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Those that have bedbugs in their home know just how awful they can be. They feed on the warm blood of humans and cause itchy, painful sores all over the body. But the worst of it seems that there’s no getting rid of bedbugs. People have to go to drastic measures such as increasing the heat to a severely high temperature and leaving it like that for days. Now though, you might be able to get rid of those bedbugs by using essential oils.

The essential oils most effective at getting rid of bedbugs are peppermint oil, which is an anti-parasitic; tea tree oil, which acts as an insecticide; and clove bud, which also has anti-parasitic properties. Combine 20 drops of each essential oil with 10 millimeters of alcohol in a small spray bottle. Add water to fill and shake to mix thoroughly. Spray the area around your bed and your bedding and anywhere else that the little critters are residing. This mixture is great for traveling, especially when you add the water once you arrive at your destination.

Being handy for travel is especially important since this is one of the major ways that bedbugs are transferred from one place to another. You can also place some cotton balls soaked with the undiluted solution into your suitcase to keep bedbugs from crawling in there. You can also use strips of cloth fabric to tie soaked cotton balls around the legs of your bed.

Essential oils won’t just get rid of the bedbugs in your home, but they can also be used to treat bedbug bites. Using a cotton swab, dab the area with a bit of lavender essential oil to relieve swelling and itching. Essential oils are a great tool in the fight against bedbugs, and they’re safe and non-toxic too!

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

With the increase of bedbug infestations in the United States this summer, and continuing on into the fall, it’s left many homeowners frustrated and itchy. But in addition to just being a nuisance, many are also wondering if a bedbug infestation has any short-term or long-term health effects. So, are bedbugs bad for your health?

While bedbugs do bite, and they do leave visible sores or bite marks on your skin, bedbugs themselves are not bad for your health. They are in no way poisonous, nor do they carry any carcinogens with them. In fact, the itchy red spot that’s left on your skin after a bedbug has bitten you is most likely going to be the only health effect that you feel from bedbugs.

For some though, bedbug bites can be a bit more serious than just an itchy spot. Those who are allergic to bedbugs will definitely be allergic to their bites and might find excessive swelling, redness, soreness, or itchiness in and around the area of the bite. Even those with allergies however, are not known to suffer any damaging health effects from bedbugs.

The most serious effect that bedbugs have on health seems to be on mental health. After an infestation, it’s quite common for people to feel that itchy, crawly feeling on their skin. Experts say that this can have some serious consequences on the psyche, and that after some time people may even find it difficult to fall asleep, or even be afraid to fall asleep. And sleep deprivation can have its own very serious damaging effects on both physical and mental health. For those who find it very difficult to cope after a bedbug infestation, clothing and furniture may need to be thrown away.

Although bedbugs are a terrible pest to have in your home, and even though they’re incredibly hard to get rid of, the critters aren’t going to be detrimental to your health. Those who find that they are having problems coping after a bedbug problem, a thorough inspection and cleaning of the area may be enough to make it clear that bedbugs, and everything associated with them is no longer a problem and will no longer interfere with their daily lives.

Bedbugs are on the rise, and although they have been around for centuries few people today know much about them.  After the second World War, the increased use of pesticides in the U.S. caused the infestations go become practically non-existent.  But recent years have seen bedbugs making a comeback.   It helps to know what to look for so that you can isolate the problem and address it before it causes serious problems for your family.

The adult bedbug is usually less than ¼ inch, and females can produce between 1-5 eggs per day.  The eggs hatch after an incubation period of ten days, and the babies can feed up to five times before reaching adult size. Bed bugs feed on the blood of both humans and animals, usually during the nighttime hours when they can feed undisturbed.  They locate their victim by sensing the warmth of their sleeping body and the carbon dioxide given off from exhalations.

 After biting their victim, the bed bugs secrete a small amount of saliva into the bite to prevent the blood from coagulating.  The saliva causes the skin to itch and become swollen, and may even lead to infection.  Bedbugs can leave a series of small bites or just one or two in random places on your body. 

During the times when they are not feeding, bedbugs hide in openings in your walls, in artwork, in baseboards or furniture (including mattresses).  If you happen to be staying away from home in a hotel or on a cruise ship, you can check your quarters for bedbugs with a flashlight, which should reveal crawling insects, blood spots, excrement or evidence of molting.

A few more facts about bedbugs:

• Bedbugs can live anywhere they have a source of blood on a regular basis.
• Bedbugs do not transmit diseases; however their bites can be itchy, swollen and uncomfortable.  Repeatedly scratching them can lead to infections.
• One of the first signs of infestation is small blood spots on bed linens. 
• Bedbugs are not necessarily sign of lack of cleanliness.
• Bedbugs may be able to go more than a year without blood.  That means that if you buy used furniture, it should be inspected thoroughly regardless of how long it has been sitting at the dealer’s store.
• The saliva of a bedbug contains an anesthetic which numbs the sensation of its biting.

If you suspect an infestation, it is recommended that you call a professional pest control company.  They will have special tools and the experience to identify problem areas in your home right away.  Treatment may take several visits, and you may also be required to remove or destroy furniture, clothing, rugs or artwork which is infested.  At the very least you’ll want to thoroughly clean your home along with your pest control treatment to ensure you are getting the most benefit from it.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com.

Bedbugs aren’t just a made-up critter that parents warn their kids about before they head off to sleep.  These lentil-sized creatures are well adapted to living in company with human hosts, often making their homes in furniture, mattresses and pillows.  They are active during the night and feed off the blood of unsuspecting humans and animals while they sleep.  Their bites may show up as small, irritating welts hours after they occur.

Many pest control companies have a hard time addressing bed bugs because the chemicals used to kill them in the past have been banned due to their toxicity.  Additionally, the public has begun demanding greener, healthier ways to do everything—and that includes pest control.   One way to address infestations is to increase the temperature in a room with industrial strength heaters and then suck the dead bugs out with a powerful vacuum.

Recently, however, an amazing innovation in pest control has been developed:  the use of dogs to sniff out bedbug infestations.  An experiment done at the University of Florida found that dogs were able to locate live bedbugs in hotel rooms 98% of the time.  Dogs have been used for years to sniff out termites, but only recently since there has been a rash of bedbug infestations in the U.S. have they been used specifically for these pests.

The dogs used can be almost any breed, including mixed breeds.  They must go through a training process, working with a handler that uses a food reward system.  The effort pays off, literally.  There are currently only around 100 bed bug sniffing dogs at work in the U.S. today and a dog with trainer can cost between $200-400 an hour.  But for hotels and other businesses it is worth it because it means foregoing harsh chemicals, closing down for fumigation, and replacing furniture that doesn’t need to be replaced.

For a free inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to http://www.accuracypluscalifornia.com/.