How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
Recognize signs of bedbug infestation., Watch for other signs of bedbugs., Don't let the name bedbug fool you., Don't believe the stereotype that bedbugs occur in only poor dirty houses and communities., Dismantle the bed and stand the components on...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Recognize signs of bedbug infestation.
You most likely know a bedbug infestation by a rash that resembles a mosquito bite.
Most often these come at night but in an serious infestation they can occur during the day.
A bedbug bite unlike a mosquito bite swells and spreads out.
Also the bites can come in lines and also burn unlike a mosquito bite.
A mosquito bite stays round and neat looking. -
Step 2: Watch for other signs of bedbugs.
Things to look for are the bugs themselves and the light-brown, molted skins of the nymphs (young bugs).
Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement (blood) are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided.
There's also a smell of rotten raspberries, or dried blood. , Bedbugs can be found any place humans rest and lounge and nearby.
Bedbugs can be found under school desks, restaurant benches, on computers in the library, chairs, hospital beds and curtains or on a store wall.
The same goes for carpets.
Many times a brush against a wall in on infested area can lead to bedbugs in the home.
Bedbugs are very good at clinging onto fabrics.
Transportation hubs such as airports, train stations and bus terminals are also key infestation stations to be wary of.
They can also cling to curtain rods, air conditioners, fans and also inside electronics. , Many affluent communities and households also have bedbug problems.
Many business trips to airports and to the companies themselves have led to bedbug infestations. , Oftentimes, the gauze fabric underlying the box spring must be removed to gain access for inspection and possible treatment.
Cracks and crevices of bed frames should be examined, especially if the frame is wood (bed bugs have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic).
Successful treatment of mattresses and box springs is difficult and infested components may need to be discarded.
Alternatively, place a bed bug proof mattress cover over an infested mattress to trap the bed bugs inside and starve them to death.
This will eliminate the need to purchase a new mattress/boxspring and make treatment and future inspections easier. (Starving the bugs CAN take up to 400 days, so make sure your cover stays sealed for at least that long.) Bed bugs also hide among items stored underneath beds. , Examine them inside and out, then tip them over to inspect the woodwork underneath.
Oftentimes, the bugs will be hiding in cracks, corners and recesses. , Pay close attention to the seams, tufts, skirts and crevices beneath cushions.
Sofas can be major bed bug hotspots when used for sleeping. , These include along and under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting (especially behind beds and furniture), cracks in wood molding and ceiling-wall junctures.
Bed bugs tend to congregate in certain areas, but it is common to find an individual or some eggs scattered here and there. , Inspectors sometimes also inject a pyrethrum-based "flushing agent" into crevices to help reveal where bugs may be hiding. , This involves multiple tactics such as preventive measures, sanitation, and chemicals applied to targeted sites. , Smaller items that cannot be laundered can sometimes be de-infested by heating.
Individual items, for example, can be wrapped in plastic and placed in a hot, sunny location for at least a few days (the 122°F/50ºC minimum target temperature should be monitored in the center-most location with a thermometer).
Bedbugs also succumb to cold temperatures below freezing, but the chilling period must be maintained for at least two weeks.
Attempts to rid an entire home or apartment of bed bugs by raising or lowering the thermostat will be entirely unsuccessful.
Wash all linen on hot, dry on hot setting.
Gather all linen, cloth and leather bags, mattress covers, clothing, teddy bears... etc.
Machine wash on hot
- wash the laundry bag also.
Tumble dry on hot.
Steam kills bed bugs.
Some metropolitan areas offer bed bug laundry and dry cleaning services which have the added benefits of proven methods for killing bed bugs and bagging or storing cleaned items so they do not become re-infested while the home is still being exterminated.
If something cannot be washed or discarded (such as a valuable leather purse) spray with non-toxic bed bug spray (such as diatomaceous earth), seal in a plastic bag and leave for a few months.
Dry clean to remove odor if need be. , You may get a simple device capable of generating steam at your local hardware store.
You may also convert a simple electric kettle to a steam machine by attaching a flexible tube.
Steam should kill all bedbugs and the eggs.
Thoroughly spray steam at all corners and seams. , This will remove bugs and eggs from mattresses, carpet, walls and other surfaces.
Pay particular attention to seams, tufts and edges of mattresses and box springs, and the perimeter edge of wall-to-wall carpets.
