In order for bed bugs to appear in an apartment, certain conditions are needed, which residents sometimes provide to these blood-sucking insects without knowing it. The problem is that these insects do not feed on food debris, garbage or spoil household items, but on human blood, for which they damage human skin.
Naturally, such a neighborhood in an apartment is an emergency situation that requires immediate intervention with the subsequent destruction of such parasites. The task can be greatly simplified if you use special chemical control agents, especially since you can see a lot of similar products on store shelves. Unfortunately, their use is not always justified. Do not forget about traditional methods of struggle, as well as preventive measures. The use of a whole range of measures will allow you to get rid of “uninvited guests”.
Distinctive features of insects
Scientists have studied about 40 thousand species of bedbugs. And only one of them is an ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals. It is a bedbug.
The insect's body is flattened. Its length varies depending on the degree of saturation and can range from 3 to 8.5 mm. Body color also depends on the degree of saturation. It can be either dirty yellow or dark brown. In well-fed insects, the body may turn black.
The bug's mouthparts have a piercing-sucking structure and contain two canals. One channel is intended for taking food, and the other for secreting saliva, which has an anesthetic effect and prevents blood clotting.
Due to the flattened and segmented structure of the body, a hungry bug is very difficult to destroy by mechanical force. A well-fed insect becomes round and motionless, so it can be easily crushed.
Anti-bug herbs
Herbs repel bed bugs with their scent. At the same time, the plants are safe for humans and pets. They use wormwood, tansy, chamomile, calamus, wild rosemary.
Plants are used both fresh and dried. The main thing is that they have a pungent aroma.
You can tie herbs into bunches and hang them around the room. Dried plants are ground into powder and scattered around the perimeter of the room, under the sofa, bed, mattresses and armchairs. The only negative is that you will have to periodically replace powders and bunches of herbs with fresh ones.
Tinctures are prepared based on such plants. This requires:
- 8 tbsp. raw materials pour 1 liter of boiling water.
- Cook for 5 minutes.
- Leave until it cools down.
- Strain and spray around the room from a spray bottle.
- Wipe the surface with the product.
This procedure will have to be done 2-3 times a day.
Habitat Features
The main food for representatives of both sexes of insects is blood. Bedbug larvae feed on it. Parasites hunt mainly in the dark. During the day they hide from human eyes. House bugs can be found in dark, warm places. These include:
- wall cracks;
- peel-off wallpaper;
- furniture cavities;
- books;
- cloth;
- bed;
- electronics.
If necessary, bedbugs are able to adapt to the lifestyle of the owner. Therefore, it is not uncommon for parasites to attack people during the day.
Bedbugs do not nest like ants. They gather in groups near the source of food - humans. Insects can be parasitic in any room. Sterile cleanliness is not an obstacle to their penetration.
The lifespan of a bedbug is 1 year. In the absence of a food source, they hibernate. Insects can survive in suspended animation for more than 1 year. The appearance of a victim returns activity to the parasites.
The onset of unfavorable conditions forces bedbugs to migrate in search of a better life. In winter they crawl from room to room through ventilation pipes, and in summer - along the walls of houses.
Soap is an assistant in getting rid of bedbugs
This method is not suitable for textile products (bedspreads, carpets, linen). The solution is used to wipe only floors, furniture, walls and other hard surfaces.
It is recommended to use household. Grind the product using a grater. Then fill with water. The result is a concentrated soap solution. Use it to wipe surfaces in the house where bedbugs can move.
Apply the composition with a brush or sponge. There is no need to rub it hard - just moisten it. You should not wipe it - wait until it dries. You will have to repeat these steps 2-3 times a day.
Soap solution is also used in another way - poured into the cracks where there are bedbugs. Insects suffocate.
In addition, soap is alkaline, so parasites are poisoned. It is allowed to add salt to the solution. Household soap is replaced with liquid soap.
It is recommended to wipe surfaces with insecticidal preparations before using Vaseline.
Features of reproduction
At the moment of mating, the bug pierces the female’s genitals, injecting sperm into her. A fertilized female, even in the absence of a male individual, is capable of laying eggs every day throughout her life. Over the entire period of its existence, the female individual lays up to 500 eggs.
The egg hatches into a larva that goes hunting. After drinking a full portion of blood, the larva molts, forming into a nymph. The insect then goes hunting again, drinks blood and molts, reaching sexual maturity. The entire development cycle of the insect does not exceed 40 days. Unfavorable conditions increase the development period to 100 days.
What do bedbugs look like at all stages of development?
The life cycle of bed bugs includes three states:
- egg;
- nymph (larva);
- imago (adult).
