JtS - thanks for the vid, that is helpful (and disgusting!)
Forgot to mention something important if you are looking to see if you have bed bugs (see below) - so to post below wanted to add:
Quote:
Originally Posted by SalmanRushdieFTW
For an in-home search (not sure if you're asking but I started to type this up so I'll finish): one of the most difficult things around the bed bug issue, is determining whether or not you actually have the damn things!
Hm - ok let me think how I would do this - well first, if you suspect you have bed bugs, you will very likely not see a bed bug at the beginning of an infestation (they are tiny, great hiders, and noctural, so by the time you get up they are hidden in your wall, your bed frame, whatever).
So, you must be bitten. If you are one of the 50% of the population that reacts, you will get a bite that closely resembles a flea bite (people of course have different reactions, some get huge welts, but I'm talking on average here). A tell-tale bed bug bite pattern is what is referred to as "Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner" - the bed bug takes one bite, sort of shuffles along in a straight line a bit takes another bite, then a third - so 3 raised welts in a row is a good indication.
If you notice bites - now personally, I wouldn't do a search myself as it wouldn't yield much. In fact, if you move alot of stuff around, the bed bug can get woken up and just hide somewhere even more remote (like move from your bedframe to the walls).
In fact - this is why bed bug experts will not recommend you do your own self-extermination - you will do a ****ty job, and the chemicals you spray around (like a bug bomb) will serve only to drive the bed bugs into deeper hiding places like your walls, making them more difficult to eventually eradicate.
I would call a NESDCA accredited bed bug dog and professional to verify the presence of bed bugs in my home.
http://www.nesdca.com/index.php?opti...eams&Itemid=19
If you don't have one in you're area, I don't know what I'd do. Probably search around for the best bed bug exterminator in my area, and have him at it.
For home inspection (and also in hotels as noted in the vid) forgot to mention that although it is very difficult to find a live, crawling bed bug during the daytime (if you are looking to confirm whether or not they are present) - there are some tell-tale signs of bed buggery.
One is bed bug excrement - I guess they **** right after they eat for the most part (or near where they are hiding) - it is a small, ink-like black splotch/circle aka your blood in bed bug poop form. You can find these stains on headboards on beds, on lighter colored wood frames on the legs or sides, and on the mattress itself (under the sheets).
Another is the moltings of the bed bug exoskeleton - they go through several moltings in the nymph stage before becoming adults. They are translucent and in a sort of insect-like shape.
I would still not recommend (based on what I know) doing an inspection myself - but a trained bed bug exterminator will know to look for those 2 signs - and may even use them to verify the presence of bed bugs (though ideally he would find an actual egg or bed bug).
Last edited by SalmanRushdieFTW; 07-26-2011 at 07:43 PM.