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Question:ok. i own some rental properties and one of my tenants said they got bed bugs. no one there have ever gotten bed bugs before. the recently got two cats so can that be the reason? will anybody tell me about these bed bugs? it is an upstairs apt. and never has anybody complained about bed bugs until they got these cats.
Answers:
It's not the animals bringing in the bugs, it's the humans. The bugs were either brought in when they moved in, or they brought them home with them after sleeping at someones else's infested bed/house. Here's a great site to explain bed bugs to you:
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/bed-...
Bed bugs are not transmitted by cats. Humans bring them in. Bed bugs don't just appear spontaneously in a home or apartment. People accidentally move bed bugs from place to place. Bed bugs in hotels or motels sometimes crawl into luggage and return home with travelers. Another way is to bring them home with infested furniture. Brought inside apartments or hotel rooms, bed bugs may travel to other rooms as their numbers increase.
When checking into a hotel, it is a good idea to immediately inspect rooms for bed bugs. Bed bugs leave small brown spots or smears near their hiding places and on mattresses and bedding. Bed bugs live in cracks the width of a credit card and like to live in void areas created by wood framing. One common place is in the box springs, under the fabric stapled to the frame .
Examine infested rooms for bed bugs, especially close to the bed, but don't ignore the rest of the room. In a heavily infested room, bed bugs can be found 10-15 feet from the bed, even in closets on clothing. Look for black or brown fecal spots to pinpoint hiding places. Don't forget to check under mattress buttons and between the mattress and box springs. They may be found along the edge of carpet, next to the wall and even in electrical receptacles. Bed bugs produce a musty sweet smell that may be noticeable in heavy infestations.
Bed bugs get stuck readily to sticky traps . Use these to monitor bed bug activity and as a non-chemical control.
Non-Chemical Actions
Vacuum infested areas thoroughly. This includes the mattress, box springs furniture, beds, headboards, sofas. Don't forget the void area underneath box springs--tear away the fabric dust cover and look for bed bugs there. After you are finished, bag the vacuum cleaner bag and take it immediately to the trash. Vacuum every day or two until the infestation is gone.
Use a steamer on mattresses to kill eggs missed by the vacuum cleaner. Spraying mattresses with insecticides isn't recommended. Steam cleaning carpets is also a good idea, but must be coordinated with pest control efforts so as not to interfere with the effectiveness of treatments.
Launder bedding and dry in a hot dryer to kill all stages of bed bugs.
Eliminate clutter in infested areas to reduce hiding places for bed bugs and make treatments more effective. Because these bugs like to hide in small cracks, stacks of clothing, paper items and corrugated cardboard are likely hiding places.
Some people recommend throwing mattresses away. If the mattress is in good condition, it may not be necessary to discard it. After vacuuming and steaming the mattress, cover it with a plastic zippered cover to trap bugs inside. Keep the mattress cover on the mattress for at least a year to make sure all the bugs are dead.
Chemical Treatments
Because bed bugs live in tight places and are able to survive without a blood meal for an extended time, they are difficult to control. Hiring a pest control professional is recommended.
Inorganic materials like diatomaceous earth and silica aerogel can be applied in tight places and provide long-term control. These desiccants scratch the insect cuticle and cause the insect to become dehydrated and die. These substances should be placed in locations of low humidity. They have low toxicity to people and pets.
To limit unwanted insecticide exposure, crack and crevice treatments should be used. Most liquid insecticides currently registered for interior treatments are belong to the class of chemicals called pyrethroids which are repellent to many insects. Recent research from Virginia Tech indicates several insecticides registered for interior applications will control bed bugs. Dini Miller, research entomologist tested lambda-cyhalothrin (Demand CS), bifenthrin (TalstarOne), and deltamethrin (Suspend SC) and found bed bugs showed no repellency to these products.
When considering pest control companies, ask about previous experience successfully treating bed bugs. The company should use a number of tactics to control these pests. These include dusts in wall voids, crack and crevice sprays and sticky traps to monitor bed bug movement and assess the effectiveness of treatments.
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Cats don't have normally have bedbugs, but if they were previously in a home that did, they could bring them home just like people could. But it could be fleas. Maybe these tenants just think it's bedbugs because they only see the bites, not the bugs, and they are really flea bites.
If they do have actual bedbugs, it's likely they originated from a hotel room bed. Bedbugs have been running rampant the last few years in hotels and other places where the occupants change frequently. Either way, call an exterminator.
Sounds to me like the tenants are trying to pass the buck off to you so that you can rid them of their own infestation. I cannot tell you how bed bugs come about. Although they have been around since the begining of time, I have just recently been hearing a lot more people talk about them. As far as the cats causing them, I would think that it is possible that they have carried some sort of parasites in on them. Animals get mange, fleas and other sorts of dermatitis problems. Is it possible the tenants have lice or scabies? Do they have poor living habits and keep a dirty home? Like I said, I kinda wonder if they're just trying to pass the buck on to you so that you can treat their home to get rid of their bugs that they brought in. Whatever the case may be, I would politely explain that you have never had anything like that happen to any other tenants, but you will call an exterminator. This could help to avoid any disputes, and would probably be cheaper than having your tenants move and having to look for new ones.
Cat usually don't have bedbugs. They carry fleas. If they are up on the bed and you happen to get bite from a flea off the cat then one may think bedbugs.
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