| So... What's a Bed Bug? The bed bugs that you find in your home today are descendents of cave dwelling bugs that originally fed on the blood of bats. When humans moved out of caves, the bed bugs came with them and have been traveling with humans all over the world since then. 
Bed bugs belong to a family of insects called Cimicidae. All members of this family feed exclusively on blood. The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) has five developmental life stages. Each immature life stage (called nymphs or instars) must take a blood meal in order to develop into the next life stage. Because bed bugs, like all insects, have their skeleton on the outside of their body (exoskeleton) they have to shed their exoskeleton in order to grow larger. This shedding of the exoskeleton is called molting. A bed bug nymph must take a blood meal to molt successfully. After growing through five molts, the bed bug becomes an adult. Adult bed bugs, both male and female, must also take regular blood meals to reproduce. Since the bed bug possesses this powerful exoskeleton, finding a solution to kill them can be a struggle. Using a product that is powered by diatomaceous earth such as Safer® Brand Ant and Crawling Insect Killer Powder can kill bed bugs through dehydration by either ingestion by the bed bug or as the insect crawls across the diatomaceous earth, their exoskleton is cut and they dehydrate. The total development process from and egg to an adult can take place in about 37 days at optimal temperatures (>72° F). Adult bed bugs have a life span of nearly one year depending on regular access to blood meals and favorable temperatures. 
Why are Bed Bugs so prevalent now?? While bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, their presence is unwelcome and has presented difficult challenges and distress to many people. Experts suspect the resurgence is associated with more international and domestic travel, lack of knowledge necessary to prevent infestations, increased resistance of bed bugs to pesticides, and ineffective pest control practices. The encouraging news is that there are ways to control bed bugs. Safer® Brand Ant and Crawling Insect Killer Powder provides an organic approach to eliminate the bed bug problem without using harsh chemicals and putting your family at risk. So, how do I know if I have Bed Bugs?? Much of the time, a bed bug infestation is only suspected when bites appear on a person. Oftentimes, the bites are misidentified, thus allowing infestations to go unnoticed, which gives the bed bugs time to spread to other areas of the house. When cleaning, changing bedding, or staying away from home, look for: - Dark spots (about this size: •) which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would
- Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and white
- Skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger
- Live bed bugs
- Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed
What do Bed Bugs do to me?? Bed bugs have a cryptic lifestyle, meaning they spend the majority of their time hiding together in cracks and crevices where they will not be seen or disturbed. However, they become active at night, between midnight and 5:00 am. It is during this time, when the human host is typically in their deepest sleep, that bed bugs like to feed. Once a bed bug finds the host, they probe the skin with their mouthparts to find a capillary space that allows the blood to flow rapidly into their bodies. A bed bug may probe the skin several times before it starts to feed. This probing will result in the host receiving several bites from the same bug. Once the bed bug settles on a location, it will feed for 5-10 minutes. After the bed bug is full, it will leave the host and return to a crack or crevice, typically where other bed bugs are aggregating. The bed bug will then begin digesting and excreting their meal. Bed bugs usually feed every 3-7 days, which means that the majority of the population is in the digesting state, and not feeding most of the time. What do Bed Bugs look like?? Adults can easily be seen with the naked eye. Adult bed bugs are reddish brown in color, wingless, and are about the size of an apple seed. Immature bed bugs (there are 5 immature or nymphal instar stages) can also be seen with the naked eye but they are smaller than adults, and translucent whitish-yellow in color. Bed bug eggs are also tiny, about the size of the head of a pin. The eggs are a pearl white color and have obvious eyespots if they are older than 5 days. Bed bugs can look somewhat different depending on their feeding status. If an adult bed bug has not fed recently, it is approximately 3⁄16" long and oval in shape. In fact, an unfed bed bug can look like a flat disc. However, once it takes a blood meal the body blows up like a balloon. The bed bug elongates so that it looks more like a torpedo than a disc. The color also will be a bright red if the bed bug has fed within the last couple of hours. The bed bug will darken and flatten again over the next couple of days as it digests the blood meal. How can I get rid of Bed Bugs?? 
Bed bugs have become increasingly resistant to most chemical pesticides and contributed to their resurgence. Using a product such as Safer® Brand Diatomaceous Earth Bed Bug, Ant and Crawling Insect Killer Powder will help you eliminate bed bugs by killing them within 48 hours of ingestion. Best of all, this product is an organic solution that will not harm your family or your pet./p> Still want more information about why Diatomaceous Earth is the organic choice as a bed bug killer?? Download our FREE White Paper on Diatomaceous Earth Additional Bed Bugs Facts Bed bugs are known to travel many yards to reach their human host. Bed bugs are attracted to CO2 produced by the host's exhalations, and they are also attracted to body heat. On average: A female bed bug will produce between 1-7 eggs per day for about 10 days after a single blood meal. She will then have to feed again to produce more eggs. A female can produce between 5 and 20 eggs from a single blood meal. The number of male and female eggs produced is about the same (1:1 ratio). A single female can produce about 113 eggs in her whole life. Eggs can be laid singly or in groups. A wandering female can lay an egg anywhere in a room. Under optimal conditions, egg mortality is low and approximately 97% of the bed bug eggs hatch successfully. At room temperature (>70° F), 60 percent of the eggs will hatch when they are 6 days old; over 90 percent will have hatched by the time they are 9 days old. Egg hatch time can be increased by several days by lowering ambient temperature (to 50° F). Due to the large numbers of eggs a female can produce under optimal conditions (temperatures >70° F but < 90° F, and in the presence of a host), a bed bug population can double every 16 days. A bed bug can survive up to a year without feeding. You cannot just “get” bed bugs. They have to be brought into your home. They are generally brought into your home with your luggage after a trip or on a piece of used furniture that you bought at a garage sale. Safer®Brand brings you a variety of effective insect control products that are gentler on the environment! Most of them proudly display the OMRI Listed® organic seal and comply for use in organic gardening! 
| 
