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453

Bed bugs are sometimes called ‘red coats,” “chinches,” or “mahogany flats.”

In most parts of the United States there is only one species, known scien- tifically as Czmex Jlectularius. Another species, Czmex hemipterus, is common in Florida and perhaps in some of the other Southern States.

The bed bug feeds on blood—princi- pally that of man. It feeds by piercing the skin with its elongated beak.

Bed bugs are spread chiefly by these means: Clothing and baggage of travelers and visitors; secondhand beds, bedding, and furniture; and laundry.

What they look like

The mature bed bug is a brown, wing- lesssuinsechs Wltstysize “depends: ‘om the amount of food (blood) that the body contains. An unfed bed bug is between Y% and ¥% inch long. The upper sur- face of the body has a flimsy, crinkly appearance.

When engorged with blood, the body becomes elongated and swollen and the color changes from brown to dull red. The change in size, shape, and color is so great that persons seeing a number of the bugs in different degrees of dis- tention may believe that they are look- ing at different species.

Bed bug eggs are white and about 432 inch long. _

Newly hatched bugs are translucent

i)

how

to control bed bugs

and nearly colorless. Young bugs are similar in shape to the adults. As they grow, they molt (shed their skins). After each molt they are pale at first, then become brownish.

To know that bed bugs are in a room, you do not always have to see them. There usually is an offensive odor in rooms where they are numerous. The odor comes from an oily liquid that they emit.

Feeding habits

Bed bugs feed mostly at night, by biting people who are asleep. But if they are very hungry and if the light is dim, they will feed during the day.

When bed bugs bite, they inject a fluid into the skin that assists them in ob- taining blood. Often the fluid causes the skin to become irritated and inflamed; welts develop and there is much itch- ing. It has never been proved that bed bugs are disease carriers in the United States.

If its feeding is undisturbed, a full- grown bed bug becomes engorged with blood in 3 to 5 minutes. It then crawls to its hiding place, where it remains for several days digesting its meal. When hunger returns, the bug emerges from hiding and seeks another meal of blood.

Bed bugs may be serious pests in ani- mal and poultry houses and in labora- tories where rabbits, rats, guinea pigs,

or birds are kept for experimental pur- poses. They also may feed on small animals and birds that are kept as pets. The of blood may weaken these animals.

loss

How they develop

Under favorable conditions, one female bed bug lays about 200 eggs. When the insects feed regularly, eggs are laid at the rate of 3 or 4 a day. Maximum egg laying occurs when the temperature issabove7/Ogwr.. INo eggs are laid at temperatures lower than 50° F.

When first laid, the eggs are coated with a sticky substance, which dries at once, causing the eggs to adhere to the object on which they were deposited. The unhatched eggs and the eggshells are seen, singly or in clusters, about the crevices in which the bugs hide.

At temperatures above 70° F. the eggs hatch in 6 to 17 days. At lower tem- peratures hatching may take as long as 28 days.

Newly hatched bugs feed at the first opportunity. They molt 5 times before reaching maturity. The bugs will feed a few days after each molt if a host is available. In 1 year there may be 3 or more generations.

There is considerable variation in the period of development, even among bugs hatching at the same time. As a result, bed bugs in all stages are present at all seasons of the year, except in unheated rooms in winter, when only adults may be present.

Length of life

Newly hatched bed bugs may live for several weeks without feeding during warm weather and for several months during cool weather. If they feed occa- sionally, they may live only about 10 months. However, it is common for older bed bugs to go 2 weeks to 2 months, or longer, without food. It is believed that under some conditions they can live a year or longer without

food.

Where they hide

Habitual hiding places are usually made evident by black or brown spots of dried excrement on surfaces on which the bugs rest. Eggs, eggshells, and cast skins may also be seen near these places.

At the beginning of an infestation in a room, bed bugs are likely to be found only about the tufts, seams, and folds of mattresses and daybed covers; later they spread to crevices in the bedsteads.

M&A 11223

MATURE BED BUG. Above: Before engorge- ment. Below: After engorgement with blood (shows distention of body and al- tered appearance). Much enlarged.

IMMATURE BED BUGS. A, Skin shed at first molt. C, After first meal, distended with blood.

If allowed to multiply, they establish themselves behind baseboards, window and door casings, pictures, and picture moldings, and in furniture, loosened wall- paper, cracks in plaster, and partitions.

