Bed Bugs: Myths and Facts
Let's take a time out. What do you really know about bed bugs in Toronto? Knowing the facts vs. myths about these annoying pests is important in ensuring proper eradication of bed bugs from your property. So let's start with the basics: bed bugs can infest your home, hotels, vehicles, restaurants — there’s nowhere that’s 100% safe. More and more people are becoming aware of this growing problem, and many people call their pest control professionals with misinformation about bed bugs and infestation.
What you need to know most is that the best way control and prevent a bed bug infestation in your Ontario home is to learn the facts about them. Here are a few common Myths and Facts about bed bugs, and the correct facts to set them straight.
Myth: Cold Will Kill Bed Bugs if You Leave Your Bed Outdoors Overnight in the Winter
Fact: Although bed bugs are not extremely tolerant of the cold, they can survive for days or weeks in sub-zero temperatures. You’d need to keep your bed in below freezing temperatures for one to two weeks before it would have any effects.
Myth: Bed Bugs Only Come Out at Night to Feed
Fact: It is true that bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, but that’s because humans typically sleep at night, and bed bugs will adapt their behavior based on your sleeping patterns.
Myth: Bed Bugs Leave Huge Welts Where They Bite
Fact: Only around 40-50% of people react this way to bed bug bites. Among them, the reactions can vary. The bumps can be a large and they may require ointments to alleviate itching, but others can be small with nearly no itching.
Myth: Bed Bugs Spread Diseases
Fact: Bed bugs can carry human diseases like anthrax or typhus. However, a lot of research has gone into seeing if bed bugs can transmit these diseases to their hosts, and there is no evidence that they can.
Myth: A Doctor Can Tell if You Have Bed Bugs Based on Your Bites
Fact: Bed bug bites are indistinguishable from the bites of other bugs, like a mosquito bite or a wasp sting. One clue to bed bug bites is their signature cluster of bites. But even if this pattern is recognized, it is not a reliable way to determine whether the marks are from bed bugs.
Myth: Bed Bugs Cannot Be Seen with the Naked Eye
Fact: Actually, you can certainly see bed bugs with your naked eye! Adult bed bugs are red to brown in color, and the about the shape and size of an apple seed. The nymphs are much more difficult to see, especially in their immature stages. Nymphs are lighter in color, and they’re about the size of a pin head.
Myth: Over-the-Counter Bed Bug Treatments are Effective
Fact: Unfortunately, a vast majority of OTC bed bug infestation treatments are very ineffective. Most pesticides and other chemical treatments will be ineffective, as bed bugs will quickly adapt to them and become more resistant and you continue to use them.
The Toronto bed bug removal professionals at Bed Bug Authority Canada use a highly effective bed bug heat treatment to guarantee that your Ontario home is completely free of a bed bug infestation.