Bed bug control

Bed bugs are everywhere. In fact, Antarctica is the only continent on the planet where these parasitic pests are not present. Insects of the Cimicidae family, bed bugs are small, brown-colored creatures that feast on blood. Warm-blooded mammals and humans are their absolute favorites.

The problem with bed bugs isn't that they can live for an extraordinarily long time, but that they are prolific breeders. Bed bugs lay eggs daily, and a single female bed bug will lay upwards of 540 eggs in her lifetime. It won't take long for an infestation to become severe once a bed bug population has infested a room.

If you think that you have a bed bug problem, contact the bed bug control and prevention experts at Ehrlich by calling 1-800-837-5520 or filling in our online form to schedule a FREE initial bed bug inspection.

Ehrlich offers home and business owners the most comprehensive bed bug detection, treatment, and prevention solutions. From visual inspections performed by certified bed bug control experts to specially trained bed bug dogs, Ehrlich utilizes a variety of environmentally friendly methods that will help track down bed bugs. Our bed bug treatment methods include:

• Conventional treatment
• Fumigation service
• Heat treatment
• Steam remediation
• Bed bug mattress covers
• Canine detection

We also offer year-round bed bug protection. Your specialist will find the source of the infestation and provide ways to eliminate the bed bugs. They will then work to keep them away all year long, providing peace of mind for you and your family.

Ehrlich provides bed bug inspections for both residential and commercial properties. We use multiple detection methods to ensure a comprehensive bed bug inspection.

• Visual bed bug inspection - Despite the fact that bed bugs are difficult to see with the naked eye, trained bed bug specialists can find evidence of bed bugs through experience, expertise, and by looking for signs such as:
• Bed bugs in the seams of the bed and upholstery
• Bed bugs in cracks and crevices, under the mattress and box springs
• Small droppings on sheets or surrounding walls which look like pepper and give off a noticeable smell
  
• Passive bed bug detection devices - Passive detector devices are set up in areas where bed bugs may be hiding. The term ‘passive’ refers to the fact that these devices do not attempt to attract bed bugs; rather, they are placed in locations such as under the legs of bed frames and upholstered furniture to intercept, capture, and kill bed bugs as they travel to sleeping and resting areas.
  
  
• Active bed bug detection devices - Unlike passive devices, active bed bug detection devices actively lure bed bugs using attractants such as carbon dioxide, heat, and other chemicals. They are placed in locations of suspected activity to entice bed bugs from hiding places and provide evidence of a bed bug infestation.
  
  
• Canine scent detection - A trained canine can detect the presence of bed bugs hidden in places that might be missed during a visual inspection. Due to dogs’ keen sense of smell, they can follow the odors given off by live bed bugs and viable eggs.

Here is what you can expect to take place for your scheduled bed bug inspection:

• Pre-inspection - Before your bed bug inspection, one of our licensed inspectors will discuss your concerns and provide a thorough description of what the inspection will involve.
• During the inspection - The inspector will examine the areas of suspected bed bug activity, most commonly in the seams of the mattress, bed, and upholstery. Using specialist tools, the inspector will look for signs of bed bugs such as excrement, fecal spots, eggshells, and shed skins.
• Post-inspection - When the bed bug inspection is complete, you will receive a report that describes the findings including whether or not bed bug activity was discovered, areas of concern, and damages made (if any). Recommendations and an estimate for treatment and follow-up will also be provided in the report to help you decide the best course of action.

The amount of time needed for the inspection will depend on the extent of the infestation and the cost can vary depending on the circumstances of your specific situation. Contact us today to set up a bed bug inspection appointment.

Bed bugs want two things: to hide and to feed on blood. A bed bug’s anatomy is designed to do these two things. Here are some things that bed bugs do to feed and hide.

• Bed bugs have piercing and sucking mouthparts, evident at all life stages. The mouth part is very long and lays beneath their body, tucked into a special opening when not in use. The bed bug untucks its mouth, finds a spot to feed, pierces the skin and looks for a blood vessel. When it finishes eating, it tucks its mouth back in and goes off to find a place to hide.
• A bed bug’s mouth parts are complicated. They have a part for sawing through the skin into a blood vessel and others for injecting an anesthetic and an anticoagulant so the victim does not feel the bite and the wound won’t clog to allow free blood flow into the bed bug.
• A bed bug prefers to find hiding places and hates being out in the open. They want to be undisturbed as they digest their blood meal.
• Bed bugs do not have to feed every night and can go several days between feedings. However, they do require a blood meal every time they advance into a new lifecycle and shed their skins.
• Bed bugs cannot jump and they do not fly, but they are very good at crawling and getting into small spaces. If you have even a tiny crack in the wood around your bed, such as in the headboard, you could have bed bugs.
• When the bed bug becomes engorged with blood it changes from the brownish color to a darker color since you can see the blood inside the insect as it digests. They also start out flat, but become more round the more blood they eat.

Ehrlich bed bug control experts know how to identify them at all stages and our heat treatments and other methods can eliminate them at all stages, too.

Bed bugs look different depending on their stage of life, but no matter what life stage the bed bug is in, they are tiny and difficult to spot. During their egg and early nymph stages, they are whitish or even translucent. When a bed bug has not eaten in a while it is flat and about the same size, shape, and even color as an apple seed.

Female bed bugs will lay up to five or six batches of 10-15 eggs per day. Bed bug eggs are roughly 1mm long and are pearly white in color. Eggs can often be found near where the adult and young bed bugs hide during the day.

After hatching, a bed bug goes through five nymph stages before reaching adulthood. They are very small and difficult to see during this time. During their first cycle, these nymphs are white-colored, but they get darker as they grow and consume blood meals. Before each life stage, the bed bug molts and leaves shed skins behind. Discarded bed bug skins are often one of the first signs of an infestation.

An adult bed bug is brown and flat in appearance (unless it is engorged with a blood meal) with a wide head and segmented body. They are about the size of an apple seed, 1/4 inch in width, and are typically reddish-brown in color, especially after feeding. Bed bugs do not fly, but they do crawl quickly and often latch onto suitcases or clothes. An adult bed bug can last as long as one year without a meal.

Bed bugs are a potentially serious pest for people, but they can be confused for other insects. In order to provide the right and most effective treatments, bed bugs must be correctly identified and found. If one batch of bed bugs is missed, a whole new infestation can occur. Ehrlich specialists have received specialized training to properly identify bed bugs in all life stages.

If you even suspect that you might have bed bugs in your home, don't waste another minute. Contact us today for a free bed bug inspection.