DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER - AVOID BED BUGS INFESTS YOUR HOME!

Bed bug infestation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bed bug bites
Classification and external resources
Typical bed bug bites.

A Bed bug can individually and collectively cause a number of health effects including skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms. Bed bug bites or cimicosis may lead to a range of skin manifestations from no visible effects to prominent blisters.Diagnosis involves both finding bed bugs and the occurrence of compatible symptoms.Treatment involves the elimination of the insect but is otherwise symptomatic.

Because infestation of human habitats has been on the increase in developed countries, bed bug bites and related conditions have been on the rise as well, since the 1980s–1990s.The exact causes of this resurgence remain unclear; it is variously ascribed to greater foreign travel, more frequent exchange of second-hand furnishings among homes, a greater focus on control of other pests resulting in neglect of bed bug countermeasures, and increasing resistance to pesticides.Bed bugs have been known human parasites for thousands of years

Signs and Symptoms

Individual responses to bites vary, ranging from no visible effect (in about 20–70%) to small macular spots, prominent weals and bullae formation along with intense inthching that may last several days. A central hemorragic spot may also occur due to the release of anticoagulantsin the saliva.

Symptoms may not appear until some days after the bites have occurred. Reactions often become more brisk after multiple bites due to possible sensitization to the salivary proteins of the bed bug. The skin reaction usually occurs in the area of the bite which is most commonly the arms, shoulders and legs as they are more frequently exposed at night.Numerous bites may lead to an erythematous rash or urticaria.

[edit]psychological

Serious infestations and chronic attacks can cause anxiety, stress, and insomia. Development of refractory delusional parasitosis is possible, as a person develops an overwhelming obsession with bed bugs.

[edit]Other

A number of other symptoms may occur from either the bite of the bed bugs or from their exposure. Anaphylaxis from the injection of serum and other nonspecific proteins has been rarely documented. Due to each bite taking a tiny amount of blood, chronic or severe infestation may lead to anemia. Bacterial skin infection may occur due to skin break down from scratching.Systemic poisoning may occur if the bites are numerous.Exposure to bed bugs may trigger an asthma attack via the effects of airborne allergens although evidence of this association is limited. There is no evidence that bed bugs transmit infectious diseases even though they appear physically capable of carrying patogens and this possibility has been investigated. The bite itself may be painful thus resulting in poor sleep and worse work performance.

[edit]Cause

BED BUG

An adult bed bug (Cimex lectularius) with the typical flattened oval shape.

Bed bug bites are caused by bed bugs primarily of two species Cimex lectularius (the common bed bug) and Cimex hemipterus.Infestation is rarely due to a lack of hygiene.  These insects feed exclusively on blood and may survive a year without eating.They are attracted by body warmth and carbon dioxide. Transfer to new places is usually in the personal effects of the human they feed upon.

[edit]Diagnosis

A definitive diagnosis of health effects due to bed bugs requires a search for and finding of the insect in the sleeping environment as symptoms are not sufficiently specific. Other possible conditions with which these conditions can be confused include: scabies, allergic reactions, mosquito bites,spider bites, chicken pox and bacterial skin infections. Bed bugs classically form a line of bites colloquially referred to as "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" and rarely feed in the armpit or behind the knee which may help differentiate it from other biting insects. If the number in a house is large a pungent sweet odor may be described.

[edit]Treatment

Treatment requires keeping the person from being repeatedly bitten and possible symptomatic use of antihistamines and corticosteroids (either topically or systemically). There however is no evidence that medications improve outcomes and symptoms usually resolve without treatment in 1–2 weeks.

Avoiding repeated bites can be difficult, since it usually requires eradicating bed bugs from a home or workplace; eradication frequently requires a combination of pesticides and non pesticide approaches.Pesticides that have historically been found to be effective include:pyrethroids, dichlorvos and mamathion. Resistance to pesticides has increased significantly over time and there are concerns of negative health effects from their usage. Mechanical approaches such as vacuuming up the insects and heat treating or wrapping mattresses have been recommended. Diatomaceous Earth can be used to kill existing bugs though its effects may take several weeks, it can also be used to prevent a re-infestation.

BE ALERT OF BED BUGS....BEFORE IT KILLS YOU!!

Termite Infestations - Be Alert!!

Termite Infestation, Damage and Control

    

Subterranean termites are destructive wood-eating insects and cause home-owners frustration and expense when active nests are found in their houses. This can be especially troublesome when selling a home because lending institutions (banks, savings and loans, FHA, VA) require houses certified to be termite free before lending money to home buyers. Presence of an old infestation or damage that has been treated should not require the home be retreated. A Lincoln real estate agent estimated that about 10% of her house sales have required treatment after the discovery of an active termite nest in the house.

