The plague of bed bugs was first noticed and reported around 2004, it did not make national news until 2010 when it often seemed that every sighting was being reported as it became clear that they were showing up everywhere.
In 2013, the National Pest Management Association confirmed that 98 percent of pest management professionals had encountered a bed bug infestation that year in an apartment or condominium, an increase from 90 percent in 2011.
Entomologist Dini Miller, PhD, at Virginia Tech noted that “Bed bugs have been a hot topic in the news during the past several years”, but regretted that “people have become desensitized to the issue, leading them to believe the risk has decreased, but the issue is actually greater than before.”
There’s one thing on which top entomologists agree: The current bed bug infestation has not yet reached its peak in the U.S, according to Bed Bug Central.
Most of the experts also predicted a continued increase in bed bug colonies outside the home, in places like hotels, libraries and office buildings because people often don’t know they have bed bugs in their homes and unknowingly transport the pests into public spaces. According to Jeff White, technical director at BedBug Central, all public places need to have specific policies in place that outline how to monitor for and address the bed bug issue because of the potential risk to the business or organization.
Bed bugs get their name from their favorite place to hide out, a mattress, box spring, and bed frame. They can be found in any dark, warm place in a home, apartment, or workplace. Since bed bugs can not be exterminated with over the counter products, a professional pest management firm is required to effectively get rid of bed bugs.
Bed bugs can live for more than a year without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures from nearly freezing to almost 113 degrees Fahrenheit. This increases the difficulty of eliminating them.
Female bedbugs lay from 200 to 500 eggs, attaching them with a glue-like substance. They hatch in about ten days. Though they do not grow larger than a small seed, they go through five nymph stages, each of which requires a single blood meal before molting. They can suck up to six times their weight and feeding takes from three to ten minutes. Bedbugs produce three to four generations within a year’s time.
Thomas Pest Services is proud to be the only full service pest management firm in the Albany NY area offering bed bug heat treatments. Electric bed bug heaters are placed within an infested room or structure to raise the temperature to a legal temperature of 130°F. High temperature fans move heat throughout rooms to access cracks and crevices and other highly populated bed bug areas. Thomas Pest Services is your local bed bug exterminator who provides the most comprehensive and up to date bed bug treatments. At the first signs of bed bugs, contact Thomas Pest Services right away for a free bed bug consultation or call us at 1.877.518.2847.