Thursday, May 27, 2010

Creepy critters in your couch, carpets and mattress

Even if you sleep alone, you’re still sharing your bed. Mattresses harbor a variety of tiny critters. Dust mites are microscope bugs that thrive on dead skin cells from humans and pets.

A typical mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. A single dust mite produces about 20 waste droppings each day. The proteins in the combination of feces and shed skin are what cause people to have allerigic reactions, which can range from itchy eyes to asthma attacks. Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow can be from dead mites and their droppings. Mites are in your carpets and couches, but they prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it.

The most effective way to control dust mites is to enclose the mattress top and sides with an airtight plastic or polyurethane cover, and wash your sheets, pillows and blankets in very hot water

Bed bugs are another critter that can hide in your mattress. These are small insects that feed on blood from humans and other mammals and are active at night when people are sleeping. Adult bed bugs have flat, rusty red oval bodies, are about the size of an apple seed, and often hide in cracks in furniture, floors or walls.

A homeowner needs to hire a licensed pest control company that to treat bed bugs. It is important to combine insecticide treatments with laundering bed linens, vacuuming rooms and cleaning mattresses.


Sourced: Atlanta Home & Living ExaminerKelly George