Bed bugs are stealthy feeders which is why you will hardly catch them in the act. They come out to feed between 1 am and 5 am when you are sound asleep and inject an anesthetic to avoid detection. They rarely feed for more than 10 minutes at a time and rush off to their hiding spots as soon as they’re fed.
Consider also that most people don’t develop any reaction to bed bug bites and it means you will have to rely on other signs to conclusively determine that you have bed bugs. Hire a bed bug exterminator Toronto to remove bed bugs permanently. The exterminator will also work out and solve the issue of why and how the bed bugs got in your home in the first place.
Identifying Bed Bug Droppings
Stealthy as they are, bed bugs almost always leave clues of their presence in the form of feces. The bed bugs poop the partially digested blood on their way to their hideouts, leaving behind clusters of tiny spots on your sheets or mattress and this is a very common sign of bed bug infestation. The feces appear a red colour when wet but dry quickly into a rust-coloured, dark or black speck.
The feces aren’t in a flake form that you can brush off or vacuum but rather soak into the material. It looks like someone made a cluster of dots with a fine felt-tip pen or marker. A good way to confirm what you are looking at is indeed bed bug feces is to wet tissue and lightly blot the stain. You should see a reddish ring forming on the wet tissue.
Some of the places you are most likely to find bed bug feces include in the mattress creases, under the sheets, behind the headboard, on the carpet and along the edge of the wall. Inspect your room thoroughly for bed bug feces if you suspect that you have an infestation.
Watch out for bed bug feces in other places including on second-hand furniture and hotel rooms.
Cleaning Bed Bug Feces
It may be relieving (no pun intended) to hear that bed bug feces do not spread diseases or parasites. You mainly have to deal with the unsightly stains and the sweet, musty smell often compared with coriander.
You, of course, have to get rid of the infestation to get rid of the feces otherwise they will simply keep coming back after cleaning. If you are already working on the extermination or have successfully eliminated the pest, cleaning after the critters shouldn’t be too difficult.
Clean your clothing in your washer and dryer preferably with bleach or other stain-removing detergents or agents. If you suspect you have bed bugs in your clothing, wash in the machine at the highest heat setting that your fabric allows for at least 20 minutes and repeat with the dryer. Aim for at least 118 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 20 minutes to be on the safe side.
Cleaning other areas like the carpet, walls and mattress and walls will require elbow grease. A mixture of soap and cold water and a good scrub should remove the stains. You may use a steamer for stubborn stains and also kill any bed bug eggs that may be in the fibres.
Hire an Exterminator to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
DIY extermination has a high failure rate for a number of reasons. For one, the strong active ingredients required to successfully exterminate bed bugs are only available to licensed professionals. Bed bugs are immune to most over-the-counter pesticides and chemicals.
These pests are also the size of an apple seed so it is highly unlikely that you can find and treat all their hiding places. Bed bugs must be treated directly and this process is often tedious and painstaking requiring constant monitoring and additional treatments before your home can be declared bed bug free.
If you are experiencing bites or any signs of bed bugs, it is a good idea to call Pest Control Toronto for a thorough inspection and treatment of the pests. If you have any questions about bed bugs, please give us a call.