Because subterranean termites nest in the soil and need protection from the elements when they invade your house, they build mud tubes over exposed foundations and travel through these tubes to wooden structures in your house. The presence of these dried mud tubes is solid indication that you may have a termite infestation in your house. Because of the shorter distance from the ground to the wood framing, houses (or parts of homes) that are built on a concrete slab provide easier access for termites to enter the wooden structure.

Another sign of a termite infestation is when winged adults swarm in spring (mid-April in Nebraska) or fall, and flying termites are found inside the house. Swarming termites are dark brown, have two pairs of nearly equally sized wings and are weak flyers.

Wood damaged by termites may not be conspicuous because termite tunneling occurs inside the wood and a mere wooden shell may cover the damaged wood. Damaged wood can be penetrated with a screwdriver or an ice pick, revealing mud tubes lining wood tunnels in an irregular pattern.

Places to inspect for termite activity are wooden constructions in basement and crawl space, wood sills, joists, support posts, basement window frames and wood underporches. Scrap wood on the ground or a woodpile next to the house should be removed as these potential feeding areas may allow termites easier access to your house. Termites may also be found in dead trees or wood stumps after a dead tree has been removed.

What should you do if you find termite activity? Do not panic! Termites damage wood slowly: it takes from 3 -8 years for significant damage to result from a termite infestation in Nebraska, because our cold winter months reduce termite activity. Do-it-yourself termite control is possible using chlorpyrifos insecticide concentrate, but because of the difficulty of doing a thorough job and the risks associated with an improper treatment, we recommend professional treatment. Do not be pressured into making a quick decision about purchasing a termite control service. In making your decision, follow the following guide lines:

1. Deal with reliable firms. Ask for and check references (i.e., previous clients that had termite treatment), and consult the Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau. Be wary of fly-by-night termite control companies. Make sure the firm has liability insurance.

2. Comparison shop. Get several inspections, opinions, and estimates. Treatment estimates may be highly variable and may differ by over $1000 between the companies. What is important is not necessarily the total dollar figure, but what will be done for the cost. It is important that you understand enough about the treatment so you will get the most for your money.

3. Get a written report detailing: whether an active infestation is present, where the infestation and damage is located, what structures/areas will be treated and how, what insecticide(s) and rates will be used, and any warranty or limitations to the treatment. Read the proposals carefully. Use these reports to compare termite control companies.

Also, be sure that you understand what your obligations after treatment might be. What to do if your neighbor has termites? Or what if an inspection finds termites in a woodpile or dead tree in your yard? These are difficult questions for a naive homeowner to answer. It is also not easy to always get an objective answer to these questions from a termite control personnel because they are also in the business of selling termite control treatments. Just because your neighbor has termites, it doesn' t mean that you do. And, in Nebraska, it is fairly common to find termites in firewood piles and old dead wood stumps. It is very important for homeowners to learn as much about the signs of termites and termite damage as they can to be able to make intelligent decisions about this potentially serious and expensive insect pest.

     

Did you ever wonder why there are so many flies in the summer? Firstly this is because flies start their reproduction cycle at the start of summer and secondly they mate and reproduce at an astonishing speed. An average house fly lives for about 2 weeks but can singularly be responsible for the birth of thousands of flies thus causing fly infestation.

In order to derive ways of eliminating fly infestation we need to know what causes fly infestation. Only a couple of days after an adult female fly emerges from the pupa, she will start to lay eggs, maybe 250 at a time and she lays eggs daily.

In order to lay the eggs, she must first look for decaying or rotting grounds which includes garbage cans, a dead animal carcass lying around or any other rotting food source. And it is possible that such breeding grounds be found on the kitchen counter tops.

                                                                                         

So once the fly has found good nesting grounds it will lay tons of eggs. These eggs hatch within the next 24 hours; and what comes out is an off white, translucent, worm like creature which starts to feed on the rotting object almost immediately and they keep on growing. After 5 days they change into a pupa, where in they develop themselves into a fly and emerge after another 2-3 days. So a single fly causes the addition of so many flies in the region and every single fly keeps on reproducing till it dies.

If the fly infestation is kept unchecked, it can increase in number even more and because they feed or nest on rotting objects, they become carriers of harmful diseases. So next time don’t think that the pretty flowers in the vase have attracted the flies; because flies are more a symptom of bad hygiene than a symbol of beautiful fragrance.

Therefore if you identify a fly infestation, beware that something or some dead animal is rotting somewhere. Fly infestation can happen in the homes as well. If it does then the cause of it should be immediately identified and eliminated. It can also be a dead rodent stuck in the walls somewhere.