Stages of development of domestic bugs: 1. Egg 2. Hungry and well-fed larva 3-6.
Stages of transition to adulthood 7. Hungry adult bug 8. Well-fed adult bug If there is a constant source of food, female parasites lay clutches every day. Each clutch contains up to 12 elongated white eggs. They reach 1 mm in length. At one end of the egg there is a small hole through which the formed larva emerges. Depending on the ambient temperature, this occurs on days 4–19. By the time the nymphs appear, the eggs acquire a yellowish tint.
The larva has a flat, hairy body with pronounced segmentation and three pairs of limbs. Its length ranges from 1.5 to 4 mm. Initially it is translucent, with a brown tint. As the nymph matures, it becomes dark brown in color. The abdomen of the young parasite consists of 8 sections. It holds up to 1.3 mg of blood.
The body of the larva is covered with a chitinous shell. Over time, the pest becomes cramped in it. Then he sheds it and forms a new shell. After 5 molts, the nymph turns into an imago and gains the ability to reproduce.
Attention! The lifespan of bed bugs reaches 12–14 months.
Adults have a round body shape, slightly pointed at the back. Female house bugs reach a length of 8 mm, males - 6 mm. Before laying, the female body stretches into a long oval. The color of adult pests is dark brown. At the junction of the head and abdomen, short, non-functional wings can be seen.
External differences between male and female bedbugs
Signs of a premises being infected
Bedbugs secrete an enzyme that has a specific odor. Thanks to this enzyme, the infested room “smells like bedbugs.” The purpose of this substance is controversial among scientists. Some of them believe that by secreting an enzyme, bedbugs scare away enemies. Others are of the opinion that this substance acts as a pheromone that attracts individuals of the opposite sex.
Another sign of the presence of bedbugs are bites on the skin that appear at night. Bites are rarely localized to one area of the skin. Bed bugs move around the body, leaving a trail of punctures. The distance between them can be several centimeters. In one night, a victim can receive up to 500 bites.
Bedbugs bite a person and disturb his sleep. Tossing and turning in his sleep, the victim crushes well-fed insects. As a result, brown marks remain on the sheets. And in places where insects accumulate, dark spots of excrement, eggs and chitinous cover, shed by the larvae, remain.
Baiting bedbugs is the only way to protect yourself and your loved ones from the possibility of contracting various diseases transmitted by parasites from one person to another.
Bite process and symptoms
Most often, little vampires settle next to the bed or in bedding; during the day they try to hide behind wallpaper, in the cracks of furniture, under baseboards, in books, in sockets, and in household appliances. Unpleasant neighbors poison sleep, as a result of which performance decreases, restlessness and anxiety appear. At night they become very active - the insects are attracted by the warmth and smell of their prey.
How do bed bugs bite? Having reached a person, they pierce the skin with the help of their proboscis, approach small capillaries, injecting a secretion with an anesthetic substance, so the bite is not felt. Pain may occur in the case of a bite from a young individual whose saliva does not contain an anesthetic substance. To satiate, the parasites make three bites, which are expressed by slight redness with a bright scarlet dot in the center.
You can distinguish bed bug bites as follows:
- The appearance of swollen, round spots in the morning, which were not there in the evening;
- Many bites located along the same trajectory;
- Sores on almost all exposed parts of the body.
Each person has a very different rate of swelling and itching, and the symptoms of bites are individual and depend on the body.
Methods for removing insects
Poisoning of parasites can be carried out in several ways:
Chemical treatment
Chemicals come in several forms:
All products contain insecticides that have a paralytic effect on bedbugs.
Features of aerosol treatment
Aerosol is a convenient form of insecticide that helps you independently reach insects hiding in the most inaccessible places. Their use does not require special training.
It should be remembered that aerosols quickly disappear, reducing effectiveness. Therefore, they need to be sprayed directly in places where insects accumulate.
The disadvantage of this form of drugs is volatility. A large amount of toxic substances enters the air, and with it into the respiratory tract of the inhabitants of the home and pets. Therefore, before using them, you need to remove all food products and remove household members and animals from the premises.
You need to spray the product wearing a respirator and rubber gloves, holding the can at arm's length and 20 cm from the place where bedbugs accumulate. During treatment, the windows in the room must be closed.
After treatment, it is recommended to enter the room after two hours, opening all windows and doors. The room must be wet cleaned by treating all surfaces with a baking soda solution.
The following drugs are most effective:
Each of the above products effectively destroys adult insects and larvae. The eggs are protected by a durable shell, so to completely get rid of parasites, it is recommended to kill the bedbugs again after 5-7 days.
