If you have encountered this problem, mind learning how to get rid of bed bugs yourself. You may look for the necessary information on some specialized sites. Don’t be frustrated if all the measures taken have not helped at once. You will need to spend… What Insect Has Attacked You? It’s normal, of course, that you ask: how to get rid of bed bug bites. Though, here another question arises: how do you know that you have been bitten by these nasty pests but not any other insects? You may not believe it, but the most commonly asked question on different specialized forums in the Internet nowadays is: how do you get rid of bed bugs? It means that it’s really a problem in our mobile and high-speed modern world. If you want to get some information on how to get rid of bed bugs at home, the first thing you will need to do is to detect them in your place of housing. It’s not always so easy, because bed bugs are night insects… When these insects and their bites become nasty, people start looking for all possible ways how to get rid of bed bugs.
However, it is too difficult. Bed bugs are usually found in-between the sheets and in mattresses. People, who face the problem of bed bugs, notice siblings, which look like rice grains. Though that is not that easy to kill these bugs, it’s quite possible. All you really need is time and patience, because these little creatures are hard to find and catch. Prevention Is the Key They say that if you want to know how to get rid of bed bugs’ infestation, you should firstly do everything possible to prevent its occurrence. Always check your mattresses and inspect bed covers. Use a mini vacuum cleaner in order to clean the places that are difficult to reach and don’t forget to empty the content of a vacuum cleaner far away from the place you live in. Vacuum carpet areas at least three times per week. Besides, it is highly important to avoid placing the luggage on the furniture or bed after returning from a trip. The best way is to dust the luggage off in the bathroom and only then bring it into the room.
Is That Difficult to Get Rid of Bed Bugs? These creatures are too difficult to get rid of. To begin with, they are too small, so they can squeeze themselves into extremely tiny spaces, where you won’t find them. To eliminate all the insects you are to find and kill them, which is not an easy thing to do. One more problem is the fact they are too fast, and even if you manage to find their location, you will not be able to catch them all, besides they also multiply pretty quickly and during a single female life they are able to lag nearly 500 eggs. This proves that if don’t start acting immediately, they will reproduce their offsprings in a couple of weeks. Starvation is also not a huge problem for them. Though they become very weak, they can live about 550 days without eating. So how get rid of them? – They hate chemical odors, but have managed to develop resistance to insecticides. If you keep your clothes, linens, bedding and home clean, they won’t find a dusty place to hide in.
Pay special attention to upholstered furniture and mattresses, as these are their favorite places to live and multiply in. 5 Best Ways to Get Rid Of Insects How do get rid of bed bugs? As bed bugs can easily thrive on mattresses and carpeting, box springs and other attractive areas, you can take your bed apart and vacuum all its parts and surfaces with a vacuum cleaner, using the highest suction setting. Don’t forget to pay special attention to all edges and crannies, where the insects can hide. Remove the vacuumed bugs immediately. A vacuum cleaner doesn’t kill, but collects the bugs. This is why you should discard the bag outside your place. Repair the wall in your house, because the bugs can quite easily thrive in cracks and beneath the wallpapers. Use wallpaper glue in order to tack the paper back down so that there are no loose edges. For this purpose many people choose to hire a professional, as do-it-yourself repairs are not always effective. That happens when people want to sell the house and they need to make it more attractive than it is.
For this purpose, a professional help will be pretty handy. Heat your bedding in a dryer at 120 degree temperature. The hottest drying setting will sterilize the bedding from the bed bugs and will eliminate both insects and their eggs. If you cannot afford the procedure, you can heat the bedding in the sun, which is not expensive at all. You can insert the items into plastic garbage bags and then just place them out into the sun.Of course, the methods we have already described are cheap, because they can be quite easily performed at home. However, they don’t guarantee that they can kill all bugs. Some of them will definitely survive and will go on spreading. This is what insecticide for. A pest control professional is able to treat your place and destroy all insects in it. You can discuss the methods that can be used and choose the one that’s the most effective in your case. Knowing how to get rid of bed bugs you can stop worrying about the infestation of these insects and start cleaning your house and your life from their nasty population.
User ReviewedHow to Get Rid of Bed Bugs at Home Three Parts:Containing the InfestationCleaning UpTreating Your HouseCommunity Q&A Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed on the blood of warm-blooded creatures, and particularly humans. These bugs are often found living on mattresses, box springs, bed sheets, and baseboards, as well as suitcases, shoes, and backpacks. Calling a professional exterminator is the quickest and most effective way to get rid of bed bugs at home, but you can tackle minor infestations on your own. To treat bed bugs yourself, the best course of action is thorough cleaning and a combination of treatments that include heat, cold, and pesticides. Map out the infestation. Before you can treat for bed bugs, you have to determine the extent and location of the infestation. In a larger infestation, the bugs may be in multiple rooms, on sofas and other furniture, and in baseboards and cracks. As you go through the house cleaning and collecting items to treat, use a flashlight to inspect for bed bugs.
Pay attention to areas like:[1] Mattress seams and piping Tears in mattresses and box springs Desk and dresser drawers (seams and crevices) Cracks in walls, plaster, and wallpaperBed bugs don’t actually live on humans or pets, but rather in and on things that get close to people, such as clothes. To treat bed bugs at home, you have to collect any fabrics that could be hiding bed bugs. Place all your fabric items into plastic bags and seal them until you can wash and dry everything. Items to collect include:[2] Clothes lying about on the floor Towels in the kitchen and bathroom Pick up and throw out any garbage. Any clutter or garbage can give bed bugs a place to hide. Go around the entire house and collect garbage, items you don’t need or want, and other things that can be disposed of. Place everything into plastic bags and seal the bags well. Remove bags from the house as soon as they're full and sealed. Store the bags outside until they can be picked up or dumped properly.
