Getting Rid of Bed Bugs: A Step-by-Step Guide

A healthy female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime. These bloodsuckers love to creep in at night and feast on human blood. Having a bed bug problem is perfectly normal and if you’re experiencing it right now, don’t panic! Here’s a step by step guide on how to get rid of them.

Step 1: Inspect All Areas For Infestation

Bed bugs are reddish-brown insects that are about the size of a pencil eraser. Their best hiding spots are usually in beds and couches, places where they can easily access human warmth. You may use a flashlight and a magnifying glass to help you go over these areas faster.

What to look out for:

• Adult bed bugs are reddish-brown and are about ¼ inches long
• Crushed bugs leave stains on your mattresses and other furnitures.
• Bed bug droppings look like dark spots and are a size of a period
• They leave pale yellow eggs, yellow skin sheddings and egg shells

Here’s a checklist to help you look for them

• Cracks in bed frames
• Behind hanged picture frames and paintings
• Under loose wallpaper
• In between wallpaper and ceiling crevices
• In curtain folds
• In furniture joints
• Check mattress tags and box springs
• Between couch cushions

Once you’ve found some, you can put them in a jar with alcohol to kill them or preserve them and have an exterminator or an entomologist identify and examine them.

Step 2: Contain the Infestation

Once you’ve identified the infested areas, it’s time for a home remedy. The best way to contain and catch them is by using a vacuum cleaner. Vacuum all affected areas and scoop up as many bed bugs as you can. Tightly seal the vacuum bag inside another plastic bag and dispose. Clean your vacuum properly and move on to the next step.

If you have contaminated clothing and sheets, put them in the washer and dryer using the highest heat setting to cure them. Any belongings that you cannot cure by washing you may seal in a plastic bag until all the bed bugs die.

Step 3: Prepare home for bed bug treatment

Before we let the professionals take over, we must make sure step 1 and 2 has been executed properly. We need to make sure all clothing, linen, furniture, and all other hiding places have been cleaned or thrown out to maximize our chances of getting rid of the bed bugs.

Caulk and seal all holes and cracks, crevices on walls and furniture to further reduce areas of infestation.

Step 4: Kill The Bedbugs

The use of insecticides can help with bed bug treatment. Choose products that are EPA approved and are specifically used for bed bugs. There are plenty of insecticides you can try out from desiccants to bug bombs or even plant based oils that are less toxic than the chemical based products.

Bed bug heat treatment is the go-to treatment that will eliminate bed bugs in the long run. All stages of bed bug life are eliminated through high heat. Instead of using chemical treatments, the most effective bed bug removal is through thermal remediation.

Step 5 : Monitor affected areas

Bed bugs can take a while to treat. You may check up on infected areas at least once a week for possible signs of activity. Repeat as needed. If this still does not do the job, it’s time to call a professional for help.

Step 6: Let the professionals handle it!

The good thing about professional exterminators is that they have access to stronger chemicals and other means of treatment that aren’t available for general use. They offer insecticides that can exterminate bugs on the surface and inside furniture and cracks, a long term fix for bed bug infestations.

While there are many other ways to get rid of bed bugs and plenty of home remedies you can try, the best way to get a permanent fix out of it is really asking for professional help and hiring an experienced pest control exterminator.