YOUR GUIDE TO BED BUG CONTROL IN ADELAIDE
BED BUG INFESTATIONS ADELAIDE
Over the past 10 years, the number of Adelaide bedbug infestations has been on the rise. They’ve become a menace in homes, hotels and hostels alike, and it’s not hard to see why.
Bed bugs feast on blood while you’re fast asleep, and their bites can cause allergies. Squished bugs and droppings will stain your linen, and they certainly get in the way of a good night’s sleep.
They’re good at avoiding detection and pesticide control, but that’s not all. Bed bugs breed quickly, and hitch-hike on clothes and luggage to spread all over Adelaide and beyond.
If you’re concerned that you have bed bugs, this guide will help you identify an outbreak, the problems caused by bed bugs, and how to prevent and control them.
What questions will this article answer?
What are bed bugs?
Learn more about this serial pest that causes the most trouble while you’re sleeping.
Signs of a bed bug infestation
What to look out for if you suspect that you have an outbreak.
Problems caused by a bed bug outbreak
Here are some of the issues that an infestation can bring.
Problems caused by bed bugs in accommodation and health care facilities
Bed bugs can spread fast in hotels, hostels, clinics and aged care facilities. Their bites leave visitors feeling uncomfortable, unable to sleep, and unwilling to return. This can also lead to costly fines for non-compliance with health and safety regulations.
How to prevent a bed bug outbreak
Ways to avoid an invasion of these pesky creatures.
Bed bug treatment
Managing an outbreak can require time and repeated attempts due to the bed bugs’ ability to hide.
Allstate bed bug control
We have a 3-month guaranteed warranty on our treatments, where our team will inspect, control, follow-up and prevent further outbreaks. Don’t wait until the problem gets out of control and let us help you.
Why choose Allstate
Contact our team any time for 24/7 emergency service, to any suburb in Adelaide, for all of your bed bug concerns. Our treatments come with a 3 month warranty and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, as well as affordable payment plans. We use products that are safe for children, pets and the environment.
What are bed bugs?
The most likely types of bed bugs you’ll encounter in Australia are the Common Bed Bug (Cimex Lectularius, C. lectularius) and the Tropical Bed Bug (Cimex hemipterus, C. hemipterus). Here’s some facts that will help you to understand why they are such a nuisance:
They are physically built to hide in narrow spaces in bed mattresses and ensembles
- Flat oval shaped body
- Grow to 1-5mm in size (fully grown adults are the size of an apple seed)
- Rusty brown coloured
They feed on blood
They usually do this every 5-10 days, but can survive for up to 6 months without a blood meal.
They have evolved to feed without being detected
They have 2 mouth tubes:
- One to pierce the skin to draw blood
- Another to inject an anaesthetic and an anticoagulant so that they can draw as much blood as possible without you noticing
They like living in beds
Because bed bugs are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide, and tend to feed at night while you’re asleep, you are their preferred host. Apartment complexes, cruise ships, aged care facilities and hospitals can be a haven for exploding bed bug populations.
Signs you have an infestation of bed bugs
Bite marks on your skin
Bed bugs’ characteristic feeding pattern will leave the “breakfast, lunch and dinner” sign: a row of red bite marks on your skin, or blood stains on your sheets, they love the blood of humans. These can appear straight away or take up to 14 days to develop. They may trigger allergies such as blisters, rashes and hives, causing swelling, redness and itching.
In some cases you may have no reaction, or a delayed reaction and a mark on your skin.
Bite marks on your skin
Bed bugs’ characteristic feeding pattern will leave the “breakfast, lunch and dinner” sign: a row of red bite marks on your skin, or blood stains on your sheets, they love the blood of humans. These can appear straight away or take up to 14 days to develop. They may trigger allergies such as blisters, rashes and hives, causing swelling, redness and itching and even a secondary skin infection.
In some cases you may have no reaction, or a delayed reaction and a mark on your skin.
