Bed Bug Control

About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are a nasty pest that's spreading increasingly in the Netherlands. Combating them is a difficult task, so it's important to take them seriously. Bed bugs can be found everywhere, from budget hostels to expensive hotels, and even in your own bedroom. The bugs are about 5 to 6 millimeters long, have a flat body, and can easily hide in the folds of bedding and mattresses, but also behind wallpaper, skirting boards, or in hollow bedposts.

Bed bugs feed on the blood of people, among others. They pierce the skin with their proboscis, suck blood, and inject anesthetic and anticoagulant substances. This can lead to wounds and itchy bumps. Bed bugs get their name from the place where they are most often found: in beds. Bed bugs once had wings, but these have largely disappeared over time. The remnants are visible as two small "flaps" behind the pronotum.

Bed bugs are difficult to control and cannot be stopped by vigorous cleaning. The red spots left by bite wounds resemble mosquito bites and generally heal quickly. However, sometimes skin infections can develop, or the bumps can be scratched open, causing scarring. Unlike other blood-sucking insects like mosquitoes and fleas, bed bugs cannot transmit diseases.

The life of a bed bug

Bed bugs develop through incomplete metamorphosis. The transition from egg to adult takes about two months at a temperature of 18-20°C. The female lays 100-200 eggs, 2-12 per day, and at higher temperatures, this can even reach 500. Bed bugs are primarily found in sleeping areas and require a blood meal from a human or animal once every eight days. The blood-sucking process takes about five to ten minutes, and a new blood meal is required for each larval molt.

To prevent bed bugs, it is important to move goods as little as possible and not to move goods from infected rooms.