Throw out paper products. Bed bugs can flatten their bodies, so magazines, cardboard, boxes, and other paper products make great hiding places for them. Collect any magazines and newspapers that can be thrown out and place them in plastic bags. Seal the bags and store them outside until they can be disposed of. If you use boxes for storage, replace them with plastic totes and dispose of the cardboard. Pack up all your personal items. Pick up all personal items from the floor, shelves, desks, dressers, and other areas and transfer them to plastic bags until you can treat them. Seal the plastic bags and store each bag in the same room the items were in. This will help stop the infestation from spreading. You should pack up all personal items, including:[4] Toys and stuffed animals Empty your dressers and closets. Bed bugs can also live on the clothes in your dresser and closet. Empty all the clothes from these areas and transfer them to plastic bags to be washed. Seal the plastic bags when you’ve collected all your clothes.
When the dresser is empty, remove the drawers so they can be treated. Separate your bed from everything. Bed bugs are most likely to be found where people sleep, and it’s possible that the only infested item in your home is the bed. Because the bugs can't jump or fly, separating the bed will stop them from moving around easily. Pull the bed out from the walls so there's at least 6 inches (15 cm) of space between the bed and the walls. Install bug interceptors on the legs of each bed. Pull out anything that’s under the bed. Remove all rugs from around the bed area. Tuck bed sheets between the mattress and box spring so they aren't touching the floor (after the bed and bedding have been treated).Cracks in drywall, plaster, and wallpaper also make excellent hiding places for bed bugs. To flush the bugs from these areas, patch and repair cracks. Use plaster to fix cracks and holes in drywall or plaster. Use glue to mend peeling wallpaper. Remove paint in areas where it’s chipped or bubbled.
Wash and dry all laundry. Heat is a very effective way to kill bed bugs, so washing your laundry and drying it in a dryer is a great way to eliminate them from clothes, bedding, towels, carpets, drapes, and other fabrics. Only open a bag when you're ready to wash the contents. When the items go into the dryer, use the highest temperature setting and run the dryer for at least 30 minutes to kill the bugs. Once a load comes out of the drier, transfer the clean items to sealable plastic bags to prevent them from becoming re-infested.Bed bugs reproduce by laying eggs, and you have to dislodge the eggs from infested areas in order to remove them. Use a stiff-bristled brush and go over all the infested areas that you located when you were cleaning. Pay particular attention to mattresses, box springs, and sofas where people sleep, as these are the most likely places for eggs to be.Vacuum all the areas where you found signs of infestation. Do not use bristled brush attachments, as bed bugs can hide in the bristles.
Use the hose attachment to access hard to reach areas. When you're finished, remove the vacuum bag and throw it out immediately, or empty the canister into the garbage and take it outside. Areas to concentrate on when vacuuming include:[10] Kill bugs on personal items. There are a number of ways that you can treat a bed bug infestation on personal items. Aside from insecticide, two other effective methods are heat and cold. After you clean an item, place it into a clean, sealable plastic bag to prevent re-infestation. For items that can withstand heat, such as shoes and toys, place them in the dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes. On hot summer days that are 95 F (35 C) or higher, you can also leave bagged items in direct sunlight to kill the bed bugs inside. For items that can't be washed or heated, place them in the freezer in bags. Set the freezer to 0 F (-18 C) and leave the items in there for at least four days. Quarantine items that can't be treated or thrown out.
There may be some items that you won’t want to throw out, but cannot treat because they can't be washed, heated, frozen, or sprayed with insecticide. Transfer all these items to a separate plastic bag. Seal the bag, and then seal it within another bag to prevent the bugs from escaping. Leave these items sealed in the bag for an entire year. Bed bugs can possibly survive for this long without feeding, so the only way to kill the bugs is to starve them. Treat and encase the affected mattresses. After you’ve removed the bedding from the affected mattresses and vacuumed the mattress, box spring, headboard, and frame, you'll have to treat the mattress. The most effective way to treat an infestation and prevent a future one is with guard liners or encasements. Active Guard Mattress Liners are special fitted sheets that are treated with a mattress-safe product that will kill bed bugs within 72 hours. Zippered mattress encasements trap bed bugs inside and prevent them from escaping or feeding.
Leave the case on for a year to ensure that the bugs have died. Treat infested areas with insecticide. Cleaning and vacuuming alone usually isn't sufficient to get rid of a bed bug infestation in the home. Insecticides are usually required to properly treat infested areas. Take all safety precautions, and carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Wear a mask, goggles, respirators, and other personal safety equipment when using pesticides. Areas to concentrate on include baseboards, cabinets, the bottom and sides of drawers, inside closets, door frames, doors, windows, dresser feet, and bed feet. To spray areas like beds, couches, and other furniture that’s used and touched often, only use a product that’s safe for such areas. Make sure the pesticide you use is EPA certified and specifically for bed bugs. Optional pesticides include desiccants, dusts, aerosols, and liquids. Monitor and treat again if necessary. One round of cleaning and treatment may not be enough to get rid of your bed bug infestation.