Bedbugs are small wingless insects that feed on human blood. They enter the house with contaminated furniture, clothes, bags, and pass from neighbors. Their presence results in restless sleep and skin problems. To completely eliminate parasites, you need to know where bedbugs live. In the place where they accumulate there are eggs, adults and larvae. This is the only opportunity to eliminate the source of infection.
Where do bedbugs hide in an apartment?
House bugs settled in human homes several thousand years ago. They chose comfortable conditions and proximity to food. In warm conditions, insects reproduce all year round, and generations of parasites constantly expand their territory. Bed bugs have long ceased to be a sign of unsanitary conditions. They appear in clean, tidy apartments and luxury hotels.
Arthropods live secretly, appearing only at night. To detect and destroy them, it is necessary to find out the habitats of bedbugs. The greatest likelihood of finding parasites is when examining the sleeping area. They crawl slowly and reluctantly, and also take care of their offspring. The proximity of a person is a decisive factor when choosing a site for a nest. The search for insects in the apartment begins from the following places:
- bed, sofa - places to sleep;
- upholstered furniture (armchairs, chairs, poufs);
- cabinet furniture (cabinets, chests of drawers, tables);
- cracks behind the baseboard, in the walls and floor;
- picture frames;
- peeling wallpaper;
- carpets and curtains.
Sometimes bedbugs live in poultry cages or an aquarium with rodents. Warm-blooded animals also provide a source of blood for parasites.
How do bedbugs bite?
The appearance of bites on a person’s body is the first symptom of infection in an apartment.
Bedbug bites can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
- There is no pain when bitten. By biting, the insect injects an anesthetic substance under the skin.
- A large number of wounds in one place. Adults feed at night on the entire colony, crawling onto certain areas of the body.
- A puncture is visible in the middle of the swollen area. There is also a small bump on it.
- Constant bites regardless of the season. Bedbugs are able to adapt to different temperatures.
- Sores appear daily. In the morning, you should check your body for new bites.
When the colony has grown to several hundred individuals, the parasites begin to bite during the day. The more individuals there are, the more they need to eat.
Attention! Insects are most active in the morning, when a person is fast asleep.
Bedbugs in the sofa
Upholstered furniture is the main site of parasite infestation. To identify pests, it is important to know what bedbugs look like in a sofa. Insects have a flattened body, most of which is the abdomen. The size of adults is 4.5-6 mm, larvae are 1.5-4 mm. The color of the parasites is red-brown, the offspring are lighter than the adults. Parasites do not jump or fly, sofa bugs only crawl.
Parasites can appear in new and old furniture. What causes bedbugs to appear on the sofa? Sheathing, a wooden frame with many hiding places, foam padding, these components are optimal shelters for arthropods. They are attracted by a favorable environment, natural materials and darkness, but the main thing is the closeness of a person. Parasites get into the sofa in various ways: on clothing, when moving from neighbors, during long-term storage in a warehouse or transportation from another country. Insects endure long periods of fasting without harm and become more active when they enter an apartment.
Advice. When looking for a nest, pay attention to the back of the sofa, which is adjacent to the wall, as well as the seams.
How to destroy a nest
As soon as you find bite marks on your body, and brownish spots on your bed linen from the bloodsuckers you crushed, get down to business immediately. If you realize it right away, then dealing with them will be easy and quick. Bedbugs will not have time to take over your home, and you will emerge victorious in this battle. Otherwise it will be more difficult; there are examples where sometimes this battle lasted for a year.
The first thing to do is call an exterminator. They have professional knowledge. They have a whole arsenal of chemical means to combat harmful insects. They are well equipped. Their experience is an invaluable weapon.
People who decide to get rid of a bedbug nest on their own should be careful. The use of chemicals is fraught with toxic poisoning. It is necessary to carry out cleaning work wearing a mask, gloves, and shoe covers. But first, think through a set of measures and attack the enemy from all sides. Otherwise, the insects will run away (and they run at a speed of 40 meters per minute), hide in new places, and hide. And then they will return. And your story of struggle will drag on over time.
So that they don’t have anywhere to run, it’s better to hold the event with the whole world, with neighbors at the site, at home. The proposed traditional folk methods will partially eliminate the problem. For example:
- scald the area where parasites accumulate with boiling water (only egg laying will die);
- treat with kerosene, vinegar, wormwood (by itself does not bring tangible results, only together with chemicals);
- cover the bed with a plaster (if it is small).
Bed bugs
Experts have found that bed bugs most often live in beds. They hide in spring blocks, sheathing seams, and cracks in wooden frames. The listed shelters attract parasites due to the proximity of a blood source and many secluded areas where there is enough space for an entire colony to settle. Bedbugs also live on mattresses; they do not climb inside, preferring to hide in the external seams.
