Bed bugs are pests that can rapidly become a big problem in your home. They are tiny crawling creatures that tend to come out of their hiding places after dark.
Finding bed bugs is not a sign that your home is dirty since these creatures are not attracted to or interested in dirt. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) reports that these creatures live off blood, and this is why they will bite pets and humans. Bed bugs leave red itchy bumps on the skin, and this can be both irritating and embarrassing.
One of the main problems associated with effectively treating bed bugs is they like to hide, and you won’t know that you have them until you have an infestation on your hands. They can also reproduce rapidly when they haven’t been treated quickly enough. It takes around four weeks for these pests to reach maturity, and the female bugs lay eggs all over the place. They typically produce 3 to 4 generations of bed bugs in a year.
Signs That You Have Bed Bugs
The first step involved in treating an infestation of bed bugs is knowing where and how to look for these pests in your home.
The first sign for most people is waking up to find itchy and red bite marks on their skin. The National Health Service states that these bugs bite any area of exposed skin. These marks become extremely itchy and can even swell up and turn into blisters.
The EPA states that some of the tell-tale signs that you have bed bugs are stains on your bed linen (reddish) caused by either bed bugs’ faeces or blood spots. You might also notice the shed skins from the nymphs when they start growing larger.
If you start noticing red or brown spots on your sheets, bugs crawling in your bed, or bites all over your body, it is time to find out where these pests are hiding. The EPA suggests looking for bed bugs in these places:
- In joint of furniture, bed frames, and drawers
- In seams of soft furniture such as cushions, pillows, and mattresses
- Behind picture frames and loose wallpaper
- In electrical-outlet sockets
Trusted Methods On How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs
Here are a few essential tips you can use on how to exterminate bed bugs from your home.
Treat Crevices, Tufts, And Cracks In Your Home
To ensure long-term protection against these pests, you will need the right products. This will include contact sprays, residual, and residual powder. These products will reduce the population of the bugs, and they will carry on killing them over time.
Spray along baseboards, drawer slides, behind cabinets, nightstands, below drawers, or in any other area where they are likely to be hiding.
Residual sprays offer long-lasting protection against bed bugs and hatchlings. However, it would help if you avoided spraying areas where you regularly walk, sit, or touch.
Use Concentrated Insecticide
Treat rooms where these pests like to hide and the room that shares a wall with an infected room. Mix the insecticide solutions with water, and pour the mixture into a pump sprayer. Make sure you label the bottle. Spray under furniture, around doors and window frames, on baseboards, around bed frames, and in corners.
Pay special attention to door frames and windows, wall-to-wall carpets, bed legs, and furniture since these are common areas where these pests like to hide. You can try a plant oil-based insecticide product like EcoRaider or Bed Bug Patrol. Or if you don’t mind using chemical-based insecticides, you can also choose pyrethroids pyrethrins.
Clean And Clean Some More
Cleaning and steaming any affected rooms is vital. Bed bugs commonly hide in crevices and tight spaces around the home. These places include baseboards, wood cracks, carpet edges, and inside books and furniture. So make sure you vacuum, steam, and clean all these areas. Wash bedding and clothes and consider throwing away items that are heavily infested (put these items in black bags).
Hire A Pest Control Service
If you find it difficult to eliminate bed bugs in and around your home due to limited time, or you do not feel confident about the products you are using or the process, it may be the right time to call the professionals.
Expert pest control companies have the experience and skills to use either natural treatments or chemicals that are not always available to the public. These professionals only use insecticides that they know will kill the pests on contact. These products will also penetrate cracks and crevices to exterminate any hiding bed bugs.
Some companies also use room-heat treatments. This process involves heating rooms to a temperature range from 135 to 145 degrees F.
We hope these tips and advice have given you the confidence to get your home bed-bug free in no time!