Afterward, dispose of the vacuum contents in a sealed trash bag.
Steam cleaning of carpets is also helpful for killing bugs and eggs that vacuuming may have missed.
A vacuum with a HEPA filter is especially effective. , Remove and destroy wild animal roosts and bird nests when possible. , Residual insecticides (usually pyrethroids) are applied as spot treatments to cracks and crevices where bed bugs are hiding.
Increased penetration of the insecticide into cracks and crevices can be achieved if accumulated dirt and debris are first removed using a vacuum cleaner.
Many readily available aerosol pesticide sprays will cause bed bugs to scatter making eradication more difficult.
Dust formulations may be used to treat wall voids and attics.
Repeat insecticide applications if bed bugs are present two weeks after the initial treatment.
It is difficult to find all hiding places and hidden eggs may have hatched.
Beware of insecticide "programs"(which require repeats) in local stores which can be unnecessarily messy and toxic.
Many of these "programs" are also not very potent at all and can become a money pit.
Look for other options. , Experienced companies know where to look for bed bugs, and have an assortment of management tools at their disposal.
Owners and occupants will need to assist the professional in important ways.
Allowing access for inspection and treatment is essential and excess clutter should be removed. , In some cases, infested mattresses and box springs will need to be discarded.
Since bed bugs can disperse throughout a building, it also may be necessary to inspect adjoining rooms and apartments.
Pay it forward: chop up and/or damage the items you discard so nobody will be tempted to take them home and spread the problem further. , Grind up some crystal silica gel and apply it all over in your bedroom.
Put some on your mattress, around the bed and along the wall.
The fine silica gel will get stuck to the bug and it cannot be shaken off, causing the bug to dehydrate and die.
Be careful not to inhale it.
Diatomaceous earth has similar effects to silica gel and can be used around mattress seams and along the rails of the box spring.
The sharp micro fossils cut into the soft bugs making them bleed.
If you have a cat, change the cat litter (crystal silica gel) every 5 days so the newly hatched eggs will dehydrate too.
Repeat for 5 weeks. , This oil can eradicate bedbugs in the house.
Clean the house thoroughly, top to bottom.
Wash all bedding and clothing, with a few drops of tea tree oil added.
Vacuum and wash all carpets.
Take all beds apart.
Spray them all down with tea tree oil.
Apply pest control spray around the entire home, inside and out.
To make this spray:
Mix 18 oz of water with 18 drops of tea tree oil and spray the entire house with it––the carpets, beds, and furniture.
Use wintergreen alcohol to kill bedbugs and their eggs instantly.
It's very inexpensive and easily accessible.
Pour the wintergreen alcohol full strength into a spray bottle and spray directly on the bedbugs and nests.
The wintergreen burns the bugs on contact.
You can also drench your mattress and box spring with this as well. , Bedbugs love to hide in dump sites which and if one is near your home the bedbugs might find their way into your house.
It also looks and smells bad for everybody in the community. , Keep the plastic covering that comes on your mattress when purchased new.
Purchase special bedbug covers for you mattress and box spring.
Make sure that they are quality ones with heavy duty zippers and constructed with special fabric that doesn't rip easily.
Don't buy the cheap versions which are not thick enough to prevent the bedbugs from sticking their feeding tubes into the skin through the cover. , At a minimum, such items should be examined closely before being brought into the home. , Laws in the U.S are now requiring all bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels to have and maintain bedbug bed covers installed on their mattresses and box springs. ,, Warehouses, storage facilities, trucks and railroad cars may be infested so common bed bugs can infest homes by stowing away on new furniture stored or shipped from these places.
Familiarity may help to avoid infestation, or at least prompt earlier intervention by a professional. -
Step 3: Don't let the name bedbug fool you.
-
Step 4: Don't believe the stereotype that bedbugs occur in only poor dirty houses and communities.
-
Step 5: Dismantle the bed and stand the components on end.
-
Step 6: Empty nightstands and dressers.
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Step 7: Check upholstered chairs and sofas.
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Step 8: Check other common places.
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Step 9: Use a flashlight.
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Step 10: Follow an integrated pest management (IPM) approach.
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Step 11: Bag and launder (122°F/50ºC minimum) affected items.
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Step 12: Point steam on them.
