84 Percent Of Residents Mistake The Bed Bugs In Their Home For Other Arthropod Pests
Twenty years ago, bed bugs were not much of a concern for homeowners, tenants, landlords and hotel owners, but bed bug populations have obviously exploded since then. Today, homeowner surveys show that bed bugs are of the greatest concern to residents when compared to all other household insect pests. The Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) is an organization that aims to raise bed bug awareness among the public, and to promote preventative bed bug control strategies. The PPMA surveys pest control professionals all over the country every few years in order to better understand the changing public perception about bed bug pests, as well as the evolution of professional bed bug control strategies. The most recent survey of this kind focused on identifying the characteristics of bed bug infestations, as well as how the general public’s knowledge about bed bug pests has evolved over the years. According to the survey results, most pest control service customers mistake bed bugs for other arthropod pests, and most people living within infested conditions will not contact a pest control professional until they sustain bites.
According to the survey, 97 percent of nationwide pest control professionals have treated homes for bed bug infestations within the past year, 69 percent believe that bed bug infestation rates are increasing, and 62 percent believe that bed bugs are the most difficult arthropod pests to control within homes. When it comes to other indoor arthropod pests, 21 percent of pest control professionals cited ants as the most difficult arthropod pests to control in homes, 12 percent said cockroaches and 3 percent said termites. Surprisingly, only 16 percent of residents realized that the insects infesting their home were bed bugs. The most common arthropods that residents mistook for bed bugs included fleas, cockroaches, carpet beetles, ants, spiders, ticks and mites. Bed bug infestations become most common during the late summer, followed by the early summer, and the late spring and early fall seasons see comparable bed bug infestation rates. Ninety percent of all pest control professionals surveyed stated that they always treat mattresses within bed bug-infested homes, while 63 percent stated that they always treat second hand furniture items. Most of the pest control professionals surveyed stated that they would like residents to report a bed bug presence in their home early on before an infestation becomes difficult to manage.
Do you think that it’s easy to mistake bed bugs for other insect pests?