Features of spray treatment
Every person faced with an insect infestation tries to decide how to poison bedbugs at home, without resorting to the help of special authorities. Cockroaches and bedbugs can be exterminated with drugs available in the form of solutions. They are diluted in water, poured into a spray bottle, and sprayed over all possible insect habitats.
Toxic substances contained in sprays do not evaporate into the air, remaining on the surface being treated. Particularly noteworthy are products produced in the form of capsules that protect the insecticide from the harmful effects of the environment.
The most effective are the following drugs:
Features of powder processing
Insecticides in powder form remain active for a long time, destroying adult insects and larvae, and then a new generation of insects. Powder treatment can be carried out in the presence of household members. It is important to ensure that children and animals do not come into contact with treated surfaces.
The powder is scattered in a thin layer along baseboards, in corners, cavities of upholstered furniture and other insect habitats. At the time of treatment, the mouth and nose should be covered with a cotton-gauze bandage.
Powders containing contact poisons are effective in the fight against parasites. Universal products are designed for eating, and the bug's mouthparts are capable of consuming only the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals.
The most effective are the following:
Features of gel treatment
How do families with small children treat bed bugs? You cannot leave home with children, and children are strictly prohibited from breathing air saturated with insecticides. The ideal option is insecticidal gels equipped with fine-tipped syringes.
Gel products are applied with dotted lines in the same places as powder products. The gel retains its poisonous properties for a long time, killing all parasites without exception.
The most effective are the following drugs:
Peculiarities of processing with crayons
When thinking about how you can protect your home from bedbug infestation, you should pay attention to insecticidal chalks. They can be used as a poisonous and prophylactic agent. To prevent bedbugs from disturbing a person's sleep, it is enough to draw a chalk around the bed.
The product is securely fixed on any surface. It must be applied in wide lines. Crayons are also ground into powder, used dry, or pre-diluted in water.
The most famous are the following:
Where could they be
To destroy bedbugs, you need to know where their nests may be. You can get rid of these insects only if you simultaneously treat all their habitats - nests. If at least one living individual remains (a female at any stage of development), everything will have to be repeated. And they are so tenacious that they will definitely remain. Until now, they have not found a remedy that would kill all the bedbugs at once.
For the fight against bedbugs to be effective, you need to know where they can hide.
Bed bugs usually make nests near the feeding area - 2-3 meters from the bed. In this area, they can live in any crack, recess, or hole that is larger than 0.5 mm in size. Here's where to look:
- Under and in mattresses.
- In the bed frame.
- In bedside tables, chairs, armchairs, cabinets.
- On the back of carpets and rugs.
- Behind the baseboard.
- In sockets, switches, electrical appliances, in electrical wiring channels.
- Behind the peeling wallpaper.
- In the cracks between the floor/ceiling and the wall.
- In the cavities of frames and frames of paintings and photographs.
- Under floor coverings and in floor crevices.
- In the recesses of the wall.
- In clothes.
This is what bedbug bites look like.
Actually, all places where it is dry and warm at a distance of a couple of meters from the bed can be breeding grounds for bedbugs. Here's an example: if the plaster is behind, then they will be behind it. Or under the laminate. Or under linoleum. In any cavity.
Inspection Process: Example
When fighting bedbugs, you need to thoroughly inspect all possible places of their nests. For example, in furniture, inspect the bottom and legs. Remove the back wall if possible. Be sure to pull out drawers and shelves. Inspect all joints of furniture parts, under fastening and mounting plates, in recesses for fasteners. Even remove the handles and check for bedbugs.
If you want to find all bedbug nests, remove all parts that you can
This is how meticulously and scrupulously everything needs to be checked. Otherwise, even the best remedy will not help. When processing, go through even those places where theoretically there should not be bedbugs. They are found in strange and remote places. And if one survives, then after a while there will be a hundred again, and then a thousand.
Treatment with folk remedies
From time immemorial, folk remedies have been used in the fight against parasitic insects. Their undeniable advantage is safety for health, and the disadvantage is low efficiency. Most of them have a repellent effect, so they are effective only in combination with chemical insecticides. These include:
Cifox
It is not known why someone decided that Cifox was a good remedy for bedbugs. Perhaps the manufacturer is “to blame” for this, who indicated that Tsifox is intended to destroy all synanthropic insects, including bedbugs. But in reality, the drug contains only cypermethrin, and it is quite unreliable against bedbugs. It kills them, but relatively slowly and often misfires. It can be considered a reliable remedy against fleas and cockroaches, against linen lice and even ticks in the area, but for baiting bedbugs it is better to take something else.