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Step 13: Vacuum your house.
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Step 14: Repair cracks in plaster and glue down loosened wallpaper to eliminate bed bug harborage sites.
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Step 15: Consider using insecticides.
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Step 16: Enlist the services of a professional pest control firm.
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Step 17: Discard affected items.
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Step 18: Apply silica gel.
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Step 19: Use tea-tree or ti-tree oil to clean with.
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Step 20: Fight against littering and illegal dumping.
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Step 21: Use precautions in your own home.
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Step 22: Be wary of acquiring secondhand beds
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Step 23: bedding
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Step 24: and furniture.
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Step 25: Examine beds and headboards for signs of bed bugs when traveling.
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Step 26: Elevate your luggage off the floor.
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Step 27: Be vigilant.
Detailed Guide
You most likely know a bedbug infestation by a rash that resembles a mosquito bite.
Most often these come at night but in an serious infestation they can occur during the day.
A bedbug bite unlike a mosquito bite swells and spreads out.
Also the bites can come in lines and also burn unlike a mosquito bite.
A mosquito bite stays round and neat looking.
Things to look for are the bugs themselves and the light-brown, molted skins of the nymphs (young bugs).
Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement (blood) are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided.
There's also a smell of rotten raspberries, or dried blood. , Bedbugs can be found any place humans rest and lounge and nearby.
Bedbugs can be found under school desks, restaurant benches, on computers in the library, chairs, hospital beds and curtains or on a store wall.
The same goes for carpets.
Many times a brush against a wall in on infested area can lead to bedbugs in the home.
Bedbugs are very good at clinging onto fabrics.
Transportation hubs such as airports, train stations and bus terminals are also key infestation stations to be wary of.
They can also cling to curtain rods, air conditioners, fans and also inside electronics. , Many affluent communities and households also have bedbug problems.
Many business trips to airports and to the companies themselves have led to bedbug infestations. , Oftentimes, the gauze fabric underlying the box spring must be removed to gain access for inspection and possible treatment.
Cracks and crevices of bed frames should be examined, especially if the frame is wood (bed bugs have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic).
Successful treatment of mattresses and box springs is difficult and infested components may need to be discarded.
Alternatively, place a bed bug proof mattress cover over an infested mattress to trap the bed bugs inside and starve them to death.
This will eliminate the need to purchase a new mattress/boxspring and make treatment and future inspections easier. (Starving the bugs CAN take up to 400 days, so make sure your cover stays sealed for at least that long.) Bed bugs also hide among items stored underneath beds. , Examine them inside and out, then tip them over to inspect the woodwork underneath.
Oftentimes, the bugs will be hiding in cracks, corners and recesses. , Pay close attention to the seams, tufts, skirts and crevices beneath cushions.
Sofas can be major bed bug hotspots when used for sleeping. , These include along and under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting (especially behind beds and furniture), cracks in wood molding and ceiling-wall junctures.
Bed bugs tend to congregate in certain areas, but it is common to find an individual or some eggs scattered here and there. , Inspectors sometimes also inject a pyrethrum-based "flushing agent" into crevices to help reveal where bugs may be hiding. , This involves multiple tactics such as preventive measures, sanitation, and chemicals applied to targeted sites. , Smaller items that cannot be laundered can sometimes be de-infested by heating.
Individual items, for example, can be wrapped in plastic and placed in a hot, sunny location for at least a few days (the 122°F/50ºC minimum target temperature should be monitored in the center-most location with a thermometer).
Bedbugs also succumb to cold temperatures below freezing, but the chilling period must be maintained for at least two weeks.
Attempts to rid an entire home or apartment of bed bugs by raising or lowering the thermostat will be entirely unsuccessful.
Wash all linen on hot, dry on hot setting.
Gather all linen, cloth and leather bags, mattress covers, clothing, teddy bears... etc.
Machine wash on hot
- wash the laundry bag also.
Tumble dry on hot.
Steam kills bed bugs.
Some metropolitan areas offer bed bug laundry and dry cleaning services which have the added benefits of proven methods for killing bed bugs and bagging or storing cleaned items so they do not become re-infested while the home is still being exterminated.
If something cannot be washed or discarded (such as a valuable leather purse) spray with non-toxic bed bug spray (such as diatomaceous earth), seal in a plastic bag and leave for a few months.
