How To Tell If You Have Bed Bugs In Your Florida Home

Living in Florida means we must contend with pests throughout the year. We don’t experience the freezing weather of the northern states that push bugs into hiding, but there are still seasonal shifts within the bug populations of Florida.

Because of the slight drop in temperature, you may think that there would be a slow down in bed bug populations in the fall. Summer is when bed bugs reach their peak activity levels. They thrive in hot, humid weather. Plus, since summer is such a big time for family vacations, and bed bugs are great hitchhikers, they travel far and wide in the summer months. The problem with a bed bug infestation is that it takes a couple of months to grow to the point of recognition. This is why fall is a very busy time of the year for bed bug experts.

While avoiding bringing bed bugs into your home can be extremely difficult due to the way they travel, it is especially important at this time of year to be on the lookout for any signs that bed bugs have gained entry to your home. Catching them early ensures the easiest treatment.

Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation

• Bed bug bites are often the first noticeable sign of a bed bug infestation. These bites typically occur when bed bugs come out to feed while you sleep. Bed bug bites are small, red, and can be itchy. They are often found in clusters or lines.
• Since they feed on your blood, you may find small blood spots on your sheets, which is another indication of a bed bug infestation.
• Small brown streaks on fabrics could be bed bug feces.
• Bed bugs go through several stages of development, which means you may find bed bug casings lying in the areas they frequent, such as between your mattress, the headboard or footboard, in the seams of upholstered furniture, and along the edges of walls.
• It’s also possible to spot the bed bugs themselves. They are quite stealthy, but if you look in their likely hiding places, you might see them.

What to Do if You Find Bed Bugs in Your Home

Finding bed bugs can be a disturbing experience, and your first thought is usually, how to get rid of them fast. While a DIY treatment might seem like the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to proceed, that could be a mistake.

DIY treatments, like bug bombs, release harmful chemicals into your home, leaving residue behind. Plus many bed bugs have grown resistant to pesticides.

Some DIY treatments might seem effective, but they only reach the bed bugs that you can find, leaving the ones that have gone deep into hiding to re-emerge later.

So what should you do instead? Bring in the professionals.

Lindsey Pest Services can send an expert to your home to treat your bed bug problem. We will first determine the size of your infestation in order to decide on the best method of treatment.

If a chemically-based treatment is the best option, we use EPA-approved chemicals in the right concentrations to ensure effectiveness and safety for your family.

If a heat treatment is the best option, we have the equipment necessary to eliminate every last bug in every stage of development, even the ones that have gone deep into hiding.

Lindsey Pest Services is so confident that we can help make your Florida home free from bed bugs that we guarantee our work for a year.

If you have a bed bug problem, let us eliminate it quickly and safely. Call us today.