How to get rid of bedbugs in a mattress?
You can detect insects on a mattress or bed parts by an unpleasant odor and a lot of black excrement. Upon careful examination of the accumulation sites, white oblong eggs, larvae and the remains of their skins are visible. An environmentally friendly option for killing parasites is heat treatment. In winter, the mattress is taken outside and left there for 3-5 days. High temperatures kill insects faster. You can use a steam cleaner and treat the entire mattress with steam at a temperature of 90-100°. Bedbugs, larvae and eggs are guaranteed to die.
One of the methods of control is the use of chemicals. To kill insects, modern preparations with microcapsules “Xulat Micro” and “Get” are used. They are odorless and kill parasites within a few months of spraying. When removing bedbugs, you cannot limit yourself to the mattress and sleeping area; you will have to treat the entire room.
Bed bug habitats
You can guess where bed bugs live from their name alone: most often they settle in the bed. The spaces under the mattresses of beds, cracks in sofas, especially those with a complex shape, old pillows with holes, various beds with a large number of holes and cracks in the frames are ideal places for these parasites to settle. Here they are literally “a stone’s throw” from the main source of food, and here they feel most safe.
This is interesting
Like most secretive insects, bedbugs have an instinct to hide in places where they can come into contact with two surfaces at the same time, both the abdomen and the back. This gives them a feeling of complete security. In nature, they find such places under stones and snags, in a person’s apartment - behind baseboards, in the cracks of upholstered furniture and between books. Thanks to its very flat body, the bug can fit into a gap that may seem completely inaccessible to anyone.
In addition, optimal and stable temperature conditions are usually maintained in bedrooms. Although bedbugs can live normally in a temperature range from +15°C to +40°C, sudden temperature changes create a feeling of stress for them.
In cozy bedrooms, and especially under mattresses, the space is poorly ventilated, thereby maintaining a constant temperature. Therefore, bedbugs live there in comfort.
However, beds and sofas are not the only places where bedbugs willingly spend their days molting and breeding. If they settle in an apartment, you should also look for them:
- behind baseboards and curved corners of linoleum
- under the parquet
- behind cabinets and other furniture tightly placed against the walls
- under the carpets
- in clothes in closets
- between the books on the shelves
- behind the paintings
- in bedside tables and chests of drawers
- in various household appliances (bedbugs are attracted to them by the increased temperature near coolers and compressors)
- bedbugs even live in sockets
- under window sills, especially near radiators
- under the upholstery.
Separately, it should be said about wardrobes. Many people, before treating an apartment, wonder whether bedbugs live in clothes and whether it is worth treating them.
It is also useful to read: What causes bed bugs in an apartment?
And one more thing: Well, what can I say - Get Total picked bedbugs for 2.5 hours, but still did its job...
We can definitely say that clothes need to be treated: bed bugs rarely take a liking to clothes hanging on trempels, but sometimes individual individuals and mobile larvae can live here too. If after treatment you leave at least a few insects alive, after a certain period of time the number of bedbugs in the apartment will be restored.
But when asked whether bedbugs live in pillows, we can definitely say - they don’t. They are too large to penetrate through the fabric to the down itself. But parasites may well live under the pillowcase.
It is precisely because of this “versatility” of bedbugs that ridding an apartment of them requires a total treatment of all surfaces and a maximum of things.
But regardless of where bedbugs live, their life pattern and duration are always approximately the same.
Furniture bugs
Insects found not in the bed, but in other furniture, are representatives of the species bed bugs. With a multiple increase in the number of parasites, they begin to spread throughout the room and move into neighboring rooms. They hide in the drawers of bedside tables and chests of drawers, on the shelves of closets, behind paintings and mirrors.
Bedbugs are found in furniture only during the day; when night falls, they move to the nearest place where a person sleeps.
How to get rid of furniture bugs?
There are many methods for exterminating pests:
- thermal;
- chemical;
- folk recipes.
Treating furniture at home with chemicals is considered the most effective method. The “Get” insecticide, produced in the form of a suspension, has proven itself well. It is diluted with water and sprayed on all surfaces. The product retains its effect on parasites for several months. Aerosols “Combat” and “Clean House” are popular. They paralyze insects and quickly cause death. The downside of the drugs is toxicity and a pungent odor.
Information. Most insecticides do not kill eggs; chlorpipriphos-based products are effective against them.
As a heat treatment, furniture is subjected to freezing or exposure to steam. Folk recipes recommend the use of essential oils (lavender, tea tree) and herbs (wormwood, tansy). It is often suggested to treat furniture with vinegar or other products with a strong odor. Such recipes only have a deterrent effect. If you can’t deal with parasites on your own, call a professional.
