by David Greenwell

Created on: November 21, 2010

You settle down for a good nights sleep, only to wake up with red, itchy bumps on your arms and legs.You sit there wondering, not knowing what it could be. Little do you know, your home is being invaded by bedbugs!

A bedbug (Cimicidae), is a six-legged, small parasitic insect that travels from place to place infesting homes, buses, hotels, apartments and businesses. Once settled into a new place, these blood-sucking insects feed on unsuspecting victims at night while asleep. Their bite is next to painless which gives them the advantage to feed and not disrupt the process.

Adult bedbugs are reddish-brown, flattened and oval. Newly hatched nymphs are lighter in color, but become browner as they feed and reach maturity. Bedbugs are becoming a big problem, with infestations up 5,000% as well as all of the reported attacks! The real nightmare begins when they attach themselves to ones clothes. Bedbugs can be picked up from practically anywhere and once brought home, they reproduce and become a bad dream.

Locating bedbugs is a job in itself. Although they can be seen with the human eye, they have remarkable hiding skills. Bedbugs are known for hiding in hard to reach areas or small crevices. They can literally hide in anything and everything, to include baseboards, carpet edges, picture frames, inside couches and beds, pretty much anywhere. And the odds of getting rid of them yourself is slim to none. There is no known treatment for bedbugs, but having a licensed pest control tech treat your home is a good first step. There is one method you can try. It is a home remedy that will control the problem for a limited time, but not for long term protection. You may even have it in the medicine cabinet. Rubbing Alcohol! That's right! Put the rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and apply to all sides of the bed. This stuff will kill on contact, and if sprayed evenly around your resting spot, you may just end up having a good nights sleep for once.

Although not known to carry any diseases as of yet, bedbugs can make a victim feel like they're a feeding ground for these little pests. They only come out at night, are tiny and are hard to see. Someone who has issues with these blood-sucking insects knows firsthand the annoyance and uncomfortable feelings involved in having problems with bedbugs. They're difficult to treat, and can be a very expensive problem for you and your home. Furniture, like couches and beds, may be too infested to keep, prompting a visualized search and the trashing of some furniture. Contact a pest control company that deals mainly with bedbugs, and ask what other preventions you can take to protect yourself and your home.

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