Home Bed Bugs How to Detect Bed Bugs-Detectors, Light & Verifi Reviews

How to Detect Bed Bugs-Detectors, Light & Verifi Reviews

The detection of bed bugs is always a problem to many people who try eradicating them. The beauty of it all is that there are some measures that you can put in place to help you deal with them at home. You can use store-bought detectors like Verifi or simply make your own monitor at home. Read on to learn more.

Table of Contents

Detecting Bed Bugs-Yourself, Hotel & Home

Checking and detecting bed bugs in the early stages of infestation is important so as to control their disturbing effects later.

how to dectect bed bugs with detectors DIY — Bed bug detection

The detection is however not easy because at an early stage, you could confuse them with other insects like the beetles that look similar. For you to detect the infestation by bed bugs, there are some signs that will be present. Using these, you will be able to detect their presence;

There are minute and white eggs that you will see in the crevices and the joints of your mattress and furniture. Using a bright source of light or a torch, you could be able to see this.
Bites on your skin
Some spots of blood on your mattresses and at times dried poo
Shells of bed bugs: especially when you squash a bed bug after it has had a blood meal

Using a bed bug detector

There are different types of detectors that you can go for in the market. All these detectors work differently based on their make-up and the materials that go into making them. It will give better understanding when each detector is discussed based on what goes into making it. More details coming up shortly

Effectiveness

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, research found out that passive intercepting devices were more effective in identifying bed bugs than identifying bed bugs visually. This could play a crucial role in what is known as an integrated pest management program.[1]

Pros and cons

Some of the advantages of using detectors include:

A detector is easy to use
The active detection and the attractants last long and could still be replaced once exhausted
The detectors are very easy to assemble and initiate function
The device is silent when at work. This therefore means that there is no need to vacate the house, hotel or hospital in the course of detection.
It is able to reduce the risks that come with human error from other methods as canine detectors which could give false positives.

Despite the advantages, some of its disadvantages include:

It is not effective when you are dealing with low infestation where a few bed bugs and their eggs exist.
The other thing is that this venture could be costly to acquire

Bed bug light detector-UV, Flashlight & Reviews

The light in the bed bug detectors is important to spot the stains of blood and droppings that bed bugs leave on surfaces, the eggs that the bed bugs lay and the young bed bugs that undergo growth. It has also been found that the light is able to kill microorganisms. This is because light with a wavelength of 245 nanometers kills anything and everything that has DNA. It ionizes the cells and thus dies.

UV light for bed bugs review

A particular frequency of the UV light is god enough to make droppings of the bed bugs and their eggs to produce some light. This is therefore an important method that you can use to scan your mattresses, bedding and chairs. You can use this method also in hotels, furniture, airplanes, dormitories and plush toys. Once you find the bed bugs, ensure you eliminate them using the most available resources. According to various reviews on the bed bug store website, there are a lot of positive reviews on the light being useful in bed bug detection. Several customers claim that it helps save a lot of time in the detection of bed bugs. “This light helps me save time in bed bug detection because its frequency helps me to see them easier”. Others claim that they tried detecting bed bugs using any other means but failed. This remained to be the only one left. They used the light to spot the stains that were left on the furniture by the bed bugs. “I used this light to see bed bug stains on furniture that I could not see with the naked eye”.[2]

Bed bug flashlight

It is useful in the successful detection to help in prevention. A bright LED flashlight is useful to help you detect bed bugs at home or even when you are traveling.

You can use the light to look for the bed bugs or the signs of their presence like the eggs and blood stains. The light also helps you to see black spots and cast skins. You should direct the light to any cracks or crevices on the walls of your house.[3]

Bed bug light wand

This is a natural, effective and safe technique for the control of bed bugs. It has been found that it can kill about 99% of bacteria, dust mites and molds on the bedding and any surface. It is able to release nitric oxide ozone which goes off automatically. In hospitals, this light is used to kill germs. It is a portable device and it provides quick and efficient services.[4]

Bed bug detector light app

When you are on a journey, you are at a risk of being attacked by bed bugs. Therefore, it is always good to keep safe. The detector light app is a mobile phone app that is meant for those people who travel a lot. This is because you are likely to drop off at some point and rest. It is therefore crucial to be safe whenever you enter a hotel or motel. You therefore transform your phone into a bed bug detector. This app uses the original technology to scan then alert you when it comes across any bed bug on the floor or any surface. It is very easy to have it set up and could start detecting the bed bugs for you within a few minutes. It is also able to detect other insects. It is able to monitor any movement that is brought about by the bugs and this triggers an alarm.[5] Just by detecting the movements and raising an alarm, you will be able to deal with the bed bugs without necessarily looking for them in your house or hotel. Besides the bed bugs, this app is able to detect other insects in the surrounding.

Verifi bed bug detector Reviews

According to a good number of reputable pest control practitioners, the Verifi bed bug detector is among the most useful monitors that have ever come to the market.

It has proven effectiveness because it has been studied by several entomologists among them being Dr. Philip G. Koehler from the University of Florida. It is easy to use and it is useful in homes, hotels and other shelters. The other notable thing about this detector is that it utilizes a combination of three distinct types of attractants. This makes it able to attract all stages of bed bugs. The attractants present include carbon dioxide, kairomone lure and pheromone. The presence of carbon dioxide mimics an ideal blood meal while the pheromone pulls the bed bugs which then aggregate in or behind the device. You have to inspect two areas of the device that is suspected for bed bugs presence when you are done detecting. The first area is the pitfall where the bed bugs are attracted to the device and then fall in never to climb out again. You could also inspect the harborage area that is at the back of the device and this provides an ideal hiding place for the bed bugs. One the most liked things about this device is the fact that it is completely reusable. Each of the attractants can easily be replaced within a short period of time and with ease. Further, it has a zip tie that helps prevent it from being tampered with. This zip tie is suitable to be used in hotels, apartments and the cruise ships.

Electronic bed bug detector

The use of electronic nose are the latest in the development of devices to control bed bugs. These are instruments that are able to detect very volatile compounds at low concentrations. Previously they have been in use in the food industry and the monitoring of the environment.[6] This instrument uses both carbon dioxide and methane sensors. It also uses pheromone detector so as to pinpoint the presence of bed bugs within a square inch. This device is also said to tell you the sex of the bed bug.

Homemade bed bug detector

There are a number of ways you can make your own bed bug detector at home. An example is where you use the bowl used to feed your dog. Procedure

Take the dog’s bowl and then turn it upside down so as to form a mat and a dome
Then mix some water, yeast, sugar and then mix them properly in a coffee cup. Keep the coffee cup on the upturned bowl in a cloth tape that is painted black. This is because bed bugs love the black color.
The cloth tape will make it easier for the bed bugs to crawl up into the trap and fall into the well.
The wall inside the moat could be made of talcum and this makes it so hard for the bed bugs to climb back out.[7]

Sources [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3617843/ [2] https://www.bedbugstore.com/bed-bug-uv-detection-light/ [3] https://www.cedarcide.com/product/bug-lights-in-black-only/ [4] https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Sanitizer-Violet-Bacteria-Sterilizer/dp/B00C7O9CEC [5] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.antiquark.rbbdfree&hl=en [6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3617843/ [7] http://www.wisebread.com/diy-bedbug-detector-is-cheap-and-effective-and-full-of-science Further Reading