What does a furniture bug look like and how to get rid of it?

Small blood-sucking parasites such as furniture bugs choose secluded places in human apartments to live. These insects are synanthropes, that is, they live next to humans and are to some extent dependent on them. Insects dominated the Earth long before humans appeared. Over millions of years, bedbugs have acquired truly limitless adaptive abilities. It is for this reason that it is very difficult to fight them - insects quickly develop resistance to poisons, and mechanical methods of extermination are ineffective due to the high reproduction rate.

What does it look like

These insects are small in size; nymphs have a body size of about 1-3 mm, and adults grow to 4-5 mm. They have a wide and round body that is brown in color.

They do not have wings, they have short antennae and 3 pairs of legs. When the bug is saturated with blood, the body acquires a rich burgundy color, the abdomen swells and increases significantly in size.

These parasites do not have the ability to fly or jump, but they move quickly enough, which allows them to find a food source and attack the victim. In the photo you can see what the insects look like.

How to understand that there are bedbugs in the sofa

How can you tell if there are bedbugs in your upholstered furniture? This may be indicated by a number of signs:

• The appearance of an odor similar to the aroma of almonds or raspberries. It appears when there are a lot of insects in the house.
• Insect excrement. They look like small black dots, similar to street dirt, as in the photo. If pests are already infested in upholstered furniture, this dirt will appear frequently.
• The appearance of bites on the human body. These bites are similar to mosquito bites, only they are smaller. If the room is heavily infested with pests, bites on the body will appear 3-4 in a row. This is the surest way to detect insects if they have recently appeared.

How can you see bedbugs yourself if they have created a full-fledged colony in upholstered furniture? Usually, for this purpose, it is enough to lift the upper cushions of the furniture or dismantle its tight joints (for example, the space between the seat and the armrest) - this is where pests most often settle. Here you can find insects that look like small cockroaches, their excrement, and eggs. The nest of parasites is usually very mobile.

Where do furniture bugs come from?

There is an opinion that bedbugs in an apartment can appear from dirt if cleanliness and hygiene rules are not followed, but this is a misconception. They can appear in absolutely any apartment, regardless of cleanliness.

Approximately 95% of the bedbug population lives in residential areas. They can easily move to new territories, move from one apartment to another and easily settle down there.

In fact, there are several ways of infection, the most common include:

• Very often, such “guests” can get into the apartment from neighbors. They can crawl through cracks, ventilation holes, windows and doors, and through electrical wiring ducts. The small size of insects allows them to get through any openings, of which there are many in every apartment.
• The cause of infection can be the person himself, for example, if he visited an infected room and bedbugs got on his clothes, shoes, or bag. Thus, he brings them home, where they settle in and multiply quickly.
• New purchases, such as furniture, household appliances, books and other things, can also cause infection. It is worth remembering that bedbugs hide in places where it is dark and warm, so any purchase can cause such “guests” to appear in the apartment.

It is enough for one fertilized female to enter the house and lay offspring. They multiply very quickly, so it takes a little time for the blood-sucking parasites to settle into a huge family in the apartment.

The diet of these insects consists of human blood, so they settle close to the food source. Most often, their nests are in sofas and beds where people sleep.

How bedbugs move to new areas.

The spread of this species occurs due to their ability to hide in things, bags, packaging, and clothing. In order for a “bloodsucker” to move to another territory (even to another continent), it is enough for him to hide in a crack or in the seam of a mattress - and the journey will be completely safe for him. If the infection is not officially registered, then no special sanitation is carried out during transportation.

The most “favorite” places where uninvited guests like to hide:

Natural wood; Raw boards, plywood, chipboards and fiberboards; Textiles, upholstery.

Where is the potential danger?

If you trace the path of furniture from the manufacturer to the buyer, it will become clear that you can “pick up” an unpleasant passenger in the form of a bed bloodsucker at any segment:

From a supplier of furniture parts, wood and textiles for upholstery; In furniture production, which uses the labor of people living in unsanitary conditions; In a furniture warehouse, where not only the latest products arrive, but also used items, where preventative sanitation is not carried out; In a store where a large number of people come, there is a heterogeneous service staff; From contact with an infected vehicle or during transportation from neighbors, etc.

It should be remembered that transport companies serve different clients, and it is likely that a parasitic insect that lived in the apartment of a previous client may appear on the loader’s clothing. When loading your furniture items, this unpleasant representative of the fauna crawls into the gap and hides there until the carefree owner settles down to rest on his new thing - a bed or sofa.

Methods for preventing infection

To save yourself from the proximity of blood-sucking beetles when purchasing new furniture, you must conduct a thorough inspection right in the store, before loading it into the vehicle. Therefore, advice: you need to have a flashlight with you and, without being embarrassed by strangers, use it when inspecting the underside of the upholstery, the inside of the sofa, cracks, seams, places where mechanisms are attached, and holes.

