There might be a lot of disturbing things in the world, and bed bugs have got to be one of them. Nothing is better than coming back to your bed after a long and tiring day, so the last thing you need is dealing with bed bugs. These sneaky little wingless creatures come from used furniture and/or infested areas; they can hitch a ride in backpacks or any form of luggage.
Bed bugs might lack wings, but they are swift crawlers, so yes, they can travel between rooms without any problem. So, how do you prevent them from spreading and taking over?
1. Vacuuming
Much like vampires and other creepy creatures, bed bugs hide in the morning and only come out at night. They like hiding in the crevices and cracks of the walls, bed legs, bed frames, rugs and furniture. Knowing their whereabouts is half of the work, and now, all there’s left to do is to get your vacuum and get rid of these nasties. After thoroughly vacuuming around the infested area, change the used bag, place it in a plastic bag, and leave it in the bin.
2. Declutter
Bed bugs are masters of hide and seek; they will find shelter anywhere, especially if you provide them with the option. If your room is cluttered, it is absolutely essential that you declutter immediately. Bed bugs love clutter; it gives them plenty of hiding spaces. So beat the system and take away or reduce their hiding places at least this way it will be easier to get rid of them.
3. Washing Routine
Regularly washing your bed sheets, bedspreads, blankets, and any item that’s in contact with the floor is utterly vital. This won’t get rid of them, but it will reduce their number. Now that you’ve washed everything, make sure to heat dry them. Keep in mind to wash your laundry container so that neither the bed bugs nor their eggs hide in there too.
4. Give ‘em Hell
Speaking of heat, like any other organisms heat has a way of affecting bed bugs, and is used to get rid of them. Heat has been known to be a successful means to remove any bed bugs infesting your room, but you might need special equipment for this to be done. Heat overcomes any kind of infestation, including bed bugs and their eggs. You don’t need to worry about dealing with this problem on your own because usually there are special, trained teams, who are professionally trained to use the heating equipment to release you from bed bugs and give you back your bites free sleep. Look out for bites and such so that you know if you really do have a bed bug situation. Jordan Larson from CustomBedBug.com warns that if you find itchy, red welts on your body, you may have a bedbug infestation, and will need to call in the professionals. This is when you know it’s time to get it taken care of before it gets worse.
5. Or Freeze them
Another effective way to get rid of bed bugs is to put them in the freezer. Place your bed sheets, bedspreads, and pillowcases in a plastic bag and leave it in the freezer. The lower the temperature, the faster it is to kill them; you can always check the temperature with your thermometer. The standard is 0º, but you can always go lower than this. It is not preferable to leave them outside if it’s winter because the humidity or the temperature might negatively affect the process.
6. Outlets
Bed bugs will seek shelter anywhere they can find and will only come out when things have calmed down or when you have given up. Anywhere includes outlets too, they have absolutely no problem whatsoever hiding in an outlet while you are trying to heat up the bed or washing the bed sheets, so make sure to cover the outlets before trying to get use heating equipment or freezing the bed sheets.
7. Seek Help
If all fails and push comes to shove there is nothing wrong with calling a pest control company with a good reputation, on the contrary, seeking help from a professional team raises your chances of getting rid of bed bugs. These teams are usually trained and are experts in exterminating bed bugs. They know what to look for, they know what works best, and they can really help you in preventing any futuristic infestation attempt by bed bugs.
While having the house infested by bed bugs is very annoying, through trial and error, science has made a lot of progress in figuring out how to get rid of them. Before getting rid of bed bugs you must ensure that these are, in fact bed bugs, because the treatments might differ. After you’ve made sure that you are suffering from a bed bug infestation, feel free to follow all the different treatments to get rid of them. There’s nothing worse than knowing that the place in which you rest is going to be the place where you’re going to be pestered and bitten throughout the night! So the sooner you take action, the better.