It’s the last thing any homeowner wants to discover – a creepy-crawly intruder in their Southlake home. Southlake, Texas, is one of the best places to live in Texas. Still, unfortunately, household pests like bed bugs can be found in Southlake homes throughout the year due to their resilient nature and ability to hide in even the tiniest crevices. In addition, they are notorious hitchhikers, so they could have quickly been brought into your home on clothing or luggage from someone who had recently traveled.
Bed bugs are tiny, brownish, nocturnal, and blood-sucking pests that are likely the reason why you find it hard to sleep. Bed bug bites can be irritating. They usually bite humans to suck their blood, but they can also bite warm-blooded animals in the area. In addition, they tend to hide where they can quickly get their food. Therefore, you will often bed bugs where you sleep or where the other animals sleep. After sucking blood for 2-5 minutes, they will hide again. Moreover, their eggs are also tiny like them, so you will find it hard to find them and notice that your place is already infested with bed bugs.
The lifespan of bed bugs
Local pest control in Southlake claims that young bed bugs can survive for days to months without food, while older bed bugs can survive longer for up to a year without food. On average, bed bugs can live for 2 – 4 months, depending on the condition of their environment.
Meaning of dead bed bugs
Eventually, bed bugs will die just like any other creature. If you see a bed bug lying on its back and missing legs or wings, they are most likely dead. Live bed bugs will flip over and escape from that kind of form. Additionally, if you see that the bed bug is dried out, wrinkled up, and brittle, and its outer skin is shedding, then it is already dead. So if you find bed bugs in a state like that, what could dead bed bugs mean? If you have already hired an exterminator before or the place has been exterminated before, then it is most likely that the process was successful and they have eliminated the pests. However, if you did not know that you are infested with bed bugs, and the place wasn’t cleaned by an exterminator before, then it is possibly an indication you have a bed bug infestation in your Southlake home.
What to do if you find a dead bed bug
If you are already one hundred percent sure that what you saw is a dead bed bug, follow these steps below.
Vacuum – Clean your place with a vacuum cleaner or broom. Focus on the area where you found the dead bug and where they usually hide, like in your bedroom.
Clean beddings and clothes – Remove dirt from your beddings and clothes and make sure that they are dry before putting them back.
Hire pest control services – Pest control companies can give you maximum help ensuring that the bed bugs are eliminated and will no longer come back. Contact your local pest control to help you when you have pest infestation problems.
Image Credit: Photo by Morgan Lane on Unsplash