Squash Pest Control – Bed Bug Control

Worried your Pierce County, WA home might be run over by bed bugs? Don’t worry, because Squash Pest Control is at your disposal. Our host of professional pest control experts is here to help you get your home back to normal. And because educating yourself on a potential bed bug outbreak is crucial, that’s what we’re aiming for with this page. In the lines below, we’ll give you all the information you need on bed bugs, like how to identify bed bugs, possible dangers of having bed bugs, and of course, a very hands-on guide on what to do next.

First of all, here’s a quick definition – bed bugs are tiny, wingless insects that thrive on human blood. Certainly sounds gory, doesn’t it? The good news is, they are not by nature parasitic, like other similar insects (such as ticks, or fleas), in that they don’t attach to the host. Rather, they come out, often while you’re asleep, feed, and then retreat to a safe hiding spot.

Bed Bugs: What They Look Like & How to Identify Them

Bed bugs are small, about the size of an apple seed, and tend to have a reddish-brown, earthy color. They have elongated bodies, six legs, and a smaller head. That’s adult bed bugs. Newborn bed bugs (also known as nymphs) are about the size of the head of a pin, and so couldn’t be spotted, even if you wanted to.

How do you identify a bed bug infestation?

It’s important to know the warning signs so that you can act against the bed bugs ASAP. The longer these creatures plague your home, the worse the situation will get, in terms of the size of and the damage caused by the infestation.

The number one problem with “spotting” them is that bed bugs are nocturnal creatures, meaning they come out to feed during the night, and hide during the day, making it difficult to actually spot any. Rather, you’ll need to look for signs of their presence the night before.

So the signs of a bed bug infestation are, as follows:

• Dark spots on your bed or bedding – these tiny stains are, in fact, bed bug excrement, and they’re the first, earliest sign of a bed bug infestation that you can find. While one singular dark spot can be a drop of blood, or have a vast number of other sources, multiple dark spots in one night are most likely bed bugs;
• Reddish stains – these will look like a tiny burst of blood because, guess what, that’s precisely what they are. These reddish stains appear when a bed bug gets crushed by you in your sleep, and the blood it’s accumulated is then splattered against your mattress;
• Bed bug eggs – tiny, white dots that look like specks of dust, but are in fact future bed bugs;
• Shed skin – Similar to snakes, bed bugs will shed old skin casings as they mature.

If you want to try and see bed bugs for yourself, we recommend looking at the headboard, edges of the mattress, or even inside your nightstand at night, using a flashlight.

Are bed bugs dangerous?

Perhaps the only good news here is that no, bed bugs aren’t a threat to your health. Unlike other blood-sucking insects, like mosquitoes, bed bugs do not have the capacity to spread disease. Their bite marks are very similar to that of any other insect, which unfortunately makes it difficult to tell apart from other infestations.

How to get rid of bed bugs:

If you suspect that your Pierce County, WA home might be overridden by bed bugs, then the first impulse will be to get rid of them. The question is how. While it might be tempting to attempt DIY removal with larger wildlife (like raccoons, opossums, or even mice), because bed bugs hang around in clusters, that might not be efficient.

Luckily for you, you don’t have to go it alone, but rather can call us at Squash Pest Control, and we’ll do all of the actual heavy-lifting for you. Here’s how it works:

Step 1. We inspect the property and determine the culprit. While you might have compelling evidence that it’s bed bugs that are causing all the trouble, we still need to check, and make sure. This process also allows us to determine the extent of the infestation.

Step 2. We make a plan on how to combat the nasty insects. Different circumstances will dictate different extermination methods. Of course, we will consult with you every step of the way while planning the extermination, to make sure we do things by the book.

Step 3. We exterminate. Last but certainly not least, we go to work, and begin the extermination process, to rid your home of bed bugs for good.

Additionally, our team of pest control experts will advise you on the steps you can take to prevent future bed bug infestations in the future, so you don’t have to go through this again.

At Squash Pest Control, we employ several different pest extermination methods, such as:

• Heat treatment – although bed bugs are highly resistant creatures, and can withstand impressive temperatures, even they have their cracking point, which makes heat treatment a highly efficient extermination method.
• Mattress encasements – these are another excellent method to contain and exterminate the bed bugs that are living inside the foundation of your mattress.
• Crevice injections are another important aspect of bed bug extermination. These unseen, hard-to-reach crevices are precisely why we don’t recommend that you DIY your bed bug extermination. While you may be able to treat the visible parts of the problem and exterminate the bugs living on the headboard, for instance, you won’t be able to get to the cracks and crevices where they dwell.

Generally, the extermination method chosen will depend on your particular situation. While most household items can be saved from a bed bug infestation, some items might need to be removed, also, if they can not be treated, to prevent further spread.

Once the bed bugs have been exterminated, we recommend vacuuming and thoroughly cleaning your home, particularly the affected areas of your house, to prevent any future apparitions. Unfortunately, since bed bugs are attracted by warm-blooded creatures (aka yourself), there isn’t much you can do by way of removing the attraction, as you would with other pests. Instead, the best you can do is maintain a clean home.

So call us at 253-260-4680 for a FREE QUOTE or a home inspection. Remember that the longer you allow bed bugs to linger, the larger the spread will become.