Once a pest of the past, bedbugs now infest every state in India. Small, flattened insects that feed solely on mammalian and avian blood have been living with humans since ancient times. In the past 10 years, however, the pests have staged a comeback worldwide—an outbreak after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney was a harbinger of things to come. This revival may be the worst yet, experts say, due to densely populated urban areas, global travel and increasing pesticide resistance - something to consider as the monsoon season gets underway.
Spreading rapidly with the bedbugs is a mass of misinformation about their biology and behaviour.
Myth 1: Bedbugs can fly
Fact: Bedbugs lack wings, and therefore cannot fly. On their own, bedbugs crawl about a meter a minute.
Myth 2: Bedbugs reproduce quickly
Fact: Compared with other insects, bedbugs are slow to reproduce: Each adult female produces about one egg per day; a common housefly lays 500 eggs over three to four days. Each bedbug egg takes 10 days to hatch and another five to six weeks for the offspring to develop into an adult.
Myth 3: Bedbugs can typically live a year without a meal
Fact: Scientists debate this point, but evidence suggests that at normal room temperature, about 23 degrees Celsius, bedbugs can only survive two to three months without a blood meal. But because they are cold-blooded, their metabolism will slow down in chillier climates, and the insects may live up to a year without feeding.
Myth 4: Bedbugs bite only at night
Fact: Although bedbugs are generally nocturnal, they're like humans - if they're hungry, they'll get up and get something to eat. If you go away to visit a friend for a week and you come back and sit down on the couch, even though it's daytime the bedbugs will come looking for you. Keeping a light on, then, unfortunately, does not keep these tiny vampires away.
Myth 5: Bedbugs live exclusively in mattresses
Fact: Bedbugs spread away from beds into living areas and can be seen on any surface, including chairs, railings and ceilings.
Knowing how to repel bedbugs becomes the biggest positive in such situations. At the infant stage of an infestation, we will want to try as much as possible to get rid of bed bugs. It isn’t as easy as repelling mosquitoes and cockroaches. Bedbugs are smaller, multiply quickly, and cause a bigger nuisance.
You might have noticed that none are foolproof in all of the above natural and home remedies to repel bedbugs. Hence, it’s always better to ask for professional help regarding these creatures. Call the experts if your natural ways to keep bed bugs away don’t work.
Call in Ultima Search.
