The first thing you learn about bed bugs is where there’s one there’s sure to be others. More importantly, perhaps, there’s sure to be bed bug eggs.
Getting rid of bed bugs is one thing, and we’ve talked at length about the various methods exterminators use to eliminate bed bugs. But bed bugs eggs are a different matter. Not all treatments are equally effective, and some can have little or no effect on bed bug eggs.
But before we get into the best methods for eliminating bed bug eggs we need to cover some of the basics.
How Fast do Bed Bugs Reproduce?
The good news is that compared to many other insects bed bugs don’t actually reproduce all that quickly. On average, an adult bed bug can lay between 4 and 7 eggs a day. That amounts to more than 100 eggs over the course of that bed bug’s life.
That may sound like a lot, but a typical housefly can lay as many as 500 eggs over the course of just a few days. So while the bed bug’s rate or reproduction is prodigious it’s something of a slacker as far as most insects go.
Bed bug eggs take roughly 7 to 10 days to hatch. The speedy gestation and hatching period is one of the reason bed bug infestation s are so quick to take hold. It only take a few weeks for a few bed bugs to hatch a sizable brood.
What Do Bed Bug Eggs Look Like?
Bed bugs eggs are extremely small. Typically around 1mm in length. When they are first laid they appear whitish in color. After about five days they develop a black spot. Their size and color make them difficult to spot.
Bed bugs tend to lay their eggs in warm dark places. They also lay them as close as they can to their food supply. Like it or not that food supply tends to be humans. So the most common place to find bed bug eggs is around mattresses, box springs, and bed frames.
It’s worth noting here that bed bugs do not confine themselves to bedrooms. In the case of larger infestations bed bugs eggs may be found through the home. Upholstered furniture, closets, and baseboards are common places for these eggs to be deposited.
What’s the Best Treatment for Bed bug Eggs?
Getting rid of bed bug eggs is not as easy as it seems. Yes, they are a natural part of the bed bug life cycle. But that doesn’t mean they respond in the same way to all bed bug removal treatments. Let’s look at the two most popular methods of bed bug removal – pesticides and heat treatment.
Most pesticides don’t work on bed bug eggs. They only work on larvae, nymphs and adult bed bugs. This is one of the reasons pesticide treatments typically require repeated applications over the course of several weeks. The initial application kills the live bed bugs, but then you need to wait for any eggs to hatch and then treat the area again.
Heatigation is the More Efficient Choice
Heat treatment, on the other hand, kills bed bugs at all stages of their life cycle – including eggs. As a result heat treatment (aka heatigation) is faster and more efficient.
Heat treatments work by raising the ambient temperature throughout your home or business to a level that is deadly to bed bugs and their eggs. The heat radiates throughout the building, into hard to reach places that pesticides simply can’t penetrate.
The benefits of heat treatments are two-fold. First and foremost it kills bed bugs at all stages of their life cycle. Eggs, nymphs, and adults are all vulnerable to the high heat. Second, heatigation rarely takes more than a single treatment. This means you can avoid the inconvenient (and sometimes costly) repeat treatments with pesticides.
Getting Rid of Bed Bug Eggs
Getting rid of bed bugs doesn’t end with the elimination of the living pests. Any surviving bed bug eggs will eventually hatch and your infestation will start again. It can be an ongoing cycle. To effectively end a full scale bed bug infestation you have to consider all stages of the bed bug’s life cycle. Any successful bed bug treatment must also destroy the eggs these pests may leave behind.
Published by Scott Palatnik
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