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If you are experiencing a bed bug infestation at home, some questions that may come to mind are… ‘Where do bed bugs come from in the first place?’ , "How did I get bed bugs?", or "What's causing bed bugs in my home?"
Firstly, we should start knowing a little bit more about bed bugs to get around answering your question. Bed bugs are biting pests and they suck human blood (would prefer to) by locating its prey through heat. Our warm bodies are perfect targets for them.
Bed bugs are also flat and tiny, they are able to hide and crawl away at an average speed of 1 meter per minute. Hiding carefully in tiny cracks and crevices is definitely one of their advantages in making them difficult to find and be spotted easily.
So, how do you get bed bugs into your home? Bed bugs are perfect hitchhikers and are caused by cross-infestations. This means that if you happen to go somewhere with bed bugs, they can latch onto you and start an infestation when they feed and reproduce once you reach home
Where Do Be Bugs Come From?
If you travel frequently, there is a higher chance of you bringing bed bugs home. Bed bugs can be found in lodging and in many forms of transportation such as taxis and airplanes. You risk cross infestation when bed bugs latch onto your clothing or luggage that you bring back home. As a result, frequent travel is one of the biggest causes of bed bugs coming into your homes.
A full house theatre at the cinema means hot seats everywhere. The warmth would have attracted these bed bugs to come and bite you should there be some hiding and breeding somewhere. Even possible, you bring home one or two of them which are stuck on your clothing.
The last place that you would expect to get bed bugs are the sofas found in lounge areas. Important! Bed bugs prefer fabric materials over cold metallic surfaces and they even have their own preferred colours. Bed bugs prefer colours such as dark red and black. This explains why sofas with fabric material are definitely bed bug hotspots and with these comfy sofas usually placed at lounge areas, a relaxing place would be the last on your mind you would be on alert.
For bed bugs to appear in the first place, someone in the house may have had contact with places which are already infested, either knowingly or unknowingly. For example, house visits to a friend’s place and working in infested office spaces.
If you face an infestation at home, bed bug control specialists have the expertise to understand pest behavior, determine the cause of bed bugs, and apply the right treatment methods to eradicate them effectively. The bed bug life cycle is well considered and their favorite hiding hotspots are professionally identified by pest control experts. This is critical because treatments are designed to eradicate bed bugs at all life stages including the eggs and adult bugs, and because they are efficient in their hiding capabilities, identifying key risk areas can heighten bed bug control efficacy.
Vintage furniture is a popular décor idea for new homes; they are novel and gives off the nostalgic feel at the same time. Unfortunately, they may be one of the reasons why you have bed bugs in your home.
Many of them whom bring home 2nd hand furniture and fixtures also unknowingly bring back bed bugs which may be breeding and harboring in these pieces. It may come to a late realization for many home owners who discover much later the cause of their bed bug infestation.
So now that you have understood better on what causes bed bugs, where do they come from, and how do you get them, read more on How to get rid of bed bugs fast in the next blog post; another one of the most frequently asked questions concerning bed bugs.
There are numerous products and methods to get rid of bed bugs. However, it is best to engage a professional team to advise the best control approach required. If a bed bug infestation has already set in, it is recommended to appoint a pest control specialist immediately. For more information on bed bug control, speak with our expert at (65) 6347 8138.