So I was sitting around today and thinking about what exactly I would write. I had the window behind me cracked open just a little and felt a nice, cool breeze on my back. Florida’s winters may not belong or cold enough for my liking, but they’re pretty pleasant. Unfortunately, this means that it doesn’t suppress many of the bugs that plague our lawns and homes. But that made me realize something. Sure there are outside bugs that are affected by the weather, but what about the inside one? That’s why today we’re going to be discussing winter bed bugs.
Winter Bed Bugs: Overview
Bed bugs are small, oval-shaped, brownish insects that live off of the blood of people and their pets. The adults have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. But, after feeding, their bodies swell pretty massively and they turn more red in color. While this pest doesn’t fly, they move quickly across floors, walls, and ceilings. The females lay hundreds of eggs over their lifespan. These eggs are about the size of a speck of dust and almost impossible to notice before they hatch.
Immature bedbugs, known as nymphs, shed their skins about five times before reaching full grown maturity. Under good conditions, the bugs can develop fully in only one month and produce three or more generations a year.
When They Bite
Winter bed bugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak. The bugs feed from three to 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed.
Most bedbug bites are painless at first but later turn into itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are mainly around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites do.
People who don’t realize they have a bedbug infestation may attribute the itching and welts to other causes, such as mosquitoes. To confirm bedbug bites, you must find and identify the bugs themselves.
Where They Hide
Winter Bedbugs may enter your home undetected through luggage, clothing, used beds and couches, and other items. Their flattened bodies make it possible for them to fit into tiny spaces, about the width of a credit card. Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees but tend to live in groups in hiding places. Their initial hiding places are typically in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards where they have easy access to people to bite in the night.
Winter Bed Bugs: Season of Reprieve?
And while some of us may love winter’s lower temperatures, and some of us may hate it, it has its ups and downs. The freezing temperatures that parts of this country can reach may be uncomfortable for some, but those temperatures also lead to winter activities involving snow and the like. And, as I mentioned earlier, a break from all of those common insects is usually a welcome one, right?
But, there is a question to ask. Do we really get a reprieve from all those pests? Ideally, every pesky insect should die in the winter, giving us a few months of peace before coming back out in the spring. However, there are some insects that manage to bug us all year long. One such insect is the bed bug.
Bed bugs live primarily indoors, giving them the heat they need to survive the winter. As long as they have a food source as well as the warmth they need, they’ll happily remain active in your home throughout the year. If they don’t have a food source, they can go for several months without eating and still survive.
The good news is that although they do remain active in the winter, there is a slightly smaller chance of a new infestation at this time, compared to the summer months when bed bugs are most active. Bed bugs can survive for short periods in cold temperatures, but they don’t like the cold and are less likely to hitch a ride with someone going from place to place and more likely to hunker down in the safe warmth of the place they’ve already infested.
Regardless of whether they’re moving around or not, bed bugs are bad news. When they get into your home, they will reproduce and quickly become a big problem. They are fantastic at hiding in all kinds of places you wouldn’t think to look or couldn’t get to even if you did think of it. They are also extremely difficult to kill. Even if you attempt a DIY bed bug treatment and it seems to work, it is more than likely that you didn’t kill all of the bed bugs, larvae, or eggs. Similarly, most DIY treatments can’t reach the hard-to-find hiding spots where bed bugs live when they’re not roaming around or feeding.
What To Do about Winter Bed Bugs?
The safest and smartest choice when it comes to dealing with bed bugs in the winter, spring, summer, or fall is to bring in professionals who have the knowledge and the equipment to eradicate your bed bug problem.
Especially try to get one that uses natural methods of pest control, as chemical pesticides have long had their safety called into question. And make sure to involve a pro as soon as you believe you have an infestation. Remember, the longer you wait to deal with something like this, the worse it will get. No one wants to live with bed dwelling parasites for too long.