What may alert you: Point pollution that indicates the presence of unwanted settlers is their excrement. Whitish grains in the seams and on the textiles are eggs. Dry scales are the skin of a blood-sucking beetle, which it sheds from time to time. Insects with a diameter of about 5 mm are sexually mature individuals.

What to do if parasitic insects are found

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to detect them during a superficial examination. As a rule, no one in the store manages to do this, otherwise a loud scandal would break out. Blood-sucking bugs begin to manifest themselves only after a certain time, when the problem can be considered serious, and they can only be removed with the help of specialists.

Eco Defense is a service that will perform sanitization with high quality and with a guarantee.

Review: We have lived with bedbugs for several years, and it all started with one spotted insect. Then they divorced and life became simply unbearable. Now we know that at the slightest suspicion of the presence of insects, we need to consult with specialists and carry out preventive treatment, which is guaranteed to protect against serious infection.

• Bedbugs in the dorm
• Bed bugs

Signs of bedbugs in an apartment

If you suspect that your apartment is infested with bedbugs, you must conduct a thorough inspection of beds and sofas, since parasites are always located near a food source.

It is necessary to check mattresses, pillows, blankets, special attention should be paid to folds, seams, and decorative details in which small parasites can hide. Remember that in the habitats of these insects there is a not entirely pleasant aroma that resembles fermented berries.

At night, you can get up and turn on the light, check the sheet for small insects. When there are a lot of them, in the morning, small spots of blood will be visible on the bed linen, and crushed bedbugs can also be found.

They are nocturnal, afraid of daylight and prefer to hide in dark and secluded corners. They are most active from 3 a.m. until the morning. But if the bug could not get enough at night, then it may well attack a person during the day in order to satisfy his hunger.

As a rule, they do not touch domestic animals; blood and thick skin are not suitable for them, but if the parasite experiences acute hunger, it can bite. These insects have the ability to fall into a long sleep that can last up to a year.

They enter a state of suspended animation in the absence of food sources or when unfavorable conditions occur. But when food reappears and conditions for life and reproduction improve, they wake up.

Signs of pests

Bedbugs infest in any sofa structure, since they have many hiding places. In click-clack models, pests get into the elastic bands, seams and zippers on the covers from the wrong side. They can also be hidden in the joints between wooden slats and a metal frame. In a book sofa, insects settle on the back side of the back, adjacent to the wall, and in the “tick-tock” version - on the underside of the seat.

Signs that your sofa has bedbugs:

1. After sleep, bites appear on a person. At first they usually think of mosquitoes, but the characteristic pattern in the form of a path indicates that these are bedbugs. Red spots formed from bites are located at a distance of several centimeters from each other. They appear about 1-2 times a week. By the red dot located in the middle of the spot, you can understand that this is where the bug pierced the skin and drank the blood.
2. The sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases are covered with strange red-brown stains.
3. The presence of bedbugs is indicated by a musty odor, which is formed due to a large accumulation of parasites. This occurs due to waste from pests. The cause of the unpleasant odor may be discharge from a crushed insect.
4. The back of the sofa, wooden elements, walls, floors and baseboards are covered with black dots. Excrement is a sign of the presence of bedbugs in the house.

   

   You can determine the presence of bedbugs on a sofa by a number of signs

5. Usually these insects are full by morning. During this period, slow and well-fed pests are noticeable in corners and under furniture upholstery. The bugs themselves reach a length of 3-4 mm, but after a night meal they swell to 7-8 mm, making it difficult for the parasites to move. Therefore, it is easier to destroy them in the morning.

If any of these signs are present, you should check your sofa. The furniture must be lifted and looked behind the lining. Often pests, their larvae and discarded shells can be seen at the joints of the fabric.

This is interesting: how to get rid of house bugs

If these insects are found, it is recommended that the entire house be checked for other pest infestations. It doesn’t happen that only one sofa is infested with bedbugs. If pests have spread throughout all the premises, it is necessary to carry out disinfection.

Why are bedbugs dangerous?

Furniture bugs feed exclusively on blood. They have a piercing-sucking apparatus, which allows them to make punctures on the skin, stick to a blood vessel and become saturated with blood.

A person does not feel the bite itself, because when the skin is pierced, they release a special anesthetic substance that completely anesthetizes this process, and it goes unnoticed. They bite several times, so a mark in the form of a chain of 3-4 punctures remains on the skin.

As practice shows, they bite women and small children much more often than men. This is due to the skin, which in women and children is softer and thinner. Therefore, if they have a choice, they will not prefer men. Most often they bite in the back, stomach, arms, legs, and neck.

After they are saturated with blood, the analgesic effect ends, and the affected area begins to itch severely. A person scratches the bites, which causes the wounds to become infected.

Quite often, children develop an allergic reaction, and angioedema may occur. Of course, constant bites, itching and the understanding that there are bedbugs in the bed affect the psycho-emotional state.

There may be insomnia, irritability, nervous breakdowns. Although these insects are carriers of various microbes and bacteria, they cannot infect humans.

Difference from other bedbugs

Bed, linen and furniture bugs are definitions of the same domestic parasite. It can settle in different places, so the name will be different.

