Bed Bug Identification & Prevention

Bed bugs are small oval-shaped, wingless insects that resemble apple seeds and have six legs, short antennae, and reddish-brown bodies. Humans, pets, and other animals provide bed bugs with blood, their sole food source.

Though bed bugs feed on a variety of animals, hands down, people are their favorite hosts. As a result, they have become a major pest issue in our homes, and even though they are unwelcome and unwanted, they commonly hitchhike their way inside. Bed bugs are pests that can find their way into any home, no matter how big or small, neat or cluttered; all bed bugs care about is that there are people or other hosts to feed on. It's important to get ahead of bed bugs so they do not become a bigger nuisance in your Oahu home.

Bed bugs in our Honolulu service area feed on blood using a proboscis: an elongated, piercing mouthpart. A special chemical they inject numbs the skin of their host and allows them to feed painlessly. After feeding has occurred, some people may develop a reaction to their saliva and form a raised, red itchy rash. Excessive scratching at the bite sites can lead to a secondary infection.

While bed bugs are not known to spread diseases that makes people ill, their presence in our homes leads to stress and sleepless nights, which can, in turn, make our immune systems weaker and lead to illness.

The sheer number of people moving around in and out of Hawaii every day makes controlling hitchhiking bed bugs extremely difficult. Bed bugs don't fly or jump, but they successfully move across cities, states, and countries on people and on our belongings.

A bed bug infestation usually develops after a person comes into contact with them in a public place like an airport, hotel, resort, shopping center, movie theater, school, or hospital. It is also important to note that coming into contact with bed bugs can also happen when visiting family or friends who are unaware of a bed bug infestation in their home.

When in our homes, bed bugs hide their small bodies during the day in tight cracks and crevices, emerging at night to feed on their sleeping hosts. Bed bugs typically like to hide in areas that put them near us while we are sleeping or resting.

Favorite hideouts include the following:

• In cracks in walls, wood furniture, and foot or headboards
• In the seams of mattresses or box springs
• Under the cushions of upholstered furniture
• Under rugs and behind baseboards
• Inside wall voids behind electrical outlets
• Behind wall hangings like pictures and clocks.

Bed bugs are a pest problem that can pop up inside any of our homes after you or visitors unknowingly introduce them. At the first sign of bed bugs in your home, immediately contact us at Pest Tech Hawaii. We are a locally owned and operated pest control company dedicated to delivering pest control services in the Aloha spirit!

By using up-to-date products, we are committed to providing our customers with a safe and healthy bed bug-free environment. Dedicated to our customers, we offer a full range of customizable home pest control and remediation services that ensure the elimination of pests from homes located in Hawaii.

For over 20 years, we have been proud to provide the residents of Honolulu with affordable and reliable pest control solutions. To learn more about our effective bed bug control services or to request an estimate, give Pest Tech Hawaii a call today!

Bed bugs are hitchhiking pests, making preventing them a difficult task. The following tips will help to protect your Hawaii home from being overtaken by bed bugs:

• When traveling and staying in a hotel or other rental, make sure to inspect it for signs of bed bugs before bringing your luggage or personal belongings inside.
• After returning home from a trip, make sure to clean and dry all clothing you took on a high heat cycle. In addition, remember to wash, vacuum, and sanitize all luggage.
• When in public places, keep your belongings up off the ground and away from other people's belongings.
• Regularly vacuum your home and wash your family's bedding to remove stray bed bugs.
• Take great care when purchasing used furniture or clothing, and always inspect it for bed bugs, thoroughly cleaning the items.
• If possible, never purchase used mattresses or box springs for your house.