Control in homes

To control bed bugs in homes, find the places where they hide in the day- time, and apply an insecticide directly into those places.

Note.—If you live in a private home in which the infestation is heavy, or in a hotel or apartment house, you may need the serv- ices of a pest-control operator. See page 6.

Kinds of Insecticide

Lindane, malathion, ronnel, and pyre- thrum (concentration shown on label as pyrethrins) are highly effective against bed bugs. They can be purchased at most drug, hardware, and department stores and at large food markets.

Quite often household sprays contain one or more of these insecticides com- bined with other insecticides. Do not use any insecticide on a mattress unless the label specifically discusses application to

4

M&A 11225

B, Second stage (immediately after first molt). Much enlarged.

a mattress. Most household sprays are not suitable for application to mattresses. Most of these insecticides may be ap- plied in sprays or dusts. Sprays are pre- ferred. Dusts do not cling to mattresses, bedsteads, or vertical surfaces as well as sprays do and therefore do not give as long-lasting protection. Also, they are harder to apply properly and are un- sightly in exposed places in homes.

Sprays ... What To Buy

The recommended insecticides are avail- able as emulsifiable liquids. Any of these liquids may be mixed with water to make an emulsion spray or with kero- sene to make a kerosene-solution spray.

Oil solutions of some of the insecti- cides may be purchased ready for use as sprays. Such sprays generally are more convenient for home use.

If you wish to prepare a spray, mix one of the emulsifiable liquids with water or kerosene in the proportion necessary to give the desired percentage of insecti- cide in the finished spray. Labels on the containers usually state the percent- age of insecticide desirable in the finished spray and give directions for mixing. The accompanying table is a further guide. (If an emulsifiable liquid of the strength

specified in the table is not readily avail- able, read the directions for mixing that appear on the labels of the products that are available and select a product whose label includes specific directions for bed bug control.)

Pyrethrum sprays should contain at least 0.2 percent of pyrethrins. Most pyrethrum preparations contain the synergist piperonyl butoxide, which in- creases the effectiveness of the pyrethrum. The sprays should contain at least 1 per- cent of this synergist.

How To Use Sprays

A single treatment with a lindane, ronnel, or malathion spray usually con- trols bed bugs in a room and leaves a deposit that prevents reinfestation for several months. Since it is impossible to penetrate all the hiding places, control is not complete or immediate—a few living bugs may be seen for a week or 10 days after the treatment. If you continue to see bugs after 2 weeks, spray again.

You can control bed bugs with a spray containing only pyrethrum; but since such a spray does not leave a long-lasting deposit, several treatments 1 or 2 weeks apart are required.

Effectiveness of control depends on the thoroughness with which spray is ap- plied. To treat a bed—

e@ Spray the slats, springs, and frame. Apply enough spray to wet them thoroughly. Do not miss any of the crevices where bugs hide.

@ Apply a light mist spray to the en- tire mattress. Penetrate seams, tufts,

and folds.

About 4 ounces of spray usually is re- quired to treat a bed and mattress. Al- low 1 to 2 hours for the bed to dry before putting on sheets or occupying it.

Spray upholstered furniture thoroughly.

In treating other hiding places, apply enough spray to penetrate all crevices and to wet all surfaces to the point of runoff. Spray walls to a height of sev- eral feet above the floor.

Kinds of Sprayers

Select a sprayer that can be adjusted to produce either coarse particles or a mist. The mist is needed when you Spray mattresses and upholstered furni- ture; the coarse particles are needed for all other parts of the spraying job.

If only one or two rooms are to be treated, the job can be done with a 1-

Guide for Mixing Sprays

Insecticides (as emulsifiable liquids) and certain of the

strengths in which they may be purchased

Lindane: 20 percent

4 | DER SST Coe Aan eel aia ae ee

Malathion, 50 percent

Byceenmrnie percent 2.0008) 0202. la. oe S.

Ronnel: 12 percent 24 percent

' For application to hiding places only. * Refers to pyrethrins content.

