Where Do Bedbugs Hide
One question I get a lot during a bedbugs treatment is; “where do bedbugs hide” the short answer to that is everywhere.
But first I’ll let you know who I am, I’m Jason the owner of Sunnystate Pest Control and I’ve been dealing with bedbugs now for about 20 years.
I do a few bed bug treatments every week here in Brisbane Australia, I hear you say “every week” yes that’s right bed bugs are everywhere.
Hotels, motels, hostels and even our own homes are all places where we’ll find them. Here in Brisbane even the trains, ships and commercial planes are inspected regularly.
Bedbugs are transported around the world by people on planes and ships so they need regular inspections carried out. You can see where I’m going with this right, bedbugs can be found pretty much anywhere especially luggage.
Where Bedbugs Hide in Rooms:
So the obvious place to look is the bed as this is where the host sleeps, the host is whomever the bug decides to feed on. But during the day they like to hide in tight hard to reach places out of the way to help prevent detection.
Bed bugs hide in bed legs and under the pleats of mattress edges, these are very common areas where they like to harbour.
They have also been found on the hinges of fridge doors and around the rubber seals. This is common when populations are large as they will be pushed out to other areas and rooms.
They also hide in behind the skirting boards of a room and under the carpet edges even in behind peeling paint on walls. Another favoured place is in behind headboards, in this case, the headboard will need to be removed for treatment.
Light switches, telephones, even alarm clocks are all harbouring places, all of these items need to be properly inspected. Draws, wardrobes and all cracks and crevices need a thorough inspection and treatment. The initial inspection is one of the most important aspects of successful treatments.
If a proper inspection of the rooms that are affected isn’t done the treatment most likely won’t work. There is nowhere that can be left untreated when dealing with these bloodthirsty insects.
Adult bedbugs on a Bed Frame
Where Bedbugs Eggs Are Hidden:
Bed bug eggs are white in colour and look like small grains of rice, and they are cemented into place in clusters of ten or more.
Their eggs can be found together with the adults and the nymphs where they are cemented to the surface. Nymphs are the baby bedbugs and they go through about five moults before they become an adult. Eggs can also be found cemented in the top of screw heads in a bed frame. Again this is why the emphasis on the inspection is so important.
There can’t be any place in the room overlooked or it can lead to a failed treatment. I always emphasize the importance of the inspection to my customers this can take the best part of an hour to complete.
Bedbugs Eggs Clustered Around a Staple
A Cheap Bedbugs Treatment:
Unfortunately, a cheap bedbugs treatment just isn’t going to work, some pest controllers will just come in and do a quick spray of the room, this just won’t be effective.
The treatments take time and patience to complete and then there will have to be scheduled follow-up visits. With any bedbug’s treatment follow-up visits to inspect the room and maybe even do a second or third treatment are essential.
The initial treatment for bedbugs will usually take somewhere between 3-4 hours to complete, this would be for a room of about 23sqm.
As I keep on saying everything needs to be looked at and inspected and then treated. During the treatment draws will be emptied and taken out for treatment. Light switch covers will be removed and inspected.
Bed legs are removed and inspected and then treated with an appropriate insecticide. Any clothing or linen left in the room will have to be bagged and sent away for cleaning.
All of these things take time to complete and this is one reason why bedbug treatments are costly for the owner.
Hotels with Bedbugs:
When customers come in contact with a bedbug’s problem in a hotel they have stayed in, they instantly think the hotel is to blame. In most cases this is not the case, most of the time it comes down to bad luck.
Hotels do need to maintain a good standard of cleanliness to help prevent bedbugs, but this won’t stop them completely. Regular cleaning and vacuuming will help to bring a problem to light faster. Where cleanliness is neglected a bedbug problem can easily turn into a serious infestation within a few weeks.
The hotel owners and managers have no way of telling who is carrying bedbugs on them at the time of check-in. There are no preventative measures that hoteliers can take to help prevent bedbugs, apart from regular inspections and cleaning of rooms.
Unfortunately, bedbugs are here to stay and they just need to be treated when they show up. The cleaners need to be aware of bedbugs and know what to look for. Most hotel cleaning staff will have had some sort of training in the identification of them.
Conclusion:
The one thing to understand from this is you will not get rid of bed bugs on your own or with a quick spray of a room. The treatment needs to be intense and also include proper bedbug’s mattress protectors.
These pests need to be treated by a trained professional from a fully licensed pest control company.
As mentioned earlier I have been treating bedbugs for many years and am classed as an expert in dealing with them. If you have any questions about these little pests please don’t hesitate to call us.
The faster they are treated the less likely it is to turn into a full-blown infestation.
