Bed bugs are pervasive, taking only weeks to multiply, becoming an infestation. The insects can lay up to 12 eggs daily and up to 500 in a lifetime, between 10 months to a year. While the bugs do not transmit diseases, they can have an economic, mental, and physical impact, including severe allergic reactions to bites. While prevention is crucial to protection, if you have or suspect an existing problem, contact bed bug pest control in Guelph.
5 Tips From Bed Bug Pest Control in Guelph
How do you know when you have an issue? What do bed bug bites look like anyway?
Bed bugs hide during the day and do most of their travelling and feeding at night. It is common for bed bug populations to remain invisible until infestations become severe.
While the insects do an excellent job of hiding, they leave behind evidence, everything from blood on sheets to bite marks on your body. Bites look like mosquito or flea bites; they are swollen bumps that itch and have a reddish bruise.
Identifying bed bug infestations early is essential. Still, prevention is more critical to homeowner peace of mind. Discover five tips to keep bed bugs at bay and limit your need for bed bug pest control in Guelph.
1. Seal Your Home
All insects must find a path into your house, and as a homeowner, your job is to seal as many of those pathways as possible. You must ensure seals around doors and windows are secure and seal any openings, cracks, or crevices with a silicone-based caulk. You can also use caulk around the upper and lower edges of baseboards to prevent hiding places for these insects.
2. Eliminate Hiding Places
Bed bugs have many places they like to hide, including behind and under beds or furniture, along baseboards, in the grooves of furniture and cushions, behind electrical faceplates, and inside the edges of peeling wallpaper.
You can eliminate hiding places by making necessary repairs and keeping up with home maintenance. Routine vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping also discourage insects.
3. Check for Infestations
Learning how to check for bed bugs sounds easy enough: You must check along mattress and furniture seams, baseboards, and pet bedding; also, check behind and underneath appliances, furniture, electrical face plates, mattresses, and cushions. Despite the easy-sounding process, it is intricate and somewhat labour-intensive, so it is likely best to hire bed bug pest control in Guelph.
4. Inspect Second-Hand Furniture
Bed bugs typically enter a home through the front door, hitching a ride on a human, pet, luggage, or a used piece of furniture. While second-hand furniture is affordable for homeowners, there are risks when buying from garage sales, picking up from the curb, or receiving hand-me-downs. Before you bring any furniture into your home, inspect it thoroughly.
5. Check Luggage After Vacations
Where do you leave your luggage in the hotel room or rental when you travel? Do you place it on the floor? Most people will unpack their bags and leave the luggage on the closet floor or next to a dresser. If the hotel has bed bugs, the floor is the worst place for your luggage. It is better to store it on a luggage rack or a closet shelf, a hard, clean surface.
Bed Bug Pest Control in Guelph
Bed bugs do not transmit disease, but they are pests. It does not take long for the population to escalate to an infestation. Cleanliness and diligence are the keys to prevention. That said, if you need bed bug pest control in Guelph, contact Truly Nolen Canada to schedule a property assessment and treatment.