bug infestation, you must locate and eliminate every bed bug in your home. It can help to keep your home clean and wash your clothes with bleach and dry them in high heat. Other methods to deal with bed bugs are not safe and can be costly. To ensure you efficiently and safely deal with a bed bug infestation, you need to hire pest control professionals.
