Pests We Treat - Bed bugs love to hide in outlets in Oakhurst, NJ
Bedbugs are masters of stealth. These parasitic insects, which feed exclusively on human blood, like to stay nearby their hosts between their blood meals. They hide in the smallest nooks and crannies waiting for the host to rest or sleep when they stop moving so it’s nice and easy for them to bite and draw blood.
When performing bedbug inspections, you can’t assume anything. Bedbugs can be hiding anywhere and everywhere you least expect to find them. In fact, they are drawn to the tiniest cramped locations where they physically feel something on all sides. They love the pressure of tight spaces. Just like a baby being swaddled, it makes them feel safe and secure. As such, they will seek out the smallest species to hide where they can make a comfortable home for themselves. The key is location. They want to remain close to their food source, which happens to be us!
While recently conducting a bedbug inspection in Oakhurst, NJ, I discovered a bedbug in a place that many might not suspect a bedbug would be hiding and could easily be overlooked by a pest control technician who was inexperienced with bedbug treatments. The bedbug hiding spot? The electrical outlet behind the bed! There is not a single crack or crevice — including the socket holes in a wall outlet — that can be ruled out as not a potential place that is harboring bedbugs.
When I was shining my flashlight inside the socket, I was a few bedbug skins (bedbugs molt and shed their outer layer) as well as a bedbug that looked as though he was staring right back at me and saying, get the heck out of here, this spot is taken!
At Cowleys, bedbug technicians have standard operating procedures and protocols during the inspection so that we don’t miss anything. Our checklist ensures that our inspections are always uniform and always complete. One of our procedures is to remove outlet and light switch covers from the walls in order to apply a light dust application. This dust is a desiccant. When a bedbug comes into contact with it, the dust will dry them out by drawing their fluids out of their waxy skin. They shrivel up and die because of a lack of moisture. The dust will stay active inside a wall for as long as it is applied.
The lesson with this bedbug inspection and treatment: It’s critical to inspect and treat every single potential harborage area where bedbugs or evidence of bedbug activity are found, which often is where the host sleeps or rests like beds and sofas. You never know where a biting bedbug may be lurking and the operative word for any bedbug inspection is thoroughness!