What Are Bed Bugs? How to Kill Bed Bugs

Bed bugs, scientifically known as Cimex lectularius, are small wingless insects that feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals. The adult has an oval-shaped structure and is reddish-brown in colour.

The upper surface of its body has a crinkled appearance and it is about 1/4 to 3/8 inch long. Its body is covered with short golden hair and its head is broad with a pair a prominent compound cone-like eyes.

The insect has 2 antennae segmented into 4 parts. It has weak flexible beak-like piercing mouthparts. It has 6 well-developed legs and simple claws to climb up rough surfaces.

It is very difficult to kill bed bugs and so a range of treatments is used to treat an infestation one of which is steam and heat treatments.

Steam treatment

Steam treatment using a portable steam machine is effective, but time-consuming. You must place the nozzle directly over the infested surface and move it at a rate of 30cm every 1 to 15 seconds. The quality of the steam is crucial. The machine must produce steam of a low vapour flow and high temperature.

The recommended setting is dry steam with less than 5% humidity at 94°C applied at high pressure. Low vapour output prevents the treated surface from becoming very wet. The machine must produce a minimum temperature of 60°C (140°C).

The steamer should hold at least 50 ounces of water - enough to last for an hour of continual usage. After treatment, the treated surface should record at least 70°C - 80°C on the infrared digital thermometer.

Keep the steam flow rate at a minimum. Use a suitable nozzle to avoid distributing the bed bugs. Vacuum all bed bugs after applying the treatment. The surfaces you have to cover determine the length of time it takes.

It takes at least 1 hour to set up the machine and clean the mattress alone. Add extra time for plush furniture, carpets, rugs and other appropriate surfaces.

Benefits

a. Steam kills bed bugs at all stages in the life cycle when applied properly.

b. Steam flushes them out of the harbourage.

c. Steam combined with other treatments can reduce a significant amount of the population.

d. Steam can reach areas a vacuum cannot reach.

e. Steam treatment is a cheap effective way to kill bed bugs.

Drawbacks

a. Steam treatment requires patience.

b. Steam must be applied slowly and closely to the infested items for effective results.

c. Steam treatment is a continuous process. Taking breaks between treatment gives the pests time to escape.

d. Steam treatment on its own cannot eliminate the bed bug population.

e. The treatment has no residual effect and there is no guarantee against re-infestation.

f. Steam cannot penetrate the mattress and other materials.

g. The treatment is not suitable for every surface.

h. Steam can damage wood, electronic devices, paper and other items sensitive to water.

i. Sometimes the treatment has to be applied multiple times to get the required results.

j. If used inappropriately, the steam can blow away pesticide residue in the treated area. The towel over the nozzle may obstruct the release of steam pressure and prevents the steam escaping forcefully to kill bed bugs.

Steam is not the magic bullet to solve the bed bug problem. You must combine it with other treatments to kill the pests. If you choose to use a desiccant, wait until the treated surface dries before you apply the powder.

The use of mattress encasement after applying steam treatment is good.

Health and safety issues

Steam needs a minimum heat of 60°C. This exposes you to extreme heat. Moisture contributes to mould. And, using pesticide in an area that has just been treated with steam can be dangerous to occupants in the house.

They're Coming

Just when you thought you had enough to worry about with the effect of climate change on the environment, here's something that's bound to give you nightmares.

If you are like me and think spiders are already big enough and scary enough, then you'd better brace yourself. They are getting even bigger.

In Australia, where I live, we have some of the biggest and nastiest critters imaginable. For example we are home to the world's most poisonous snake, the inland Taipan. Luckily it lives far, far, away from civilisation. Its venom is so toxic, it makes a death adder look like a wimp in comparison.

So the idea that our spiders might be growing even bigger is not exactly good news. Apparently this trend is happening the world over.

The cause of this has something to do with our cities becoming busier and more populated. Researchers have been examining how your everyday garden spider, like the harmless Golden Orb Weaver, is suddenly growing exponentially.

One species of this type of spider has been gaining weight almost at the same time as the city grows. Researchers say the further they are away from bush land and the more concrete there is with a corresponding reduction in leaf litter, the bigger the spider. And we are talking significant weight gain. For example, spiders found in a park away from the city had an average mass of 0.5 grams. But those in an inner city park averaged 1.6 grams or three times the size. Eeek.

Scientists are calling it the urban heat island effect and prey availability. Spiders are very sensitive to temperature. If it's warmer they grow bigger. And urbanization has been a big benefit. The food or prey the spider eats tend to do well in small fragments of bush land like urban parks. And they do even better if there is lighting at night. So the spiders have more to eat so they can put more energy into growing bigger.

Income also plays a big part. Scientists found that wealthier areas in the city tend to have the largest spiders. The reason for this is less clear. But it might be because they have more parks and more concrete that heats up readily. Now the really bad news is that the trend is across the board. So poisonous spiders like the Australian Redback are also growing bigger. Global warming will encourage spiders to get bigger but they don't like the really, really hot weather.

All of this has been pretty surprising to the scientific community. They expected that the opposite would be true. An increase in heat usually means an increase in the rate of development. It also means metabolic function speeds up so they mature early at a smaller size. But that is not what is happening.

The scientists do say the relationship between heat and body size is complicated. The heat might be allowing the spiders to hatch earlier giving them a longer growing season.

In any case, a healthy spider population apparently should be celebrated. They eat pests and provide food for birds. Spiders in urban areas should be encouraged. Sure. Anywhere except my backyard.

What Is Best for a New Beekeeper, a Nuc or Package Bees?

