How to independently find a nest of bugs in the apartment

For several decades, people believed that they got rid of bed bugs. But in recent years, there has been a surge in the growth in the number of blood-sucking insects and the question of how to detect bugs in an apartment has become relevant again.

What does a bug look like?

Before proceeding with the search for habitats of blood-sucking insects, it is worth studying its appearance. Adult hungry individuals have a flattened wingless body from 3 to 4 mm. When full, it can increase to 8 mm. The color of the insect also depends on the degree of satiety and varies from light brown to dark brown. The bed parasite feeds once every 7-10 days. In the absence of food, it can fall into a state of suspended animation and remain in it for up to a year. Bed bugs up to 1.5 years.

The female lays eggs with enviable regularity. Oviposites are usually located in hard-to-reach spots in the apartment. Bedbug eggs they look like rice in appearance, they only have a smaller size, not more than 1 mm. You can only see them with a magnifier. The flocked eggs can be light in color, almost transparent or yellowish. The outer shell is very strong and contains a sticky substance, thanks to which the egg can be attached to any surface, whether it is vertical, horizontal or curved. In one egg-laying usually from 5 to 12 eggs. In order to ensure the survival of their offspring, the female bug places the eggs in different places. In the stage of the egg, the insect dwells under favorable conditions for 5 days, with unfavorable 25 days.

Hatch from eggs larva, which entomologists call a nymph. Its dimensions depend on age and range from 0.5 mm to 2 mm. The shape of the body is the same as that of adult bed bugs, only transparent. The photo shows the contents of the stomach of the larva. As they grow older, the nymph molts - discards the carapace, which becomes small for her. Over the entire period, the larva molts 5 times. The development of a nymph to a full-fledged adult lasts 25 to 40 days.

Parasites feed at night, they spend the rest of the time in shelters.

On a note!

Bedbug nests are a chaotic accumulation of eggs, chitinous shells that leave nymphs, miniature bowel movements with a specific cognac smell, larvae and bugs themselves.

Signs of bed bugs

Bed bugs in the apartment for a long time do not give out their presence, which prevents them from being found at an early stage of infection. You can find annoying guests by the following characteristic features:

1. Specific bites are a clear sign of infection of the apartment with parasites. For bedbugs a linear arrangement of punctures on the body is characteristic - paths, each of which has from 3 to 6 wounds. The bite site is a red spot resembling a blister, with signs of swelling and a lump in the center. With a thorough examination in the middle of the wound, the puncture itself is visible.
2. A well-fed domestic parasite is very vulnerable to mechanical stress, so it is easy to crush.This usually happens by accident and in the morning on the bed you can find dark brown spots.
3. Vital products - litter, are dark in color and look like miniature poppy seeds, you can find them on the bed, wallpaper, in the habitats of bugs. Chitinous shells, which the larva dumps, can be found in any place in the apartment where the insect moved.
4. For apartments in which bedbugs are firmly established, inherent specific odor. Some endow it with the aroma of cognac, others feel notes of fermented raspberry in it.
5. If you suspect the presence of blood-sucking insects, you should use a simple method. Set an alarm at 3-4 a.m., immediately turn on the light after the signal and remove the blanket. With a high degree of probability, several individuals will sit on the body and bed. If the bugs have not yet had time to breed in large numbers, repeat the process of detecting parasites the next night to detect them. To simplify the "hunt" for parasites is a popular way. Tape the bed around the entire perimeter with adhesive tape and check the adhering insects in the morning.

   

Where to look for bugs

A universal way to detect bed bugs in an apartment comes down to a scrupulous detailed inspection of the room, as it is rarely possible to find them accidentally. Insects get into apartments different ways. Pass from neighbors through ventilation shafts, penetrate through cracks, on walls. To overcome the distance of several meters is not difficult for them. Bloodsuckers can be brought from business trips, traveling in luggage or get into an apartment with acquired furniture. Often a person himself, without suspecting it, brings a couple of individuals to his home clothesvisiting guests in an infected apartment.