Percentage of insecucide de- sired in spray

Amount of emulsifiable liquid to mix with 1 quart of water or kerosene

2 tablespoons 1 teaspoon

3 tablespoons 2 teaspoons

4 teaspoons 8 ounces

6 tablespoons 3 tablespoons

Apply lower concentrations on mattresses.

or 2-quart hand sprayer that delivers a continuous spray. The sprayer should be equipped with a nozzle that can be adjusted to control the size of the spray particles. To insure proper coverage, hold the nozzle within a few inches of the object or surface being sprayed; this is necessary because the sprayer operates under low pressure.

Hand sprayer.

A 1- or 2-gallon garden-type com- pressed-air sprayer is recommended for treating several rooms or beds. The disk opening should be smaller than that nor- mally used when spraying plants. Pres- sure should be light to moderate except when treating mattresses or upholstered furniture. High pressure causes the sprayer to produce fine particles or mist.

Compressed-air sprayer.

If You Need the Services of a Pest-Control Operator . . .

Bed bugs in hotels, apartments, and other multiple-type dwelling places

may spread quickly from one unit to another.

If they are found in one unit,

the owner or manager of the building should have all the units inspected, and should arrange for control of any infestations revealed by the inspection.

As a rule, commercial pest-control operators are best qualified to inspect multiple-type dwelling places and to control infestations in them. Also, it is often advantageous to call in a pest-control operator to eliminate heavy

general infestations in private homes.

After an infestation is under control, it may be advisable to have the pest-

control operator check at regular intervals.

In this way new infestations may

be detected and eliminated before they spread.

Control in small- animal laboratories and poultry houses

In small-animal laboratories and poul- try houses, good sanitation practices and proper construction reduce the number of places in which bed bugs can hide.

If an insecticide is needed, follow these recommendations:

@ SMALL-ANIMAL LABORATORIES.— Bed bugs often become established in laboratories where animals or birds are kept for experimental purposes. Where the nature of the experiment is such that insecticide contamination must be avoided, a pyrethrum spray or dust should be used, especially in treating cages. However, in most laboratories lin- dane, malathion, or ronnel can be ap- plied to cracks, corners, and other hiding places without contaminating the caged animals.

Apply any of the sprays referred to in the table on page 5, or apply a dust. A lindane or malathion spray should con- tain the higher of the two percentages of insecticide given in the table. A pyre- thrum dust should contain 1 percent of pyrethrins or 0.2 percent of pyrethrins plus a synergist. Proper strengths of other dusts: lindane, 1 percent; mala- thion, 4 percent.

@ POULTRY HOUSES.— Apply a 1-per- cent malathion spray. To prepare a mala- thion spray, follow the guide at the bot- tom of page >.

A 4-percent malathion dust may also be used.

Apply the spray or dust to all inside surfaces. get it in all crevices. Spray should be coarse (see “Kinds of Sprayers,” pp. 5, 6) and should be applied to the point of runoff.

PRECAUTIONS

Federal and State regulations require registration numbers on all pesticide containers. Use only pesticides that carry this designation. Read and follow all directions on the label.

USDA publications that contain sug- gestions for the use of pesticides are normally revised at 2 year intervals. If your copy is more than 2 years old, con- tact your Cooperative State Extension Service to determine the latest pesticide recommendations.

The pesticides mentioned in this pub- lication were Federally registered for the use indicated as of the issue date of this publication. Because the registration of a pesticide that you have had in your possession for some time can be changed, you may wish to check with your local agricultural authorities to determine the registration status of the pesticide.

The user is responsible for the proper use and storage of pesticides. Pesticides used improperly can be injurious to man, animals, and plants. Store pesticides in original containers under lock and key— out of the reach of children and ant- mals—and away from food and feed, seed, other plant materials, and fertilizer. Follow the directions and heed all pre- cautions on labels.

Other USDA Publications on Insects of the Home

The House Fly: How To Control It

Me ates BA oak dat 1 RIT) iy 96) eA L 390 Silverfish and Firebrats? How, lo Control: themes eee eee L 412 Controlling Mosquitoes in Your Home and on Your Premises........... HG 84

To obtain copies of publications, ask your county agricultural agent or send a post card request to the Office of Communication, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Washington, D.C. 20250. Please include your ZIP code number in your return address.

FOLLOW THE LABEL

U.S. DEPARTMEMT OF AGRICULTURE

Prepared by SOUTHERN REGION AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE

Issued September 1959 Washington, D.C. Slightly revised April 1976

yx U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1976—O-203-065

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