Bed bugs are a mounting source of aggravation, particularly in the developed Western world, because bed bugs were largely cleared out there by the late 1950's.
This means that most people under 50 years of age had probably never seen a bedbug until after 1995, when they made a big comeback. Their numbers are still rising fast, so lots of people are thinking about how to kill bed bugs.
This is due to two major reasons: their natural hardiness and their tolerance to contemporary household chemical pesticides. Their natural hardiness is due to a waxy coating on their bodies which protects them from surfactant pesticides to a great extent.
Their tolerance to chemical insecticides is most likely due to the fact that they were almost exterminated in the developed world in the 1940's and 1950's by the widespread use of DDT.
The waxy coating on bedbugs blocks their rapid dehydration, which is why they are capable of lying dormant for up to five months waiting for a fitting host to come along. It is also the reason why a lot of contact pesticides are ineffective. Therefore, one of the tactics for killing bed bugs is getting rid of that waxy coat .
People realized this 150 years ago, but they did not have the know-how to really take advantage of the information. People often used to put down crushed dried leaves or sharp sand.
In the 19th century, lime, ash and diatomaceous earth were used to wear away the outer waxy coating. The latter was particularly effective and has seen an upsurge in usage during the last couple of years as an option to chemicals.
One way of killing bed bugs that will not be effective is catching them and squashing them, even if you did wrap sticky insect bands around the legs of your bed. Bed bugs are not able to fly, but they could still get at you. They are not averse to walking up to the ceiling and dropping on to you.
If you would like to try chemical pesticides, then there are three basic sorts. The first type attempts to copy the effects of diatomaceous earth.
It is a spray that has ground glass or silica mixed with a contact pesticide. This does not sound a healthy environment for humans or pets either though. Breathing powdered glass or silica sounds like bad news.
Contact insecticides have limited effect, partly due to the waxy coating, but also because to be effectual they have to be robust and this makes them a repellent, which means that the bedbugs will just stay away from it if they can.
Insect growth regulators are effective at wiping out the young, which is great, but the adults can live for about a year, so that is not so good, unless you are contemplating a long world cruise.
Contractors normally use steam nowadays, because none of the bed bug's life stages can survive temperatures over 45c, so you could try| this technique by hiring a steam wall paper stripper or a hot air paint stripper for the weekend and going over your walls and woodwork. In fact, if all your wall paper and paint is hanging off, you may as well combine the job with your next redecoration.
This means that most people under 50 years of age had probably never seen a bedbug until after 1995, when they made a big comeback. Their numbers are still rising fast, so lots of people are thinking about how to kill bed bugs.
This is due to two major reasons: their natural hardiness and their tolerance to contemporary household chemical pesticides. Their natural hardiness is due to a waxy coating on their bodies which protects them from surfactant pesticides to a great extent.
Their tolerance to chemical insecticides is most likely due to the fact that they were almost exterminated in the developed world in the 1940's and 1950's by the widespread use of DDT.
The waxy coating on bedbugs blocks their rapid dehydration, which is why they are capable of lying dormant for up to five months waiting for a fitting host to come along. It is also the reason why a lot of contact pesticides are ineffective. Therefore, one of the tactics for killing bed bugs is getting rid of that waxy coat .
People realized this 150 years ago, but they did not have the know-how to really take advantage of the information. People often used to put down crushed dried leaves or sharp sand.
In the 19th century, lime, ash and diatomaceous earth were used to wear away the outer waxy coating. The latter was particularly effective and has seen an upsurge in usage during the last couple of years as an option to chemicals.
One way of killing bed bugs that will not be effective is catching them and squashing them, even if you did wrap sticky insect bands around the legs of your bed. Bed bugs are not able to fly, but they could still get at you. They are not averse to walking up to the ceiling and dropping on to you.
If you would like to try chemical pesticides, then there are three basic sorts. The first type attempts to copy the effects of diatomaceous earth.
It is a spray that has ground glass or silica mixed with a contact pesticide. This does not sound a healthy environment for humans or pets either though. Breathing powdered glass or silica sounds like bad news.
Contact insecticides have limited effect, partly due to the waxy coating, but also because to be effectual they have to be robust and this makes them a repellent, which means that the bedbugs will just stay away from it if they can.
Insect growth regulators are effective at wiping out the young, which is great, but the adults can live for about a year, so that is not so good, unless you are contemplating a long world cruise.
Contractors normally use steam nowadays, because none of the bed bug's life stages can survive temperatures over 45c, so you could try| this technique by hiring a steam wall paper stripper or a hot air paint stripper for the weekend and going over your walls and woodwork. In fact, if all your wall paper and paint is hanging off, you may as well combine the job with your next redecoration.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is at present concerned with how to test for bed bugs. If you want to know more, visit our website now at Pest Management at Home.
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