Bites on cats and dogs
Pets are not immune to bed bugs in a heavy infestation.
Dark Spots : dark brown or red marks
These are caused by bed bug droppings and by blood leaking from squashed bugs. Check for these on your upholstery, bed linen, mattresses, and walls.
Eggs and egg cases
These won’t be such an obvious sign. They are usually 1mm in size and require a magnifying glass to see them properly.
Bed bug cast skins
As bed bugs mature and grow larger, they shed an outer skin which is pale yellow coloured.
Sickly sweet or musty smell
This is a sign of a heavy infestation.
Common Hiding Spots : Have a peek at their favourite haunts
You won’t need to look far to find bed bugs as they only move short distances to feed. You can check the following places:
- Mattresses: peel back stitched edges with folds as bed bugs conceal themselves there
- Mattress Seams
- Bed frames and slats, crevices of beds (check for bedbug excrement)
- Bedside furniture
- Picture frames, cracks in plaster
- Behind wallpaper, crevices of walls, inside electrical outlets
- Carpet edges, behind skirting boards, between wooden floorboards
- In cracks and crevices
If you see them in the daytime
This means that the infestation is severe and they are very hungry.
If you suspect that you may have a bed bug issue, or you need some advice about how to treat it, contact one of our friendly Adelaide bed bug exterminators today.
Problems caused by an Adelaide bed bug outbreak
Sleep deprivation and stress
Once you’ve been bitten by bed bugs, it’s common to experience insomnia due to the fear of falling asleep and getting bitten again. This can lead to physical and mental fatigue over a long period of time.
Damage to belongings
Bed bug droppings, blood from squashed bugs and shed skin can stain furniture, bedding, flooring, curtains and linen.
Anaemia
In repeated bites in children.
Allergies
You can experience allergic reactions to their droppings and shedding, or the chemicals in their bites.
Infected bites
Continuous scratching at bed bug bites can result in secondary infections.
Ongoing infestations
As their eggs are deposited in hard to reach places, this makes treating the outbreak more challenging. The eggs will eventually hatch and produce more bed bugs, which in turn will keep laying more eggs, continuing the cycle.
Spreading to other places
Bed bugs “hitch a ride” and latch on to clothes, luggage, linen, and other materials, initiating an outbreak in a separate location. They then multiply very quickly – females can lay hundreds of eggs over their lifetime.
Bed bugs in accommodation and health care facilities
Bed bugs spell trouble within the accommodation, hospitality and health care industries. Their ability to spread and breed quickly means these businesses have to be especially vigilant in preventing and treating infestations.
A bed bug infestation can damage your reputation overnight. What’s more, you could receive hefty fines for breaching health and safety standards, and have to undergo a costly replacement of furniture and linen. A health care provider has the most to lose from a bedbug infestation.
Hotels, hostels and other accommodation facilities
With high foot traffic and new guest arrivals every day, it only takes one unknowingly infested traveller to create a bed bug infestation throughout the entire premises.
Read more about commercial bed bug control and pest control in accommodation businesses.
Hospitals and aged care facilities
The presence of bed bugs puts people with pre-existing medical issues and compromised immune systems at risk of further health complications.
Read more about bed bug control in aged care.
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How to prevent a bed bug outbreak
Here are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of having these pesky creatures roaming around at night:
- Avoid visiting infested areas or properties
- Seal your mattress and pillow with a bed bug prevention case, check the seams of mattresses before you do
- Avoid storing luggage under the bed, check any crevices in beds
- Remove clutter and vacuum the floors frequently
- Keep work or school belongings away from bedrooms
- Don’t allow guests to use their own bed linen
- Be wary of second hand furniture: inspect it carefully first before bringing it back with you
When staying at an accommodation facility
- Check the room thoroughly for evidence of bed bugs, including the mattress, headboard and luggage rack
- Keep your suitcase on a luggage rack away from the mattress and off the floor
- Don’t leave an open suitcase lying around
- When you return home, inspect your luggage before bringing it indoors, and wash your clothes immediately with hot water (above 60°C), or dry them at high temperature (using the hot setting for over 30 minutes)
DIY bed bug control
Apply bed bug killer powder
There are several products which are commercially available through hardware stores.
