Reno Homeowners' Ultimate Guide To Effective Bed Bug Control

After a long, tiring day, nothing feels quite as nice as climbing into your own comfortable bed. You can drift off to sleep and dream the night away, waking up refreshed and ready to take on the new day. However, imagine waking up and noticing that your arms have an uneven line of bug bites you didn't have the day before. Were they there the day before, and you just didn't notice them until now, or did they show up overnight? If they happened overnight, did a couple of hungry mosquitoes sneak into your room, or do you have a more invasive issue on your hands?

Wondering if you have bed bugs in your Reno home is not a fun thing to worry about. Everyone has heard about bed bugs, and most people know someone who has dealt with a bed bug infestation, but no one wants to be the one who finds them in their house. If it goes unnoticed for too long, a bed bug infestation can quickly become large, widespread, and difficult to handle.

If you have any reason to think that bed bugs are in your house, you shouldn't take any chances. Instead of waiting to take action and hoping you're wrong about bed bugs in your house, our ultimate guide to effective bed bug control will help you know what to look for and how to respond when you think bed bugs have gotten into your home. We also recommend that you contact Celtic Pest Control. We provide reliable and experienced pest control in Reno and know how to identify and eliminate bed bugs from your home.

How To Identify A Bed Bug

What do bed bugs look like? That is likely one of the first questions you'll ask yourself when you think you have bed bugs in your Reno house. If you don't know what bed bugs look like, you won't know if you've found one when you start looking for them.

The good news is that, contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are big enough to see with the naked eye. Although their eggs and nymphs are very small and have a translucent, milky color that can make them difficult to see, they are not microscopic. Furthermore, once bed bugs get past their first nymph stage, they become darker and progressively larger, which not only makes them easier to see but also makes them hard to miss if you're actively looking for them.

An adult bed bug is about the size of an apple seed and easily seen with the naked eye. When it hasn't fed, an adult bed bug has a flat, oval-shaped body that is dark brown. If you get close enough to get a good look at it, you'll see a small head, two antennae, and six legs. An adult bed bug that has recently fed will have a rounded, elongated body that is reddish brown.

Bed bugs go through five nymph stages before becoming adults. In the first nymph stage, they are more difficult to see because they are very small and have a milky to slightly yellowish color. By the time they reach the second nymph stage, they have developed their brown color and grown slightly larger. In each progressive stage of development, they have the same appearance but get bigger and bigger until they reach their full size as an adult.

If you think you have bed bugs in your house, you not only need to know what to look for but also where to look. Bed bugs are nocturnal, so you aren't likely to see them running around your house during the day. Even at night, they don't love being out in the open. Knowing how to check for bed bugs is important for early detection. While not an exhaustive list, some of the common places you might find bed bugs include:

In the space between your mattress and headboard and between your mattress and box spring.
In the seams of your mattress.
In your bed sheets.
Along the edges of the floor where the floor meets the walls.
Inside of electrical outlets.
In dresser drawers.
Behind picture frames hung on the walls.
In the seams of upholstered furniture.

If you think bed bugs have gotten into your Reno home, start your search in these areas.

Bed Bug Bites Are Usually The First Sign Of A Problem

You may wonder how you would even know to start looking for bed bugs in the first place. If they like to stay hidden, what are the early signs of bed bugs that would make you suspicious that they might be present in your house? It's important to know the common signs of a bed bug infestation because early detection makes it much easier to get rid of a bed bug problem. The longer bed bugs are allowed to remain in your house, the bigger the infestation will grow, both in the number of bed bugs and in the area it takes up in your house.

The first sign of a bed bug problem is usually discovering bed bug bites. Some people seem to be more bothered by bed bug bites than others, but if anyone in your house notices unexplained bug bites on their bodies, you should take a closer look. Bed bug bites do not usually occur as single bites. They often appear in uneven, zigzag lines or clusters on parts of your body that are exposed during the night. Bed bug bites will appear as red spots that can be flat or raised. Many people experience itching or irritation at the site of the bites.

Although bed bug bites are often the first noticeable sign of a bed bug infestation, they're not the only sign to look for. Bed bug bites are often accompanied by little red dots of blood on your sheets or blankets. Additionally, if you think you have a bed bug problem, you can look for the following signs of their presence:

Tannish-brown smears on your sheets or blankets.
Small areas of black fecal matter in any of the areas mentioned above where bed bugs might hide.
Translucent shed skins or egg casings.
Live bed bugs.
A musty smell, like wet towels that have been left out too long.

If you find any of the signs of a bed bug infestation, you'll want to take action right away. The faster you can treat a bed bug infestation, the easier it will be to get rid of every bed bug in your Reno home.

How Bed Bugs Find Their Way Into Our Homes

How do bed bugs spread? That is the million dollar question. Unfortunately, it's not the same as the way many other pests get into your house, so it's not as easy to prevent a bed bug infestation as it is to prevent other pest problems. Bed bugs move around by traveling on people's belongings and have become masters at the art of being silent stowaways.

Bed bugs can climb onto a shoe or pant leg or crawl into someone's bag without being noticed, then stay there for a ride to wherever that person happens to go. If the bed bug decides to climb off part way through its journey, it may end up in a store, on public transportation, in a restaurant, or in any area that person has visited, ready to climb onto another unsuspecting victim. If the bed bug decides to stay with the person for a while, it may end up climbing off once that person gets home. In that case, even if it's just one bed bug, there's a high likelihood that an infestation will develop.

How To Effectively Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

Getting rid of a bed bug infestation is best left to the professionals. Although you can find plenty of advice online and over-the-counter products for do-it-yourself treatments at the store, most of these "solutions" are either completely useless, only mildly effective, or in the worst case scenario, will actually make the problem worse. If you try a DIY treatment, you may find temporary relief. However, that may be because bed bugs have the unique ability to go without food for months at a time. If they sense danger, they will go deeper into hiding and wait for several months before coming out again to feed.

Your best bet when you have, or even think you might have, a bed bug infestation is to look for the best bed bug pest control near you. Professional bed bug control is available from Celtic Pest Control. We are experts in identifying and treating bed bugs using a variety of treatment methods that are highly effective. We will not only determine if bed bugs are active in your house but also identify where they are hiding so that we can provide you with the most effective treatment to fully eliminate your problem. For bed bug control in Reno, contact Celtic Pest Control today.

What Celtic Pest Control Customers Are Saying

"My overall experience with your company was very good. They were on time and professional. They did good work and answered all questions we had. From the first point of contact with your company, we have had a good experience. Great customer service. We will use them in the future and highly recommend them!"

★★★★★

Steven