One of the challenges one can ultimately face in this business of dealing with the bed bugs is the fact that there are homes, places or apartments which do not only cater one family. Instead, they house several families. This is what we call as “multiple occupancy”.

Well, with one family, taking precautions and doing some things to eliminate bed bugs is not very difficult since the thing that you do first is to talk to the head of the family then plan out the best approach to the problem. After the talk, you can then obtain a go signal from the head of the family and proceed with the plan. Now, with more people in an area, there is the possibility that some occupants might not agree to the proposal. And the possibility of the more than usual clutter is also there. What do you do it this is the case then? KEEP READING

The bed bug alert level is rising these days. In the past years, only homes were infested and considered places where bed bugs love to live. These days, however, apartments, motels and hotels, theaters, stores, schools, dorms, hospitals and even buses and trains are susceptible to bed bug infestations. How did this happen?

Well, one thing is that bed bugs will be carried anywhere through clothes, fabrics, luggage and baggage. People are asking us for any product that can prevent bed bug infestations. But as of the moment, experts on bed bugs are coming up with definitive answers. But even expert researchers are unable to come up with a preventative measure for bed bugs. KEEP READING

Granary Weevil

Granary weevils are insects that have been a major worldwide pest for centuries. They will infest homes in the cooler climates and in the United States, they may be evident in homes above the middle regions.

Biology and Description

Granary weevils go through a complete metamorphosis which means they will enter all stages of the insect life cycle including egg, larva, pupa, and adult. In a kernel of grain, the granary weevil will lay an egg in the hole that it bore and then seal the hole. If all conditions are favorable, a female granary weevil can lay more than 200 eggs in her lifetime. Only after a few days, the egg will hatch and the larva will begin to feed on the internal portion of the grain until they emerge from the grain itself. Granary weevils go through 4 larval instars before they go into the pupa stage. This takes about a month ranging from 20-35 days. Pupation happens inside the kernel of grain and takes about 5-16 days. They will emerge as an adult and adults will live for about 7-8 months. For an entire life cycle to rotate, it takes only a few months and can be as short as just one month. There are several generations of granary weevils that will overlap in one year. Adult granary weevils can be distinguished by their reddish-brown or almost black color. They are about 3-5 mm long. They can also be distinguished by their pits or indentations in their thorax and elytra (hardened outer shell that covers their wings). Wings are present and greatly reduced so they are not able to fly. Like many other species of weevils, the granary weevil will have an oval shape and their heads will elongate into a snout or beak. The snouts of male granary weevils are wider and much shorter than that of females. KEEP READING

I am very particular with the places I stay in during vacations. Do you know why? Because there are some hotels which have bed bugs in them. Do not get me wrong, I am not blaming them, entirely. The possibility is very high that the staff and management are not really aware of the whole bed bug infestation that is going on in their hotels. But with the latest scare that was in the news recently, with the latest lawsuit filed against this particular hotel because of bed bugs, many hotels are now looking into various ways to take care of the problem. Some of them even went to the extent of acquiring bed bug sniffing dogs. They also perform routine checkups in the areas so that they can immediately address the problem.

As for me, I am very grateful of the measures that the hotel management and staff are taking on. As you may already know, bed bugs in even luxury hotels have become an issue. It does not mean that I am being careless, though. With that being said, I even go so far as to often advise my friends to inspect for bed bugs when they visit a hotel. Even when I check into a particular hotel, I always check the mattresses and box springs of the bed. These are the most likely places where bed bugs stay. There are also other prospective places like seams of couches, chairs, or holes in nightstands, headboards, or bed framing. KEEP READING