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Getting Rid Of Bed Bugs-How To Kill Bed Bugs
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Adult Male Bed Bug Click on image to enlarge | 
Adult Female Bed Bug Click on image to enlarge |
Bed Bug Nymph Click on image to enlarge |
The common bed bug is visible to the naked eye. Adult bed bugs are brown to reddish-brown, oval-shaped, flattened, and about 1/4 to 5/8 inch long. Their flat shape enables them to readily hide in cracks and crevices. After a blood meal, the body elongates and becomes swollen. Eggs are not known to be placed on the host's body but are found on surfaces near where the host sleeps.
Bed bugs have a beak- like piercing , sucking mouthparts. The adults have small, stubby, nonfunctional wing pads. Newly hatched nymphs are nearly colorless, becoming brownish as they mature. Nymphs have the general appearance of adults. Eggs are white and about 1/32 inch long.
Look in any place that offers darkness, isolation and protection. These bugs will often wander. Inspect adjoining rooms where an infestation is found. Even when the bed bugs themselves cannot be found, their hiding places can be located by looking for the spots of fecal material they often leave in easily visible places.
Fecal spots and the bloody spots(looks like rust) left on sheets and pillowcases when engorged bugs are crushed serve as sure signs of infestation. Adult bed bugs are about 1/4-inch long and reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. Bed bugs prefer to hide in cracks and crevices during the daytime and come out to feed on the host's blood at night, usually while the host is sleeping. Because they can flatten their bodies, they can fit in very small crevices, specially around the bed area. They are found in habitual hiding places, preferably close to a blood meal. Even though the their preference is to be close they will travel several feet However if necessary, they will crawl several feet to obtain a blood meal. Initial infestations tend to be around beds, but the bugs eventually may become scattered throughout a room, occupying any crevice or protected location. They also can spread to adjacent rooms or apartments.
Look for areas close by where the bed bugs are biting. Main areas of inspection are cracks and crevices in head and foot boards and attached side railings and supports. Look for any cracks or crevices where bed bugs may crawl into to hide. If the top of the mattress has any rips , the bed bugs may hide there as well. Look also in your bed springs, both top and bottom for any rips that might shelter these bugs.
Inspection Check List:
We recommend use of spray insecticides and dusts for bedbug treatment. It is important to use a residual insecticide. The residual stays for a length of time.
You can get these at discounted rates in be form of kits at Bed Bug Kits
.
Cyonara
9.7
Usage : Mix 12 ml.(measurements on the bottle)of
Cyonara 9.7 with one gallon of water(Remember to use what you
mix-within 24 hours.) Adjust the spray pattern to a mist by
turning the nozzle. A fine mist is best for most spraying,
but you may need to use a stream to get into some cracks and
crevices. Spray around and under the bed and along the baseboards
near the bed. After removing the drawers from the furniture,
the inside of the cabinetry should be sprayed as well as the
bottom and sides of the drawers. Do not treat the inside of
the drawers. If needed the clothes in the drawers should be
removed and laundered. Apply as a coarse, low-pressure spray to harborage areas including crevices, baseboards, loose plaster, behind bed frames and headboards, beneath beds and furniture, and to bedsprings and bed frames. Do not apply to furniture surfaces or mattresses where people will be laying or sitting. Infested bedding should not be treated, but should be removed, placed in sealed plastic bags, and taken for laundering and drying at high temperatures.
Bedlam Insecticide AerosolThis residual aerosol is ready to use, and you
don't have to mix it. Spray in the same areas you would use the Cyonara 9.7
Phantom Aerosol
A non repellent residual aerosol . A non repellent means that the bed bugs don't know that it is there, so they can't avoid it. To be used as spot or crack and crevice treatment only and may be used on mattresses..
Eco PCO D-X Dust or EcoExempt D Dust
are a ready to use
dusts that are ideal for use on the mattress and box springs. Both ECO products are versatile, minimum risk product and are USDA and NOP
(National Organic Program) compliant.
Delta Dust has
a label to dust the mattress, but must be vacuumed up before sleeping
on it according to label directions, so you would be vacuuming up
all the residual dust.
A preferred dust for mattresses would be the Eco PCO D-X Dust or EcoExempt D Dusts , which may be left on the mattress.
Fill the bulb duster about half full and use it with the rubber stopper facing down. Shaking first and then squeezing the duster will produce a fine dust that resembles smoke. This is just what you want for dusting the mattress with Eco PCO D-X Dust or EcoExempt D Dusts. Pay particular attention to seams, folds, and stapled fabric under the box springs. The joints where the rails and headboard connect are also prime hiding areas for bed bugs. You may need to remove the fabric under the box springs to access the inner springs. Cover the mattress with a sheet and it is safe to sleep on.
Next dust behind pictures and wall hangings as well as switch plate and outlet covers. Look for any cracks or crevices in which bed bugs could hide and treat them. You may use either Delta Dust orEco PCO D-X Dust or EcoExempt D Dusts for application outside of beds.
Use a Bellows
8 Oz. Duster to really get into the cracks and crevices with the
Eco PCO D-X Dust or EcoExempt D Dusts Another tool used for dusting would
be a small paint brush. Put a small amount of dust on the tip of
the brush, brushing into cracks and crevices.Direct residual sprays or dusts such as Cyonara 9.7 , Bedlam Insecticide Aerosol or Eco PCO D-X Dust or EcoExempt D Dusts into areas where the bed bugs hide during the day.
