True Bugs
True bugs are a large group of insects that share a similar set of mouthparts called perching and sucking mouth parts. This can include many insects, all of which extract vital fluids from plants and animals. The aphid, the box elder bug and the cicada are all true bugs and so are bed bugs. Bed bugs draw vital fluid, or blood from animals and humans and need this blood in order to go through their instar transformations to adult hood and to lay eggs. This is why they drink these fluids. Without them, they would not be able to lay eggs or grow into adulthood.
Bed Bugs life cycle
The bed bug lifecycle is very simple. They start as an egg often laid in cracks and crevices and in wall voids. These eggs take about a week to a week and a half to hatch. What comes out is called a nymph which is the early stage of a bed bug. In order to reach the next stage of growth they must consume a blood meal. Then they will most and grow into the next nymph stage. Eventually they become a fully grown adult and can survive up to a year assuming they are not killed by an animal rolling over in their sleep.
Bed bug dangers
There are many dangers to bed bugs from their painful bites which look like closely grouped lesions to the fact that they can pass blood born diseases from one person or animal to another. Unlike mosquitoes, the bed bug is restricted to one home but if another person comes to that home and a bed bug latches on to their clothing the bed bug can travel to another home and infest that place as well. Bed bugs do need to be inseminated in order to lay eggs. The process is just as dangerous as their lives drinking blood. The process is called radical traumatic insemination involving the Mae plunging his member, which, unlike other insects and animals, is a literal spike resembling a hypodermic needle into the female’s womb through the stomach. This radical insemination accounts for the high rate of death among female bed bugs and kills them nearly fifty percent of the time.
Bed Bug Treatment
There are no domestic treatments available to get rid of bed bugs. The only two types of treatments that actually work are sever pesticide treatment called an ultra-light volume mist produced by a machine called an actisol along with boiling steam. Other than that you must use heat. Heat treatment involves dozens of heating fans that bring the temperature of the house up to dangerous levels. This can damage many things like drying out the wood of your home making it brittle and ruining art like oil paintings. It can also warp wood and even catch fire to your home. This is why it is generally recommended in Ontario to do a pesticide treatment with boiling steam as opposed to a heat treatment with fans.