The Ins and Outs of Bed Bug Behavior and Treatment
Bed bugs are persistent, difficult to treat, and increasingly common. Understanding their behavior, including where they hide, how they spread, and when they’re active, is essential for successful treatment.
Whether you’re dealing with a first-time infestation or working to prevent reinfestation, effective bed bug control begins with a thorough inspection and the right products for the job.
Where Bed Bugs Tend to Hide
Bed bugs prefer dark, secluded spaces close to where people sleep. But their hiding places go well beyond the mattress. For maximum effectiveness, apply treatment in these commonly infested areas:
- Furniture: Focus on legs, frames, undersides, and joints
- Mattresses and Box Springs: Target seams, edges, and folds
- Wall Hangings and Drapes: Inspect behind frames, curtains and rods
- Entry Points: Treat outlets, cracks, and other access zones to prevent spread
- Baseboards and Trim: These areas often serve as harborage sites
Target the Source with Proven Solutions
While often overlooked, insect growth regulators (IGRs) are one of the best tools a PCO can use when treating bed bugs. A single female bed bug can lay hundreds of eggs in her lifetime, many of which develop into nymphs before detection. IGRs prevent these immature stages from maturing into biting, breeding adults, helping to suppress infestations over time.
- Gentrol® IGR Concentrate: Break the bed bug life cycle with Gentrol® IGR, which features a translocating active ingredient that reaches hidden harborage points. Apply it as a fogging agent, tank mix, or general surface spray beneath beds, behind nightstands, and where carpets meet walls.
- Precor® 2625 Premise Spray: An aerosol solution designed to provide quick knockdown and long-lasting control, Precor® 2625 combines an insect growth regulator (IGR), three adulticides, and a synergist. Use as a broadcast spray or for crack-and-crevice applications around bed frames, baseboards, and furniture to combat both visible pests and hidden populations.
- ExciteR™ Insecticide Concentrate: Combining the power of an insecticide with the added boost of a synergist, ExciteR™ insecticide provides immediate knockdown of bed bugs as a standalone or tank mix synergist. When treating bed bugs, target mattresses (paying special attention to tufts, seams, and folds), bedsprings, frames, cracks, crevices and other areas that may provide harborage.
- EcoPCO® ACU Insecticide: A reduced risk, contact aerosol, EcoPCO® ACU excels as a flushing agent. Disassemble bed frames, and spray into joints, seams, and baseboards to drive out and eliminate hiding bed bugs.
The key to bed bug control is early detection and a proactive treatment approach that maximizes available solutions. Our bed bug portfolio offers the tools professionals need to treat infestations thoroughly and responsibly.
Explore our full line of solutions at Zoecon.com and follow us on social for updates!
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