Finding a linen or bed bug is easier. On light-colored sheets it is easier to notice a dark speck of a parasite. Getting rid of such bedbugs at home is also easier. Bed linen is removed, processed, boiled, and, in extreme cases, thrown away.

Furniture bugs hide more securely. It is not always possible to detect them quickly. If the bedside table is located next to the bed, then it will be a convenient place for parasites to settle. Pictures above the sleeping area and nearby sockets are traditional areas for parasites.

Sometimes, at the end of summer, a tree bug can fly into apartments on the lower floors. These are the insects that can often be seen in raspberries, accidentally taken into the mouth along with the berry. By autumn, they turn from green to brown, look for secluded places, and mistakenly fly into apartments. They are not dangerous to humans and cannot bite. They just need to be released outside.

Ways to fight

So, if these blood-sucking creatures are found in an apartment, you should begin effective control methods as quickly as possible.

There are several ways to combat these insects, each of which has its own characteristics and advantages:

• Deterrents. These include the use of substances with rich aromas, for example, turpentine, wormwood, vinegar, acetone and others. Strong, rich aromas repel bedbugs and disorientate them for a while. It is not possible to get rid of parasites in case of severe infection in this way, but it is possible to slow down the reproduction for a while. These substances can be excellent prophylactic agents that will prevent re-infections.
• Heat. In this case, a fan heater or steam generator is used. At high temperatures, these parasites die, so the method is effective in case of severe infection. The room temperature must be increased to 60°, the treatment is carried out for at least 3 hours.
• Low temperature. This method is suitable for private houses, but not suitable for apartments. It is necessary to reduce the room temperature to -20° and maintain this level for 5 days. Also in winter, pillows, mattresses, furniture, and bedding are taken out into the cold.
• Duct tape. So, for this method, all family members temporarily arrange new sleeping places, for example, take cots or air mattresses. They are covered with adhesive tape around them, like for flies. At night, bedbugs will move towards a food source and fall into such traps. You won’t be able to get rid of all the parasites overnight; it will take some time.
• Insecticides. Specialized preparations are the most effective means in the fight against bedbugs. Now you can purchase them in the form of solutions, powders, aerosols, sprays, crayons.

• 

Insecticide treatment

So, if you have to fight bedbugs, first of all you need to understand how the infection occurred and eliminate all possible causes. It is ideal when all apartments in an apartment building are treated at once, but unfortunately, it is not always possible to come to an agreement with the neighbors, and not everyone is ready to talk about their problems with strangers.

In this case, you will need to block insects’ access to your apartment. To do this, you should close all the cracks, cracks in joints, window frames, doorways, close ventilation holes, you can use any available methods. For example, putty, sealants, lubricant, foam.

Next, you need to vacate and clean the apartment as much as possible. Remember that there should be no people or animals in the apartment at the time of treatment. Dogs, cats, parrots, hamsters, fish and other pets should be moved to another room for at least a day.

Afterwards, collect all food and dishes, as well as all shoes and clothes, put them in bags and seal them hermetically. The cabinets should be emptied of things and then moved away from the wall. Bedding, blankets, curtains and other textiles must be washed, dried and ironed.

Afterwards you can begin direct processing. The person who carries out the treatment must use personal protective equipment, a respirator, safety glasses, gloves, overalls or clothing that completely covers the body.

When processing, pay special attention to the following places in the apartment:

• Beds, sofas, mattresses, pillows. The frame, walls, bottom, joints, decorative elements, and skin folds should be carefully processed.
• Wardrobes, chests of drawers, bedside tables, chairs and tables. Internal and external walls, all drawers, back walls, door hinges. Books should also be processed.
• Skirting boards. All joints and seams on the floor covering must be processed. Skirting boards must be processed along their entire length.
• Walls. Paintings, wall clocks, and decorative details should be carefully processed. Check the walls for cracks.
• Appliances. Since bedbugs love darkness and warmth, they very often settle in system units, behind the back walls of refrigerators, washing machines, etc.

After treatment, the room must be left for several hours, windows and doors must be closed. Upon returning to the apartment, it is thoroughly ventilated and wet cleaning is carried out using a soap solution.

Cabinets, tables, chairs, floors, and other surfaces with which people and pets come into contact must be washed. All textiles must be washed and then ironed.

It should be remembered that chemical preparations do not affect egg laying, therefore, in order to avoid re-infection, re-treatment should be carried out after 10-15 days, which will destroy all new offspring.

Modern drugs

Nowadays there is a wide range of chemicals on sale that allow you to fight bedbugs.

Further in the table you can get acquainted with popular insecticides, their cost, effectiveness, toxicity level and choose the most suitable option.

You should always remember that the more effective the product, the more toxic it is, and therefore poses a danger to human and animal health. The use of drugs must be carried out strictly according to the instructions in compliance with all safety measures.

If it is not possible to carry out the processing yourself, you can contact specialized services that will quickly carry out all the work and with the most positive results.