How to control bed bugs

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oe DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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

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