Heat treatment
To kill bedbugs yourself, it is not necessary to use pesticides or ineffective folk remedies. It is enough to know about the weak points of parasites. They die instantly at temperatures of 50ºC and subzero temperatures.
In summer, it is enough to warm the room to a critical temperature. In winter, the freezing procedure will help. It involves opening windows. Furniture should be taken outside and frozen. Infected items are also taken outside or placed in the freezer.
If you find places where insects accumulate, you can destroy them by pouring boiling water over them.
How to prepare for disinfestation
Before getting rid of bedbugs, you need to block all exits for insects. During processing, they will try to leave the room through small cracks in the floor, walls, and exhaust ventilation holes. If they get into your neighbors' apartment, pest control will only give temporary results.
To discourage bed bugs:
- carry out minor repairs (seal cracks);
- cover the ventilation grilles with tape;
- Cover other exit routes from the apartment with duct tape.
Professional pest control involves treating everything in the home with high-temperature chemicals. This includes interior decoration, furniture, toys, household appliances, textiles, books. To increase the effectiveness of the procedure, you must first:
- remove sockets;
- disassemble the furniture as much as possible;
- remove paintings, clocks, carpets from the walls;
- Place the rugs on the floor with the wrong side up.
Preparation also includes removing items from the apartment that should not be exposed to high temperatures and chemicals. This includes underwear, dishes, and personal hygiene items. You need to take your pets out of the rooms, clean the aquarium, and also leave yourself.
Attention! After chemical treatment, the apartment needs thorough wet cleaning. Only after it can you bring your children home, let your pets go and put all your things in their place.
Delta Zone
Delta Zone insecticide is another non-standard insecticide. Its particles are in the form of sticky microcapsules that stick to the body of bedbugs and destroy their nervous system, leading to paralysis and death. Experts recommend using “Delta Zone” in cases where bedbugs are immune to popular insecticides. In contrast, insects do not develop resistance to the Delta Zone. Another advantage of this product is the absence of odor.
The above insecticides are the best choice in terms of price-quality ratio. However, remember - no matter how good the product is, if used incorrectly it will not only not help get rid of insects, but can also cause harm to health.
Executioner
The insecticide "Executioner" is manufactured by a Russian company under a German license. “Executioner” is based on a substance called fenthion, a nerve poison that kills bedbugs almost instantly. At the same time, this substance has practically no effect on warm-blooded organisms, so you can use “Executioner” without fear - it can cause harm only at very high temperatures and has a pronounced effect - after treatment, insects and their eggs die after 3-4 hours. The product is available in small bottles and is sold in hardware stores. To treat a two-room apartment, it takes an average of about 50 bottles. In general, “Executioner” can be considered one of the most affordable and therefore very popular products - one bottle costs about 100 rubles.
Insecticide
This Russian product can be called the “heavy artillery” of the world of insecticides. Created on the basis of three toxic substances, “Bedbug killer” is not one of the safest products, but after its use, bedbugs are guaranteed to die out. Those who use Klopomor note that insects die even before the treatment is completed.
Due to the high power and toxicity of Insecticide, it is recommended to thoroughly clean and ventilate the room after using it.
Karbofos
The Karbofos product is quite old, but still popular, especially among farmers. As a matter of fact, it was precisely for them that it was invented - “Karbofos” appeared on the American market as an alternative to existing drugs that is safe for poultry and livestock. This product is also suitable for apartments and works quite effectively.
On the modern market, Karbofos can be found in powder form, as a pure substance in bottles, and also as a ready-made solution in canisters and barrels. The advantageous quality of Karbofos is its affordability - it will take only 1000-1500 rubles to remove bedbugs in an apartment. However, the product is still quite outdated and has an unpleasant odor that lasts in the room for about three weeks.
Preventive actions
Measures to prevent the appearance of bloodsuckers in the house will help avoid this scourge and all the troubles associated with it. To do this you need:
- regularly carry out wet cleaning in the room, especially in corners and places where dust accumulates;
- vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture with textile coverings;
- change bed linen weekly;
- Seal all cracks and holes in the baseboards, floors, and wall trim with sealant;
- when moving into a new apartment, carry out at least cosmetic repairs and treat the premises from the possible presence of insects;
- When buying furniture, inspect it very carefully;
- when visiting hotels and hostels, be careful not to take parasites home;
- place fragrant repellent plants in the corners;
- if you know that your neighbors have bed bugs, then do a barrier protective treatment against bed bugs by calling a special service;
- get rid of contaminated furniture if it is of no value.
It is easier to prevent the appearance of bloodsuckers in an apartment than to later remove them from your home forever. Therefore, these events should be included in life as mandatory. Only then will the risk of parasite attacks on your apartment be reduced.
