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excerpt: The Bed Bug Combat Manual
As with any pest related problem, it’s critical to properly identify the pest in question so that the proper control techniques can be selected and utilized. Incorrect pest identification may result in inadequate or incorrect control procedures that simply won’t work well against the pest in question. This is because the control techniques selected may not match up well with the targeted pest’s biology, behavior and other tendencies. Bed bugs are no different; it’s wise and good practice to know for sure that you do in fact have bed bugs through proper identification prior to performing pest management work.
Bed bug eyes, antenna and mouth parts are relatively small and may require magnification to see clearly. Bed bugs have piercing, sucking mouthparts that, when not in use, extend from the head and rearward along the underside of the body. They’re wingless insects with six legs. When attempting to identify bed bugs in the field, it’s useful to place the pests on a white or light-colored background such as a sheet of paper. Moving your light across the subject is useful for seeing the insect and various physiological structures. pmp
Paul J. Bello is a PMP contributor and author of The Bed Bug Combat Manual. You can contact Bello at paulbello@att.net or 770-500-0460.
