Pre-Treatment Preparation Checklist
It is imperative that a homeowner or tenant follow a
pre-treatment checklist prior to the arrival of
the pest management professional (PMP). Not
preparing the infested room or unit greatly
diminishes the ability of the PMP to correct the problem and the results will be compromised.
The following is an example checklist for preparing a room or unit for treatment:
Bed Bug Links
Getting to Know the Bed Bug
Natural History
Bed bugs are thought to have evolved from cave-dwelling insects in the Middle East that fed on
bats and eventually started feeding on humans instead. Human bed bugs were noted in Greek
and Latin literature long before the Common Era, and the insects rapidly spread throughout
Europe with human populations.
Cimex lectularius
is the species that is now infesting
homes in Michigan
. Bed bugs live where people live because they only feed on sleeping
humans. Thus, in Michigan and elsewhere, they
are found primarily in homes, apartments,
hotels, shelters, and dormitories. The presence of bed bugs in human dwellings is not caused
by a lack of cleanliness. They are an equal opportunity pest that only requires a warm, sleeping
body and a place to hide nearby. Bed bugs have been found in both five-star hotels and
homeless shelters.
Biology
Bed bugs belong to the family
Cimicidae
in the insect order Hemiptera. All Hemiptera, or “true
bugs”, have piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on plant juices, other insects, or the blood of
vertebrate animals. The family
Cimicidae
includes many species that feed primarily on bats or
birds, but only three species tend to specialize on humans.
Cimex lectularius
is the most
cosmopolitan and is the species found throughout North America and Europe. The other two
species (
C. hemipterus
and
Leptocimex boueti
) are found exclusively in tropical areas, with
C.
hemipterus
being widespread in those regions.
Bed bugs are recognized and distinguished from other similar
insects by their
extreme dorsal-ventral (back to stomach)
flattening
, their lack of wings, and their reddish brown
coloration after feeding. The flattening is not as obvious in
blood-engorged individuals. They typically do not get larger
than 7 mm (~1/4”) in length. Infestations with bed bugs are
sometimes associated with a
sweet, musty odor
produced by glands on the ventral (bottom)
side of the thorax (middle body segment)http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3255965/
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