Bed bugs are more than just a nuisance. They can have serious psychological and health impacts on people.
Many people panic when bed bugs get rid of them infestation. Often, their first reaction is to toss everything in the house out the front door.
It’s better to take a measured approach. Follow these tips to control the bugs:
Inspect Your Mattress to remove bed bugs
If you’ve woken up with blood spots on your skin or noticed other signs of bed bugs, it’s time to do a thorough inspection. Use a bright flashlight and a flat-edged object, such as a paint scraper or credit card, to carefully inspect crevices. Look for fecal stains, live bed bugs, eggs, and molted skin from nymphs that have shed as they’re maturing.
Pull the mattress away from the wall and inspect the tufts, seams, and corners. If you have a box spring, turn it over and inspect the lower side. Don’t forget to check under the bed, and disassemble any nightstands or headboards and inspect the cracks, crevices, and screw holes. The same goes for recliners, sofas, and chairs.
Also check your sheets, pillows, blankets, and comforters for signs of bed bugs. These include tiny red stains caused by fecal waste, and small black dots that could be bed bug eggs or nymphs.
Look for live bed bugs and their egg casings in all areas of your home where you sleep, including closets, dressers, armoires, and even behind baseboards. If you can’t find any, but are still noticing bites and other signs of a bed bug infestation, consider hiring a professional. They’ll know the most common hiding places for these pests and will be able to provide treatment recommendations that will work for your situation.
Seal Up All Hiding Places
If you want your bed bug treatment to work as effectively as possible, it’s a good idea to do some prep work ahead of time. This is true whether you’re treating your home yourself or hiring a professional.
Start by clearing out other clutter, such as books, magazines, toys and clothes that can conceal the bugs. Next, check the cracks around the walls of your rooms and behind baseboards. Look especially for tiny nooks and crannies, such as those around electrical outlets and switches. Also, search for small crevices in the seams of upholstered furniture and drapery pleats.
It’s helpful to turn off the lights and search in the dark for hidden bugs. That’s because bed bugs are nocturnal and it’s easier for them to escape their hiding places when the lights are off. Using a magnifying glass can make the task of searching more effective. You can also use a flashlight to search in recessed screw holes under nightstands and other furniture items, such as the area around a headboard’s slats or frame.
Purchase protective covers that seal mattresses and box springs. These will ensure that the bugs are trapped inside, where they will die. You can also purchase covers for upholstered chairs and recliners to keep them protected until they can be treated. If you have any infested clothing or linens, you can wash them by themselves, as long as they are not stuffed into bags or boxes, and then dry them on high heat for about 20 minutes.
Remove Infested Furniture
A large part of managing a bed bug infestation is properly disposing of infested furniture. Careless disposal of infested furniture can spread the bugs to nearby homes, apartment buildings or offices.
When moving infested furniture out of the house or apartment, be sure to wrap it completely in plastic. This will keep the bugs from escaping during transport and re-infesting the new location. Be sure to use large plastic furniture covers that are designed for this purpose. These can be purchased at hardware stores or even from moving rental companies like U-Haul or Budget.
Also, before moving any infested items, be sure to thoroughly vacuum the area. This will help to remove any stray eggs or adults that might have escaped treatment. Inspect all the furniture for the presence of bed bugs, including headboards and baseboards, using a bright flashlight to peer in the crevices. Look for skins from molting nymphs and blackish fecal spots.
Once you have thoroughly inspected and treated your home, the final step is to dispose of the infested furniture. Be sure to check with local trash collection services to ensure that they will accept infested furniture. If not, consider calling a junk removal service that will take old or broken furniture for a fee. They can be found by doing a simple online search for “junk removal companies near me.” Just be sure to tell them that the item is infested with bed bugs and will need to be professionally pretreated before being removed from your property.
Wash Your Clothes
When it comes to battling bed bugs, thoroughness is key. This includes washing clothes that may be infested to help remove not only the insects but also their eggs. The best method for this is to wash them in hot water.
This will not only kill the bug and any eggs it contains, but it will also destroy their odor. This will make the process of eradicating these pests easier in the long run, as well as help you regain control of your home.
Before starting this process, it is important to prepare the area by reducing clutter, inspecting and sealing any potential hiding spots like baseboards and crevices, and removing any infested furniture. Additionally, Pestemite is a good time to consider hiring a professional exterminator for a more in-depth and complete treatment of your home.
Start by sorting your clothes and bedding into different piles including those that are dry-clean only. Carefully tip each bag into the washer, either at your house or a laundry room or laundromat. After washing, quickly transfer the clothes to the dryer and set it to its highest heat setting. This will help ensure that all the bugs and their eggs are killed, resulting in a clean and bug-free environment. Repeat this process as needed until your home is fully bed bug-free.
