With Halloween right around the corner, the focus is on goblins and other scary creatures that can haunt you as they go about in search of victims in the dark hours of the night. While it can be fun to watch scary movies or to dress up in ghoulish costumes at this time of year, there is a very real terror lurking inside many people’s homes. In Utah, Oregon, and the Washington State area, tiny bloodsuckers lay in hiding, waiting to attach themselves to you while you sleep. Silent and hard to see, they can easily enter your home undetected, feeding on your flesh each night. While it may sound like something supernatural, bed bugs are a very real and common problem. Fortunately, the heroes at Pointe Pest Control can help to protect you from this nightmare.
Are Hidden Dangers Lurking in Your Home?
Bed bugs are tiny brown creatures, with oval, flat bodies that are typically no more than five millimeters long. Their small size and the fact that they only come out at night makes them frustratingly hard to detect. When you are traveling or even just visiting local establishments and other people’s homes, they can unobtrusively latch themselves onto your clothing, luggage, handbags, or other items you might be wearing or carrying. Remaining unhidden as you return to your home, they then jump off and infest your belongings.
One of the scariest things about bed bugs is what a common problem they are and how easily they spread undetected. Bed bugs are invading so rapidly that they are now considered a public health threat. Factors that combine to increase the scourge include:
- Greater numbers of people traveling;
- Lack of knowledge about how to prevent infestations;
- Increased immunity to over the counter pesticides;
- Ineffective pest control practices.
Mystery Rashes and Other Bed Bug Symptoms
While bed bugs are difficult to spot, there is no mistaking the impact they can have on you and your family. Bed bugs crave human blood and will come out at night to feast on your and your family’s flesh. In addition to the fear and disgust they arouse at bedtime, they can make mornings extremely uncomfortable.
If you have an infestation, you are likely to wake up with your face, arms, chest, legs, or other parts of your body covered in an itchy, red rash. The red welts bed bugs leave behind can become infected. No matter how maddening the itch of bed bug bites are, it is important to resist as scratching will only make them worse.
Unwelcome Guests That Do Not Want to Leave
Tiny creatures infesting your bed, sucking your blood and leaving you covered in rashes? It sounds like a nightmare. As bad as this is, one of the worst things about bed bugs is how difficult they can be to get rid of.
Their small size makes bed bugs difficult to spot and they are typically dormant during the day. The only indication of an active bed bug infestation may be the dried blood they leave behind in the creases of mattresses and pillows. Unfortunately, once they do get into your home, these unwelcome guests will likely never want to leave. Places they are likely to spread to include:
- Your box spring;
- Headboard and bed frames;
- Seams in couches, chairs, and other furnishings;
- In the crevices of carpeting, particularly near baseboards;
- Behind electrical switches and wall plates;
- In draperies and curtains throughout your home.
Bed bugs can also infest your clothing, coats, and other apparel, making you a carrier. Their resistance to over the counter pest elimination methods and the ease with which they travel mean that they could be lurking at work, school, or anywhere you visit.
Our Bed Bed Exterminators Can Protect You
At Pointe Pest Control, we understand what a nightmare bed bugs are. In addition to the physical discomfort and disgust they arouse, they can also be a major source of embarrassment for you and your family. As trusted bed bug treatment experts serving people throughout Oregon, Utah, and Colorado, we can help you address these creepy crawlers quickly and effectively while developing a strategy to keep them from returning in the future. To keep bed bugs from haunting your home, reach out and call or contact our exterminators for bed bugs online today and request a consultation.