Bed bugs living in an apartment prefer to live closer to their victim and therefore most often do not bother with a long search for "housing" and settle directly in the beds. Given the fact that most of the apartments cannot boast an impressive amount of square meters, almost any place in the house is located in close proximity to the bed bugs power source. Therefore, armed with patience, a flashlight and protective gloves, it is necessary to conduct a thorough inspection of all the details of the interior, decor in order to find parasites if they still settled in the apartment.

The most favorite places for clusters of domestic bugs:

1. The best way to start your search is from bed. Usually, bedbugs begin their check-in at the apartment with mattresses, sofas, and upholstered chairs. They have all the conditions for a comfortable stay and breeding, and the "feeder" is literally a few centimeters, which allows you to quickly find food. It is necessary to carefully examine all the joints of the mattress, if feces of brown or black in appearance similar to tiny balls are found on it, then you may have to rip the mattress. To "smoke" an insect from a shelter, you can use the smell vinegarkerosene.
2. Frame furniture: wardrobe, chests of drawers, bedside tables. Carefully inspect the contents, the bug can be found even in underwear or hide in synthetic clothing. With the help of a flashlight, carefully examine the condition of the joints, all kinds of mounts, shelves, drawers. Especially the bugs use the rear walls of frame furniture in the apartment.
3. Space under floor and wall carpets. Wall carpets in the apartment - a symbol of prosperity in the era of the USSR, bed bugs often heal.
4. Blood-sucking insects willingly populate all inaccessible places in the room. The walls behind the furniture, which is usually moved only during repairs, the space near the radiators, under the windowsills, in the cavity of the eaves.
5. All kinds of cracks in the walls, baseboards. Bedbugs in the apartment take root well under the departed wallpaper, linoleum.
6. The space behind paintings, in sockets, book bindings, flower pots, children's soft toys, a wall-mounted radio.
7. The nest of modern bugs can be found in household and digital appliances.

   

How to detect bed bugs

Before you find bugs in bed, you should prepare yourself mentally. The appearance of one bug causes disgust and disgust, and their nest - the picture is generally unpleasant. If all the symptoms indicate the presence of parasites, it will not be an extra measure to have at hand means for the destruction of bed bloodsuckers.

The search begins with a study of the mattress. All bedding, including the mattress cover, should be removed. First of all, the surface of the mattress is examined for the presence of feces, chitinous shells on it. With particular scrupulousness, each seam, hole is examined. When the slightest signs of oviposition are detected, the mattress is usually torn open to reveal insects. Further actions depend on what you see. With a large accumulation of insect populations and contamination of the mattress, its fate in most cases ends at the garbage, especially if it is very old. In this case, it’s easier to buy a new one than to spend a lot of money and time on its processing.

After the inspection of the mattress is completed, you should proceed to the study of the spring mechanism, the bed body itself, the attachment points. The bed must be moved away so that it is possible to check the condition of the floor. There you can also find parasites.

How to detect bugs on the couch

It is not known for what reasons, but the special love of bedbugs was gained by the fabric sofas of Soviet times. Inspection begins with the armrests, the joints of the parts of the sofa. You can use an unnecessary plastic card and use it to check all the recesses and holes. The presence of black dots, balls, husks are characteristic signs of the life of bugs.

On a note!

You can often find a nest of bedbugs in an apartment directly under the sofa upholstery. It is also necessary to move it away and examine the back side and the space of adjacent walls. Behind the sofa, there is also a chance to detect parasites.

With a slight infection get rid of bed bugs on the couch quite achievable. If there are too many parasites, then usually this piece of furniture is disposed of.

What to do if bedbugs are found during inspection

If during the inspection of an apartment at least one specimen of a parasitic insect was found, then the only thing to do is to take measures to destroy them. Bloodsuckers breed at rapid speed and the faster you start fight bugs, the less laborious and costly the process will be. By their own will, the bloodsuckers will not leave the "hatched" places. For killing bugs you must contact the SES or make independent attempts and purchase the appropriate insect exterminator products that are on sale.