Life Cycle

      Female bedbugs can lay up to five eggs in a day and 500 during a lifetime. Eggs hatch in 6-17 days, and nymphs can immediately begin to feed. The eggs are visible to the naked eye measuring 1 mm in length (approx. 2 grains of salt) and are a milky-white tone in color. Bed bugs can complete development in as little as a month, producing three or more generations per year. Nymphs can survive months without feeding and the adults for more than a year. Bed bugs molt five times before becoming adults and must feed between each molt. A temperature of 70°F is ideal for bed bugs. The adult's lifespan may encompass 12-24 months. Three or more generations can occur each year.

Identification

      Bed bugs are oval, flat, and wingless. Adults are 4-5mm in size and are reddish brown and darker after a blood meal. Newly hatched nymphs are nearly colorless, becoming brownish as they mature.

Clinical

      Skin reactions are commonly associated with bed bugs, resulting from the saliva injected during feeding. Reactions to the bites may be delayed up to 9 days before lesions appear. Common allergic reactions include the development of large wheals, often >1cm.  Wheals are often accompanied by itching and inflammation and usually subside to red spots that can last for several days. Bedbug bites are painless.

The mouthparts of bed bugs are especially adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Attracted by warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide, the bug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host.

Habits

      Bed bugs are fast moving insects that are nocturnal blood-feeders.

Bed bugs hide in and around the bed and other furniture people frequent. Bed bugs tend to stay in close contact with each other and heavy infestations are accompanied by a distinctive sweet sickly smell. Bed bugs can survive for long periods without feeding. While their preferred host is human, they will feed on wide variety of other warm-blooded animals including rodents, rabbits, bats, and even birds. Bed bug bites are normally two or three in a row and often deposit blood spots on sheets.

Treatment

      ENCON has a very thorough process for the elimination of bed bugs from your home. We use only approved products registered for Bed bugs and guarantee results.