Dry clean to remove odor if need be. , You may get a simple device capable of generating steam at your local hardware store.
You may also convert a simple electric kettle to a steam machine by attaching a flexible tube.
Steam should kill all bedbugs and the eggs.
Thoroughly spray steam at all corners and seams. , This will remove bugs and eggs from mattresses, carpet, walls and other surfaces.
Pay particular attention to seams, tufts and edges of mattresses and box springs, and the perimeter edge of wall-to-wall carpets.
Afterward, dispose of the vacuum contents in a sealed trash bag.
Steam cleaning of carpets is also helpful for killing bugs and eggs that vacuuming may have missed.
A vacuum with a HEPA filter is especially effective. , Remove and destroy wild animal roosts and bird nests when possible. , Residual insecticides (usually pyrethroids) are applied as spot treatments to cracks and crevices where bed bugs are hiding.
Increased penetration of the insecticide into cracks and crevices can be achieved if accumulated dirt and debris are first removed using a vacuum cleaner.
Many readily available aerosol pesticide sprays will cause bed bugs to scatter making eradication more difficult.
Dust formulations may be used to treat wall voids and attics.
Repeat insecticide applications if bed bugs are present two weeks after the initial treatment.
It is difficult to find all hiding places and hidden eggs may have hatched.
Beware of insecticide "programs"(which require repeats) in local stores which can be unnecessarily messy and toxic.
Many of these "programs" are also not very potent at all and can become a money pit.
Look for other options. , Experienced companies know where to look for bed bugs, and have an assortment of management tools at their disposal.
Owners and occupants will need to assist the professional in important ways.
Allowing access for inspection and treatment is essential and excess clutter should be removed. , In some cases, infested mattresses and box springs will need to be discarded.
Since bed bugs can disperse throughout a building, it also may be necessary to inspect adjoining rooms and apartments.
Pay it forward: chop up and/or damage the items you discard so nobody will be tempted to take them home and spread the problem further. , Grind up some crystal silica gel and apply it all over in your bedroom.
Put some on your mattress, around the bed and along the wall.
The fine silica gel will get stuck to the bug and it cannot be shaken off, causing the bug to dehydrate and die.
Be careful not to inhale it.
Diatomaceous earth has similar effects to silica gel and can be used around mattress seams and along the rails of the box spring.
The sharp micro fossils cut into the soft bugs making them bleed.
If you have a cat, change the cat litter (crystal silica gel) every 5 days so the newly hatched eggs will dehydrate too.
Repeat for 5 weeks. , This oil can eradicate bedbugs in the house.
Clean the house thoroughly, top to bottom.
Wash all bedding and clothing, with a few drops of tea tree oil added.
Vacuum and wash all carpets.
Take all beds apart.
Spray them all down with tea tree oil.
Apply pest control spray around the entire home, inside and out.
To make this spray:
Mix 18 oz of water with 18 drops of tea tree oil and spray the entire house with it––the carpets, beds, and furniture.
Use wintergreen alcohol to kill bedbugs and their eggs instantly.
It's very inexpensive and easily accessible.
Pour the wintergreen alcohol full strength into a spray bottle and spray directly on the bedbugs and nests.
The wintergreen burns the bugs on contact.
You can also drench your mattress and box spring with this as well. , Bedbugs love to hide in dump sites which and if one is near your home the bedbugs might find their way into your house.
It also looks and smells bad for everybody in the community. , Keep the plastic covering that comes on your mattress when purchased new.
Purchase special bedbug covers for you mattress and box spring.
Make sure that they are quality ones with heavy duty zippers and constructed with special fabric that doesn't rip easily.
Don't buy the cheap versions which are not thick enough to prevent the bedbugs from sticking their feeding tubes into the skin through the cover. , At a minimum, such items should be examined closely before being brought into the home. , Laws in the U.S are now requiring all bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels to have and maintain bedbug bed covers installed on their mattresses and box springs. ,, Warehouses, storage facilities, trucks and railroad cars may be infested so common bed bugs can infest homes by stowing away on new furniture stored or shipped from these places.
Familiarity may help to avoid infestation, or at least prompt earlier intervention by a professional.
About the Author
Melissa Turner
Specializes in breaking down complex practical skills topics into simple steps.
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