Enjoying a peaceful night’s sleep with no concerns is a luxury that should be accessible to everyone. Unfortunately, the tranquility of our nights can often be disrupted by unsettling thoughts. Yet, there are even more alarming concerns, such as bed bugs stealthily infiltrating your bed and feasting on your blood as you slumber. These nocturnal nuisances may not pose the same health risks as some other pests, but they undeniably fall within the realm of pest control nightmares.
Bed Bugs Are Tricky
Identifying bed bugs can be an arduous task, as they are minuscule in size and share numerous characteristics with various other insects. This often leads homeowners grappling with pest control issues to inadvertently employ ineffective prevention methods, having mistakenly identified these troublesome pests as fleas, mites, or even ticks.
To safeguard your Baton Rouge residence from the perils of bed bugs, gaining a precise understanding of your adversary is paramount. Adding to the challenge is the fact that bed bugs undergo distinct transformations in appearance depending on their feeding status. When they have recently fed, their appearance differs significantly from when they have empty stomachs, and this discrepancy further complicates their identification. Additionally, in their juvenile stages, bed bugs exhibit distinct traits, contributing to the prevalent confusion in correctly identifying them during pest control efforts.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Shaped like an apple seed, adult bed bugs are approximately 1/4 of an inch long and are a reddish-brown color. The main problem with identifying bed bugs in Baton Rouge comes from the fact that their eggs and babies are much smaller than the adults. The eggs are about the same color as mahogany, but they are smaller than 1/20 of an inch long, and when they hatch, the nymphs can range from 1/20 of an inch to a little less than 1/4 of an inch in length.
It is this broad range of sizes, colors, and shapes that makes finding and identifying these pests so difficult. Bed bugs can hide in plain sight, but they can sometimes look like dust or crumbs. Another thing that makes it harder to find bed bugs is that they are often in your home’s unseen parts such as in your mattress, behind your headboard, or in the cracks of your furniture. More often than not, before you find the bed bugs in your home, you will come across the signs that they are there.
Finding Signs Of Bed Bugs
One of the most prominent signs of a bed bug infestation in your home will be staining. Before you find the bug or the eggshells, you will probably find stains in your bed from when they were feeding. Their excrement will also leave stains for you to see. Another sign of bed bugs is the red and itchy rashes they can leave on their victims. If enough bed bugs are in your home, you may also begin to notice a musty odor.
The most common places where you can find the bug, droppings, and eggshells are closer than you think. To find them, you need to look:
- Under your sheets
- In the cracks and recesses of your furniture
- Behind couches and other big furniture
- On your clothes and suitcases after traveling
- In the gaps in your floor
You might only think to look for these insects in and around your bed with them being named bed bugs, but be sure to look all around your home. More than the places you sleep, bed bugs can be found everywhere. When you do find signs of a bed bug infestation, be sure to reach out to a pest control expert for professional bed bug control in Baton Rouge as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the problem may get even worse.
Getting Professional Assistance With Bed Bug Removal
If you do find signs of bed bugs, don’t hesitate to call the Baton Rouge-area pest control professionals at DAT Exterminating right away. We can inspect your Baton Rouge home with a professional eye, find everywhere that bed bugs are present, and give you back your peace of mind. We use a liquid treatment on all furniture, floors, and bed frames. We will even get inside your walls to get bed bugs where they hide away.
To learn more about our pest control treatments for bed bugs and other common local pests, get in contact with the DAT Exterminating team today. You can count on DAT Exterminating to get it done!
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Family-owned and operated since 2018, DAT Exterminating has over ten years of experience in the pest control industry. Our highly trained and knowledgeable technicians use the most advanced techniques to eliminate your pest issues effectively and efficiently. Providing residential and commercial pest control in Hammond and throughout several Louisiana parishes, including East Baton Rouge Parish.