Broad surface bedbug treatments should be kept to a minimum if they are
used at all; bed bugs are most likely to get lethal doses in
cracks and crevices.
A re treatment is advisable after 10-14 days
Remember to read and follow all label instructions
Non Residual Insecticide Treatment Usage(May be used daily):
EcoPco ACU is a minimum-risk contact aerosol.The new active ingredients, trademarked as Hexa-Hydroxyl, are based on distinct combinations of different plant essential oils that significantly enhance the activity of these oils against insects.
This Insect Growth Regulator prevents bed bugs from being able to reproduce, effectively stopping the breeding cycle of an infestation. Gentrol comes in a small brown bottle (1 oz.). Application: Mix one bottle(1 oz.) with one gallon of water. May be mixed together with the Cyonara 9.7 for your spraying solution. Do Not apply Gentrol IGR to bed linens or mattresses. Bedbug Diet Although the preferred host is human host, it will feed on other animals,
such as poultry, mice, rats, canaries, dogs, and cats if necessary. They
normally feed at night, but may feed in the daylight in rooms that are not
used at night. Bed Bugs Life Cycle The life cycle stages of a bed bug are egg, nymph, and
adult. Bed bug females lay about 200 eggs, usually at the rate
of three or four a day, in cracks and crevices in the floor or bed. Eggs
are placed in cracks, crevices and other isolated and protected shelters.
Females lay eggs after a blood meal. Eggs will hatch in one or two weeks
into Nymphs. Newly hatched bugs(Nymphs) begin feeding immediately. At
room temperature, and with an available food supply, the nymphal period
will last 14 to 30 days. They shed their skin (Instar)five times before
becoming adults. Bed bugs will mate soon after becoming mature, so the
time from egg hatch to egg laying will be 4 to 9 weeks, under favorable
conditions. Bed bugs hide in cracks and crevices during daylight hours. They hide in the folds and tufts of mattresses, coils of springs, cracks
and hollow posts of bed stands bed rails and headboards. They may be found
in box springs, inside the cabinetry of furniture and the bottom and sides
of drawers. They also can be found behind loose wallpaper, behind pictures on the
walls, under door and window casings, and behind baseboards. They also hide in upholstery of chairs and sofas. They are not restricted to these places, however. Bed bugs are not usually considered to be disease carriers. They do suck blood from their host with piercing mouth parts but the bite
is painless. The skin may become irritated or inflamed due to the salivary fluid
injected by the bed bugs .A small, hard, swollen, white welt may develop
at the site of each bite. It is important to recognize that not all bites
or bite-like reactions are due to bed bugs. Bed bugs or their signs will
be present if it is a bed bug bite.
Bed bugs do not live under the skin. If you experience biting
sensations during the day, it may be an allergy related condition.
(Other possible sources of irritation are discussed in University of Kentucky
entomology fact sheet Invisible
Itches: Insect and Non-Insect Causes). It’s important to inspect used furniture, particularly bed frames and mattresses before bringing it into the home. Mattresses, in particular, carry the greatest risk of harboring Bed Bugs and their eggs. You should be wary of acquiring used furnishings, especially beds and couches. A practice that we have incorporated in our traveling is to inspect for bed bugs in hotel rooms. If possible, carry a flashlight with you and inspect the bed area completely as described above. Also, you may want to inspect or vacuum luggage when you arrive home to prevent any transference. A second common source for bedbug infestation occurs in homes where
bats, swallows, chimney swifts, pigeons, or other wild hosts have been
roosting. Although similar in appearance, these bedbug species that
normally feed on bats and birds can be differentiated from the Common
A thorough insecticide bedbug treatment with a residual spray such as
Another group of bugs resembling the bed
bug infest birds. These bugs are usually confined to bird nests.
To control these parasites, the birds and their nests must be removed,
and an application of with a residual spray such as 
EcoPco ACU Contact Insecticide is a contact
kill insecticide that will not leave any residue to continue
to kill. It should be used to kill any bed bugs that are seen after treating
with the residual chemicals listed above. This will keep you from having
to mix chemicals each time you do see a bed bug.
A contact insecticide in an easy-to-use aerosol formulation offering quick knockdown and excellent flushing action. The product features a fresh scent, leaves a fast drying residue, contains no CFCs and is effective against a wide range of pests. EcoPCO AC can be used for crack and crevice treatments, , general surface applications, and wood injection treatments for drywood termites. The active ingredient is a blend of EcoSMART Botanicals, and is safe to use around children and pets. GentrolIGR
Bed Bugs Life Cycle Diagram
Click on image to enlarge Bedbug Habits
What do bed bug bites look like and do they carry disease?
Click on image to enlarge
Preventing Bed Bug Infestations
The bat bedbug can and often feeds on humans. The bat bedbug has long hairs
on it's body. Eliminate their bat hosts from the building and seal all
openings so that bats cannot enter. Cyonara 9.7
should be applied to the area.
Most likely, you will need to treat 3-4 times in a space of a couple months,
as you cut the cycle.
Cyonara 9.7 should be applied to the area.
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