Can bedbugs live in clothes?
Insects need secluded places to wait out the daytime period and lay eggs. Clothes that have been sitting in the bedroom closet for a long time become an excellent option for creating a nest. Darkness and stable climatic conditions are favorable factors for the life and reproduction of pests. As the number of colonies increases, parasites do not fit into the sleeping quarters, so they colonize the nearest territory. They are attracted to a closet or dressing room by the smell of a person.
Information. Insects prefer to feed on open areas of the body. Pajamas can protect against parasite bites.
Insects settle in seams and folds, often choosing outerwear - coats and jackets. Fur coats made from natural or faux fur remain clean. Bed bugs do not move well in dense hairs. Most often, dressing gowns, bedding, and dirty clothes that are not washed for a long time become infected.
Information. Clothes can carry parasites into your apartment from the source of infection. It is enough to sit on a sofa or chair, inside of which insects live. Attracted by warmth, they crawl into the folds of clothing and travel with a person. Indoors, bedbugs leave the item and move into furniture or a crevice.
How to get rid of bedbugs in clothes?
If parasites are found in the apartment, it is necessary to inspect not only the furniture, but also the clothing. The signs of parasites are the same - black spots, a specific smell. There may be white eggs in folds and seams. There are various methods for exterminating arthropods:
- freezing;
- steam treatment;
- wash at high temperature;
- use of chemicals.
Frost is ineffective in eliminating bed bugs. At low rates, insects fall into a state of suspended animation and survive. To kill them you will need a temperature of -17-20°. In case of slight frost, things are left for several days.
Parasites cannot tolerate high temperatures; they die at 50°. The best way to remove all insects from your clothes is to wash your clothes in hot water. For cotton fabrics, you can set a higher temperature of about 80-90°. The procedure is guaranteed to kill adult insects and their clutches. Steam treatment also gives excellent results. The procedure is carried out using a steam generator. The device produces steam at temperatures up to 100°, while its humidity is very low.
Infected items that are not exposed to high temperatures are dry-cleaned or treated with insecticides. It is worth finding out whether the products kill parasite eggs. If the clutch remains viable, a new generation of insects will appear.
Bed bugs are highly adaptable and resilient. They can survive without food and hide anywhere. These qualities explain the high percentage of infestations in residential premises. Parasites can and should be fought with all available means. In a difficult situation, it is worth calling professional exterminators.
How a bug survives lack of food: a little about suspended animation
Bed bugs are typical parasites. Like all parasites, they are perfectly adapted to survive periods of hunger. For example, when the owners of an apartment leave for several weeks or put furniture outside.
It is also useful to read: Bed bugs in the house
And one more thing: The Get Express product really killed all the bedbugs quickly - after 42 minutes there were only corpses lying around
Without food, bedbugs fall into a state vaguely reminiscent of suspended animation. Most processes in their body slow down, and they are able to survive almost a year-long hunger strike. Their chances of survival are especially increased if such a hunger strike is accompanied by a decrease in air temperature.
On a note
Bed bugs enter a similar state, reminiscent of torpor, when the temperature drops. Therefore, taking an infested sofa or mattress out into the cold of minus 5 - minus 10 ° C is not dangerous for bedbugs - they will become numb for a while, and then thaw again and attack food with increased appetite. Only a temperature of minus 22°C or lower will kill them.
This duration of permissible hunger strikes coincides with the lifespan of other species of bedbugs without food. For example, water bugs and water strider bugs go into suspended animation during the winter season and normally fast for 5-6 months.
Considering these abilities of bedbugs, you should not hope that during a two-week vacation and the absence of people in the apartment, bedbugs will leave it in search of food. Most likely, the insects will not even notice such temporary abstinence.
On a note
A bed bug feeds once every 5-10 days. And a week-long hunger strike proceeds without problems at all for him.
And finally, it’s worth saying how long bedbugs live after treating a room with special means.
If the treatment is carried out as thoroughly as possible with water-based aerosols such as Executioner, Bedbug Killer or Tetrix, bedbugs live after treatment for no more than two to three hours. When ingested by insects, these drugs lead to the death of parasites in just a few minutes. The life of bedbugs in an apartment after disinfestation is determined only by the period until the product gets on the insect.
In summary, the moral of the whole story is for those who are looking for a way to quickly and easily exterminate bed bugs in an apartment: going on vacation for two weeks and taking the sofa out into the mild night frost will not have any effect in the fight against bed bugs. And they should be destroyed with powerful and truly effective means.
