Bed bugs in Skillman, NJ
Recently, I was sent to Skillman, NJ, a small community within Montgomery Township in Somerset County for a bed bug inspection. This particular job reinforces that a bed bug infestation can happen to anyone anywhere. Bed bugs are not just a problem for apartment dwellers in high density urban areas!
The homeowner suspected that she had a bed bug infestation because she was getting mysterious bites and wanted a positive confirmation of bed bug activity to start treatment, if necessary. Waking up with insect bites is often the earliest sign that there may be bed bugs in your home. This homeowner did the right thing. She contacted us immediately instead of waiting until the problem got worse. Even if you are not 100% sure it’s bed bugs, contact a professional pest control service. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
Bed bugs stay hidden near their hosts so that they don’t need to venture far for their blood meals. Often, we find them in and around beds, but they will be anywhere we nap, sleep, or rest. Here, I found sticky bed bug eggs and cast skins in the seams of a couch. Bed bugs hide in the smallest cracks and crevices they can find, and with their flat bodies they have a wide variety of hiding places to choose from in our homes. they can fit into spaces as thin as a business card. Bed bugs happen to love tight seams in furniture because it gives them a sense of security. They like to have multiple sides of their bodies touching a surface while they are hiding between feedings.
As small as bed bugs are (especially nymphs), bed bug eggs are even smaller. A bed bug eggs is about the size of a pinhead or grain of salt. To me, bed bug eggs resemble a dramatically shaved-down piece of rice. They are pearl-white and covered with a sticky glue-like substance so they adhere to surfaces and are not easily dislodged. I’m often asked, how do you even see these little eggs? The answer is that, as a bed bug specialist, I’ve had to develop a close eye for detail and I know where to look. A bed bug inspection must be systematic and methodical because bed bug eggs, just like bed bugs themselves, are almost always found in hidden locations. These insects naturally avoid open spaces, and unless there is an exceptionally heavy infestation, you’ll almost never find them hanging out in plain sight. To locate bed bugs, eggs, casings, and fecal deposits, you have to go beyond the surface and actually lift and flip things over (and do so carefully so that the bugs do not fly off!) to find their small, dark, quiet hiding spots.
Although no one is happy to find out they have a bed bug infestation, she was relieved to know that she wasn’t imagining things and there were bed bugs biting her. At least now she could treat her home and eliminate them. We set up a treatment date to give her some time to get her home properly prepared for treatment. Bed bug infestations can be challenging and require follow-up visits. However, we stay with it and work with the homeowner until the infestation is successfully resolved.