Expert Tips for Dealing with Bed Bugs

Many associate bed bugs with cramped, urban apartments or cheap motels, but as these exterminators explain, they could be lurking in your mattress.

Bob Weimer, entomologist and general manager of Suburban Exterminating in Smithtown, Kevin O'Connor, entomologist and owner of Eliminex Pest Control in Smithtown and Arthur Katz, president of Knockout Pest Control, provide expert tips for how to deal with bed bugs in Commack.

Weimer has had many calls from Commack residents in the past five years. "You get a few calls every day about bed bugs now," Weimer said.

O'Connor agreed and said that bed bugs reintroduced into the United States are also resistant to many of the pesticides previously used. This means that treatments have also changed.

O'Connor and Weimer said many people will notice raised, red marks on their skin and possibly, blood on their sheets as the first indicators of a possible bed bug infestation. The critters are not, however, limited to the mattress. Both have seen cases where bed bugs have crawled into clock radios, bedside picture frames and crown molding in the room. The bugs will also, Weimer said, go into other rooms of the home should the bedroom become too crowded for their needs.

Weimer said these creatures are quite hardy – they can live without feeding for up to two years. He said he has seen instances where the bed bugs are actually visible and jumping around the room during a treatment.

Bed bugs look like, Weimer said, flattened ticks – before they have fed – and are light brown in color.

O'Connor said he has personally noticed an uptick in cases in the summer – with the rise in heat and also with the amount of children and families vacationing. Weimer also said that college students moving in and out of dorms sometimes bring the bugs into the family home.

The exterminations agree that ridding your home of the pests is not a do-it-yourself project – there are many things that can be done and most times a professional is required to do it.

Katz and Weimer use carbon monoxide technology – dry ice or Cryonite – to freeze the bed bugs and their eggs. This allows humans to remain in the home and it does not leave any watermarks.

All three companies also use bed bug trained dogs to determine if the area is infected and also to verify that the area is not infected after treatments.

Treatments vary in price and length of time, but all three agree it can take between 1 and 3 visits to clear a residence of a normal bed bug problem.