Seek Professional Assistance
- Homeowners and property owners should contact their local pesticide regulatory agency immediately, and renters should inform their landlords of the problem so that swift action can be taken.
- In most US states, applying certain pesticides without proper licensure is illegal. So contacting a pest control
- Make sure you found a good exterminator who has experience with bed bugs. Not all pest control knows how to handle bed bugs. It might cost you at least $1000 for an exterminator to visit your home one time.
- Once you have identified bed bugs in your home, there are a few steps that you should take before the exterminator arrives. Don’t wait until the exterminator arrives, because the longer you wait, the more bed bugs will be multiplied.
Inspect Your House Carefully
Search the entire premises for any evidence of bed bug activity. You will need to set aside at least a couple of hours for this task, and break out a flashlight while you’re at it.- Perform a thorough investigation of your carpet, especially where the carpet meets the walls.
- Check any loose baseboards, including any cracks or holes that might exist. Bed bugs may also be found hiding between walls and underneath loose wallpaper, or underneath pieces of furniture.
- Flip over all furniture, especially wood furniture, and scan over the underside with a flashlight. This means dressers, beds, sofas, tables, and chairs. Pay special attention to seams and corners, since they prefer to hide in tight spaces.
- Disassemble the bed frame, and flip over the mattress. Pay attention to seams and folds of the mattress, and if there is gauze covering on the underside of the mattress it should be removed for full access.
If you have found bed bugs in your mattress, that you have a bed bug infestation. But don’t panic.
Take action immediately and download the bed bug checklist here.
Clean Your Home Thoroughly
- Although bed bugs have no preference between a clean or messy house, clutter on the floor provides them with additional hiding spots and should be eliminated. Pick up any piles of clothing, items stored under the bed, or personal effects tossed about on closet floors.
- Scrub all furniture with a stiff bristled scrubbing brush to loosen bed bug eggs attached to surfaces. Scrub within crevices of crown molding or base boards on walls and on the wall behind your bed.
- Vacuum or steam clean all cracks, crevices, corners of furniture, and seams within the mattresses where bed bugs were found. This will eliminate eggs that were loosened by scrubbing, and heat from steam cleaning will kill bed bugs and their eggs on contact.
How to Remove Bed Bugs from Personal Items
- Launder all clothing, linens, bedding, and plush toys (if children are present) in hot water, and dry on high heat. Bed bugs cannot withstand high temperatures, and as long as a minimum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit is reached, all life stages of the bed bug will be killed in the drying process.
- For items that cannot be washed or dried, sealing items in a plastic bag and leaving them outside in the sun for a few days is an effective method for those who live in hot climates. Also, try bagging items and leaving them in a hot car for a few days.
- Seal all clean items in a transparent plastic bag until bed bugs are fully exterminated, to prevent re-infestation.
Taking these steps in addition to working with a licensed exterminator should result in ridding bed bugs from your home for good. Once your exterminator has inspected your home and applied pesticides, do not attempt to apply any insecticides or perform any additional cleaning unless you run it by the pest controller first.
Work closely with your bed bug exterminator to ensure a successful extermination, and don’t get discouraged if you do not get rid of all the bed bugs in the first go round
It typically requires two to three pesticide applications to completely kill off the bed bugs and their offspring. Additional insecticide should be applied to the home every two weeks, until the problem no longer persists. Be persistent, don’t get discouraged, and slowly but surely you will get rid of bed bugs for good!
The information about bed bugs that I have researched, collected is to help the growing numbers of bed bug sufferers.