Wait a second, if I become a beekeeper how do I get started? I have a thousand questions and no one to answer them. We are going to look at just ONE of the topics that plague new beekeepers and that is what do I need a package or a nuc of bees.

When my friend and business partner, and I, started off in beekeeping we were, I believe, ill advised. It was recommended to get packages. Knowing what I know now, this was a mistake. Today, I would say spend the extra money and get a nuc.

Option one, a nuc. What is a nuc? A nuc is a nucleus of a hive. A small colony of bees reduced from a standard eight or ten frame hive, placed in a smaller five frame box, with foundation. The nuc contains the queen, nurse bees, guard bees, drones, and workers. A nuc has a laying queen. A laying queen means eggs, eggs must be present so that the workers can feed and raise a queen cell, if something tragic befalls the queen, such as an injury. In this event, the workers choose an egg to raise as the new queen. It's quite an interesting process.

Option two the package. What is a package? In short, a box of bees that consists of a caged mated queen, and a few thousand worker bees. The caging of the queen isn't a barbaric practice, it's a way to keep the queen separate from the other bees who would try to kill her because they don't know who she is. She was placed in the cage, and in the package just before the package was shipped. As far as that goes, none of the bees in the package probably knew each other before they were shaken into the package. The way the bees get from their hives in the field, into the box known as the package is they are shaken from frames in large hives in the bee yard, into a funnel like apparatus then into the screened box known as a package. Once the proper weight of bees is in the box a can of sugar syrup is placed in the top of the box with the queen in a cage dangling down into the package secured by a piece of strapping. When removing this you have to be very careful not to drop the queen in her cage down into the mass of bees, or someone has to reach down into the bees and get the queen cage out. Why? You will probably get stung a few times while retrieving the queen cage. The queen in her cage is fragile and needs to be handled with care.

Packages are harder to install. Nucs can just be picked up from the bee farmer and transported to their home where they will immediately start gathering food to feed the colony. Packages take longer to establish once in the hive, hopefully the queen will be fine and start a good brood laying pattern. In a nuc this problem is alleviated because the beekeeper has the bees settled into a good climate when you pick them up. The beekeepers job with a package is to get the package into a nuc or honey hive for the "settling in" process to begin. Hopefully, if all goes well they "settle in" before to long and start to work together. In a nuc they are already working together when you pick the nuc up. They are a colony.

In conclusion I believe the nuc, while slightly more expensive, is better for the new beekeeper in the long haul over the package. There is a learning curve and the nuc is easier for the beginning beekeeper, the nuc is established, while the package is not. There are a lot more chances for failure with a package than a nuc!

HIVE a nice day!

Bed Bug Inspection: How to Prepare the Room for Bed Bug Inspection

If you have bed bugs at home an integrated pest management (IPM) approach is best to resolve the problem. Bed bugs are difficult pests to control. However, there are things you can do to deal with the problem prior to the application of treatment.

Once bed bugs are identified and confirmed in your home there are certain pre-treatment steps you must take. Preparing the room for bed bug inspection is essential for successful bed bug control.

A thorough inspection before any cleaning allows you to determine the extent of the problem. It prevents the disturbance and spread of bed bugs before the application of treatment.

Bed bug inspection checklist

a. Remove curtains and drapes from the window and place them in plastic bin bags and seal the bags tightly.

b. Remove all bedding, pillows and cases from the bed and place them into plastic bags. Seal the bags tightly before transporting them to the laundry room.

c. Empty drawers, closets, night stands, wardrobes and tables and place belongings into plastic bags. Seal the bags tightly.

d. Place clothing, coats and shoes into plastic bags. Seal the bags tightly before removing them to the laundry room.

e. Place all loose clothing (e.g. garments found outside the dresser) into plastic bags and launder as per laundry instructions below.

f. Remove all items from underneath the bed and on the floor and place them into plastic bin bags and seal the bags tightly.

g. Place all items that are not washable (e.g. plastic toys, books, electronics) into plastic bags for inspection and seal the bags tightly.

h. Remove all cloth and plush items, except plush furniture and place them into plastic bin bags and seal the bags tightly.

i. Remove and launder the pillows of plush furniture if possible.

j. Pull all furniture at least 18 inches away from the wall.

k. Remove outlet covers, switch plates on the wall, phone jack plates and light switch covers.

l. Remove all wall hangings (e.g. picture frames, mirrors) and clean and treat the items.

m. Remove television set from wall unit, if applicable. Keep all electrical equipment in the areas for treatment.

n. If heating or air conditioning units are near to the bed remove the front panel for inspection.

o. Undo carpets at the wall/floor junction. Do not remove the carpet from the room.

p. Remove all wall mounted items and place them into a plastic bag for inspection.

q. Remove electrical socket and switch plate covers.

r. Place books, magazines, notepads and files etc. into a bag for inspection.

s. Remove everything off the floor to permit thorough inspection.

t. Pets and humans must vacate the area during treatment and wait outside the area for at least 4 hours after treatment.

u. If you have fish tank in the house, cover it with a towel or plastic because it is extremely sensitive to pesticides.

v. Clean all clothing linen and other items and isolate them until the bed bug problem is resolved.

w. Ensure you have access to the bed, closet, all furniture and baseboard to inspect and treat them.

x. Pry baseboard away from the wall where possible.

y. Discard all plastic bags used to transport infested items into an outside garbage bin.

Laundry Directions

Launder all washable items (e.g. bedding, pillow cases, plush cushions etc.) in hot water (>60°C or 140°F [thermal death point rate]) and then place washed items into the dryer and set the temperature at the thermal death point rate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Place the items into plastic bin bags after drying and seal the bags tightly. Keep all laundered items out of the infested room until the pest problem has been resolved.