Whether a pest problem is harmful to your health or just tough to get rid of, no homeowner wants to have to deal with a nasty infestation. Unfortunately, bed bugs have both of these traits. Not only are they quite easy to get and tough to eliminate, but these parasitic pests can also cause direct physical harm. Only by learning everything you can about bed bugs can you hope to avoid them or act decisively to eliminate them.

An Overview Of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are tiny, parasitic insects. While they are tiny, bed bugs are just big enough to see with your bare eye. They are a little smaller than an apple seed and tend to be reddish-brown in color. While they are known to infest bedding and furniture, bed bugs are actually quite good at getting around. They don’t move very far, mind you. Instead, they cling to skin, hair, and clothing to hitch rides from one safe space to the next, all while waiting for the right time to feed. It’s this behavior as blood-sucking hitchhikers that makes bed bugs so easy to spread and so difficult to eradicate completely.

Health Concerns Posed By Bed Bugs

You’re not likely to spot bed bugs in your home until they’ve turned your skin into a pincushion. Bed bugs, as parasitic pests, are known to cause all of the following health concerns:

Bites: While bed bugs aren’t known to transmit diseases via their bites (unlike most parasites), the itchy welts that they cause are certainly not pleasant. The small, pox-like marks are typically found in lines or clusters.
Infection: As people and pets scratch and itch at the bites, they increase the likelihood of an infection.
Insomnia: The unpleasant itchiness or psychological trauma of knowing that bed bugs are in your home is enough to make even sound-sleepers lose some shut-eye.
Anemia: Repeated and persistent biting by bed bugs can result in low blood count or anemia.

The Biggest Problem With Bed Bugs

While the health risks they pose are bad enough, we haven’t even gotten into why they are really such nightmare pests: you cannot get rid of them alone. Bed bugs breed incredibly quickly and are good at hiding from sight. They are most active at night when they feed, meaning they are typically lounging around in dark, hard-to-reach corners of your home. Even if you manage to spot a bed bug population, over-the-counter or homemade concoctions aren’t guaranteed to work. They may kill a few adult bugs, but they will do little to address the unhatched eggs hidden elsewhere. A population can come right back if you’re not careful, hunkering down to survive further attempts. That’s why only professionals can truly address a bed bug infestation, so it’s important not to waste time with ineffective and potentially dangerous methods.

Choose The Right Way First

To truly rest easy knowing your home isn’t infested with bed bugs, you need to turn to the proven methods of experts. At 1st Response Pest Management, our trained technicians know all the spots to inspect and treat your property to protect it from bed bugs. If a population is already there, we’ll work quickly to eliminate them and ensure they don’t come right back. Call or visit us online to get started on an inspection of your home today. Not only can we help determine your risk of an infestation, but it’s also important to act on bed bug prevention before they become a problem.

Don’t let bed bugs infest your home and cause itchy bites, turn to 1st Response Pest Management for total protection.