Bedbugs can be difficult to detect and equally tough to manage once they infest your home. Taking steps to better understand what they look like and how to handle them can help if you suspect these unwanted pests have moved into your home. In addition to contacting a skilled exterminator, you’ll also need to take some key measures to safeguard your family and belongings. Here’s what you need to know.

A Guide to Understanding Bedbugs

What Are Bedbugs?

Bedbugs are minuscule reddish insects that feed solely on blood and tend to be most active during the night when people are asleep. When they aren’t feeding, they reside in crevices and small corners of everything from mattresses to sofas. They can even hide behind baseboards, and it doesn’t matter how clean or untidy the spot might be. In most cases, bedbugs enter a home when a resident brings them inside from an infested location, such as a hotel, airport, restaurant, train, or even a furniture outlet store.

What Problems Do They Cause?

These pesky visitors can cause both physical and mental problems, which is why it’s vital to contact an exterminator at the first sign of them. They can bring stress and affect your sleep, too. Bedbug bites can be itchy, red, and uncomfortable, and they may take a couple of weeks to fully heal. Since these insects move easily, it’s simple for them to move from one spot to another and quickly infest your home.  

What Can Homeowners Do to Find Them?

The only way to determine if you really have bedbugs is to find and identify one of them. That’s not always easy, particularly if it’s in the nymph stage, when they measure about a 16th of an inch. Sometimes you’ll only be able to spot signs of their presence—look for dark spots of blood, cast-off skins, or even hatched white eggs. If you can’t easily find them, don’t panic—a pest control professional has the experience and equipment needed to properly identify them.

What Is the Most Effective Treatment?

It’s best to avoid over-the-counter treatments that promise to eradicate bedbugs. Professional exterminators have the skills needed to properly apply effective insecticides to affected areas. Many homeowners think it’s best to throw everything away—even mattresses—and simply start anew. But as long as the bedbugs remain, your new purchases won’t be safe. Have a pest control company handle everything first before you invest in replacement items. Vacuuming won’t solve every problem, but after the outbreak is managed, you should make it a point to thoroughly clean the house regularly.

Dealing with bedbugs can be traumatic on many levels. That’s why you can trust the exterminators at Central Tennessee Termite & Pest Control to handle all your infestation worries. Offering services throughout central Tennessee and southern Kentucky, the skilled pest control specialists provide high-quality service at reasonable prices in residential, commercial, and industrial settings. Visit their website to find out more about how they can help you with bedbug management, rodent removal, and termite treatments, or give them a call at (931) 526-2033 to schedule an appointment.