Bed Bug Awareness Part 1 - Know Your Enemy to Win the War on Bed Bugs

It’s Bed Bug Awareness Week! Why would the National Pest Management Association want to dedicate an entire week to bed bug awareness? It’s simple. Bed bugs are a BIG problem and as Sun Tzu suggested, you must “know your enemy” to win the war. And so, in the spirit of awareness and knowledge of our enemy, the bed bug, Know Your Enemy to Win the War on Bed Bugs is the first in a 3-part blog series on Bed Bug Awareness. Bed bugs are a difficult enemy to defend oneself against, they are extremely small in size and yet visible to the naked eye. They have mysterious and nocturnal tendencies, making them very difficult to detect. However, do not allow their size to fool you, the bed bug is a dangerous foe that can compromise your peace of mind, your mental well-being, your belongings and certainly your pocket book if they infest your home. Bed bugs can be picked up without you even realizing it. They are skilled hitchhikers and can infest your luggage or even crawl onto your clothes or person and come home with you. Just one pregnant bed bug can unleash a vicious battle between you and a full-blown bed bug infestation, with your bedroom as the battlefield. Bed bugs do not discriminate and will just as easily infest a cheap motel as they will a five-star resort. They hide in extremely small cracks and crevices, mostly near our sleeping areas, but may infest any room of your home. If you live in an apartment or other multi-unit housing facility, bed bugs can enter your room through cracks and crevices if they have already infested an adjoining room. You are at high risk of an infestation if you: travel regularly, live in a city where you use public transportation, have a child that lives at college and returns home or one that goes back and forth to a boarding school, live in a multi-unit dwelling or have had an infestation in the past. But don’t despair, you can be the victor in the war against bed bugs. Knowing your enemy and keeping a watchful eye out for not just the bed bugs themselves, but rather signs of an infestation is the key. And, here are the two key signs that your enemy may be inside of your home:

1. Unexplained red, itchy bites on any one person living in your residence. Understand that one person can have a reaction to the bites while another shows no symptoms.
2. Finding blood, bug casings, white sesame seed sized sticky eggs or crushed bugs on your sheets, mattress or in any sleeping area of your home.

If you have concerns about a possible bed bug infestation, we highly recommend you work together with a pest professional to win the war. Bed bugs are very difficult to treat on your own and the longer this enemy persists the worse your infestation will get. Our final word of advice is this: he who monitors will be most victorious in the war against bed bugs. Monitoring for bed bugs will uncover an infestation early on and allow you to quickly take action to stop the enemy. Catchmaster offers two weapons in your war against bed bugs: BBEDS Bedbug Early Detection System and Slider Bed Bug & Insect Monitor. Incorporating these into your home can uncover the enemy early and help you to wage a successful war against the bed bug.