Vacuum and maintain good hygiene
- This is helpful to remove dust, debris and dead bugs before starting treatment, to make it easier for the chemical control to penetrate and be effective
- Vacuum behind and under beds, paying attention to the corners of the room, near furniture and around fixtures
- Immediately after cleaning, place the vacuum bag in a sealed bag, then incinerate or discard it appropriately
- Don’t use appliances with stiff brushes as this may unintentionally spread the eggs
Physical removal
Adhesive tape can be used to trap a few insects.
Heat
- This is useful on bedding and sheets
- You can prevente bed bugs instantly if you apply heat above 60°C, and within 1 hour when exposed to temperatures above 45°C
- Take care to not apply slow and gradual heating, as this causes them to migrate away from the heat source and infest another area
Steam
- This is effective at getting rid of bed bugs in all stages of its life cycle
- Steam can be used on all soft and hard surfaces, especially along seams and in small crevices
Freezing
Rapidly freezing infested textiles and fabrics can successfully remove bed bugs. Place them in the freezer for 10 hours per 2.5kg of dry linen weight.
Seal cracks and crevices
Use gap filler to plug small hiding places for bed bugs.
Professional bed bug control
In most cases, you will need professional help to exterminate bed bugs in Adelaide. This is especially important for any commercial facilities.
This will ensure you’re removing both the bed bugs and their eggs, as chemical sprays alone are ineffective on the eggs.
At Allstate Pest Control Adelaide, we are equipped to deal with the complexities of treating a bed bug outbreak.
We provide a comprehensive 5-stage treatment and prevention plan, which carries a 3-month warranty:
Pre-treatment inspection
A pest control technician will conduct a thorough assessment of the affected rooms, adjacent rooms, and all possible hiding places, to come up with a plan to treat the problem. We want to ensure that the treatment is successful the first time, so that bed bugs don’t build a resistance to the pesticides.
Control
Our licensed technicians are careful to only use pesticides that are permitted for use by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, and we are aware that some cannot be applied to mattresses. We normally use a combination of the following ywo treatment methods:
Bed bug powder/dust
This is helpful for penetrating voids and cracks. It is less effective in areas where they can be dispersed by foot traffic and vacuuming.
Spray
This forms a residue that can remove bed bugs from mattresses, cracks and crevices in furniture and flooring. This method is not effective on eggs.
We apply the spray is applied accurately and directly. Otherwise, there is a good chance any bed bugs that are not prevented properly will release pheromones to warn others away, so they will disperse to other areas of the building.
Follow up
We allow 1-2 weeks for bed bug eggs to finally hatch before we return to re-apply more pesticide.
Prevention
Once your outbreak is under control, we use mattress protectors to protect your bed from future outbreaks.
We report back to you
Once the treatment has been completed, our technicians will send you a report with recommendations and feedback so you can refer back to it at any time.
Why choose Allstate?
We understand the stress and overwhelm that a bed bug outbreak can cause, so our team of expert bed bug removalists is ready to help you any time.
Emergency call outs
For all urgent problems or advice, we’re here for you.
Available 24/7, anywhere in Adelaide
Contact us through the chat button at the bottom right.
100% guarantee money back guarantee
If you’re not satisfied with any of our pest control services, we will provide corrective service for no extra charge – or refund you if you are still not happy after 30 days.
Interest-free payment plans
So that you don’t have to delay your bed bug extermination.
Targeted, effective solutions with follow ups
We’ll take the time to inspect your outbreak, apply treatment and ensure that you’re permanently protected from another one.
Non-toxic treatments
Rest assured that the chemicals used are child, pet and environmentally safe.
We work around you
To minimise disruption to your family or your business operations.