Though these pests like to come out before dawn, don't think you can wait up all night to outsmart them. "A bed bug is an opportunist, and while their peak feeding time is between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., if you work nights they will come out and feed on you during the day," Furman says.
Bed bugs are most active between midnight and 3 am. They are rarely active during daylight hours, and only come out when attracted by the warmth and carbon dioxide released from a body at rest.
Bed bugs are shifty pests that typically like to hide no further than a few feet away from their hosts. Therefore, cracks in bed frames, headboards, box springs, mattress seams and even your dresser are all places bed bugs will reside during the day.
Bed bugs are also known for coming out when the lights are on if you have a large infestation. If you are spotting bed bugs with the naked eye when the lights are on, it is time to call in an exterminator who can help you treat them as soon as possible.
Bed bugs are generally considered to be nocturnal and prefer to forage for a host and take a blood meal during the night. They also will come out in the daytime or at night when lights are on, in order to take a blood meal, especially if there were no human hosts in the structure for a while and they are hungry.
Sleeping With Lights On For Bed Bugs
Sure, they are known to feed at night, but keeping the light on while you sleep won't fool them into thinking it is day. Bed bugs hate light, but this won't be enough to prevent them from coming out and feeding, so it's not worth ruing your sleep over.
It's best to keep the infestation localized to as few rooms as possible. This will also make remediation easier. Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home.
In most cases, a bed bug infestation will go unnoticed for a few months following a bed bug's initial introduction into a home.
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.
DIY treatments include high heat, bleach, alcohol, and diatomaceous earth. Rubbing alcohol, salt, baking soda, and boric acid are not effective. Certain essential oils repel bed bugs but won't kill them. Diatomaceous earth is an effective passive method of bed bug treatment.
Place a source of heat in the room. Since body heat attracts bed bugs, it would be a nice trick to lure them out with a device set at the same temperature. Release some carbon dioxide near their hiding spots. Bed bugs find this gas irresistible, as it signifies that a person is sleeping nearby.
When baby powder is used in bed bug traps, it's possible that baby powder may help kill them by keeping them confined inside the trap. It's non-toxic, but it can make the surface of the trap more difficult for the bed bugs to escape.
Bed bugs can also smell carbon dioxide when you exhale. When you are sleeping soundly and breathing deeply, you are sending out another signal to these insects that it's safe to come out and eat.
While they are visible to the naked eye, bed bugs are exceptionally tiny, so you'll need to look closely in order to spot an infestation. Use a flashlight in dimly-lit areas. Look for droppings, skin casting, and rust-colored stains as evidence of a bed bug nest.
Those individuals who are not sensitive to bed bug bites may not know they have an infestation. Because bed bugs are nocturnally active, it's hard to see other signs of their presence—unless you're accustomed to waking up at 3 A.M. and taking a census.
It's possible to live for a few weeks without knowing you have bed bugs, but a serious infestation will typically become too hard to ignore. The sooner you know you have bed bugs, the better, so the infestation can get treated as quickly as possible.
One bed bug could cause an infestation.
Can one bed bug cause an infestation? Well, if it's one male, there's no chance of an infestation. However, if it's an adult female, then the answer is yes - it could cause an infestation.
Avoid bringing worn items into bedrooms or placing items on furniture. Showering using soap and water is sufficient to remove bed bugs from your person.
You may continue to sleep in your bed after treatment. Encasements should be put on mattresses and box springs. Any surviving bed bugs in the mattress or box spring will not be able to escape the encasement or bite.
Lemon (Or Any Citrus)
Like many other animals, bed bugs hate the smell of citrus plants. Citrus, particularly oranges and lemons, will smell gross to them. As a result, most bed bugs will not want to stick around this aroma for too long. There are several ways to make this work for you if you want to repel insects.
Heat – Bed bugs use sensory structures on their antennae to detect body heat. Body Odor – Bed bugs are also attracted to the various odor molecules produced by our bodies. Body odor is also why bed bugs are twice as more likely to be attracted to dirty laundry than to clean laundry.