Bedbug

Incomplete metamorphosis
- With egg, nymph and adult stages.
Egg is white in colour, elongated oval shape, with size ranges from 0.8 to 1.3 x 0.4 to 0.6mm and with a cap at the top.
Eggs can be found in mattress, furniture, cracks and crevices of wall, floor or ceiling.
At 18 to 25C, nymphs take about one week to hatch out from eggs.
Nymphs resemble adults in appearance, but their bodies are smaller and white in colour. Their genital organs are not fully developed and lack of vestigial wings.
There are five instars in the nymphal stage which take about 14 to 30 days to complete.
Both nymphs and adults prefer to take human blood
Life cycle takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete; but it may be extended to 330 days under adverse conditions.
The life span of adult may reach to 9 to 18 months. 6 to 7 generations could be produced under favourable conditions.

Bedbugs live together in groups;
- Nymph and adult can be detected for heavy infestation
Bedbugs hold firmly to the cloth or furniture that have close contact to human body while they are taking blood meal,
Adults need about 10 minutes for a blood meal while nymphs need only about 6 to 9 minutes.
Adults can survive for 6 to 7 months an even to one year without taking a blood meal.
They usually hide in dark and dry places during day time.
Bedbugs will feed in at day time when they are hungry.

They cause biting nuisance as some people may suffer sleepless night because of the biting.
The saliva injected into the wound by bedbugs during biting may cause local inflammation, intense itching to some people.
Scratching of the swelling after biting by bedbug may cause secondary infections in some people.

Their typical hiding places are:
- Beds, coils of springs, cracks and hollow posts of bedsteads;
- Upholstery of chairs and sofa
Spot of fecal materials or blood spot can be detected on pillowcases or mattress
In heavy infestation, nymphs and adults are frequently found under door and window casings and are also found behinds pictures on the wall
Present of unpleasant smell

Residual spraying: to treat furniture, cracks and crevices in floors and walls by using residual insecticides
Hot air / steam: to apply hot air / steam directly to the cracks and crevices where the bed bug is found
Diatomaceous Earth (DE): to apply DE to the areas found with bed bug infestation. DE acts on bed bug exoskeleton which absorbs and removes the protective waxy covering of bed bugs. Without the exoskeleton, bed bugs would be killed by dehydration. Facemask, googles and gloves should be worn when handling DE as the abrasive and absorbent nature may dry out the skin and cause irritation when breathed in or get into the eyes. Vacuum clean DE after the use. Items treated with DE could be sealed with plastic bags and tapes to prevent contact.
Blankets, bedclothes and other bed linings as well as clothes infested with bedbug should be washed in hot water (60°C) and dried in the sun or hot ironed. They should be temporarily stored separately in sealed plastic bags or boxes until bedbug disinfested.