How did that rhyme ever become a cute thing to say to a loved one going to sleep! There’s nothing “cute” about bed bugs, and the last place those two words should meet is anywhere near your mattress. But in a survey of more than 2000 hotel visitors, fewer than one in three could correctly identify an adult bedbug. That means most people wouldn’t even recognize one if it crawled right past them. So let us give you a rundown on this pest in hopes it will save you from paying for an expensive bed bugs treatment. Bed bugs are oval shaped, brown, and flat. They are about the size of an apple seed. Bed bugs feed on blood, and after feeding, their bodies swell up and they turn red. Bed bugs leave behind fecal stains of digested blood, which resembles “little black spots” They look like debris made by a dry erase marker. Bed bugs live in carpet, on fabric, and mainly in mattresses. They lay their eggs on fibrous materials, and they spread. It only takes about one month for a bed bug infestation to take over your home. You may be asking yourself, how do I keep that from happening? How do I stop them from even getting inside my home? Read on and you’ll thank us later.
Inspect the Area
Whether you’ve checked into a luxury resort, motel, or airbnb, spend a few minutes inspecting. You don’t have to tear the entire room apart or flip over the mattress. Look at the bed and other surrounding furniture for bed bug evidence. Pull back the sheets and look closely at the mattress. Look at the seams, surface, and sides. Near the headboard tends to be the busiest area of the bed because it is a mostly undisturbed area. You can run a sticky lint roller over the area to pick up any bed bug evidence. You can also use a flashlight to help you see into hard to reach areas. If you don’t find anything, you can rest easy. Bed bugs hide, but if you check their hiding spots and see nothing, they’re likely not present.
Protect your luggage
It is very very important to store your suitcase on hard surfaces when traveling. Bed bugs stay away from wood surfaces or metal, which both suitcase caddy and dressers are made of. If you are only staying a few nights, avoid unpacking your clothing. Leave your clothing inside your suitcase and zip it up if not in use. If you are staying for longer than that, have a separate laundry bag that doesn’t have holes in it. You can also use a lint roller on your suitcase to check for bed bug signs. It is suggested to do this after air travel, since luggage often touches other bags and items that may have picked up bed bugs while traveling.
Bag your clothes when you come home
Immediately strip your luggage and clean out the bag. Do not throw your clothing onto the floor or into a laundry basket with holes. A messy or dirty room doesn’t mean bed bugs, but it offers them more opportunities to hide and evade detection, which can lead to an infestation. After opening your suitcase, put clothing into a plastic bag immediately to reduce the chance of bringing bed bugs inside. If you happen to have picked up bed bugs, pockets are a perfect hiding space for these pests. After placing your clothing in the bag and cleaning out the rest of your bags, place your laundry in the washer. Put it on a warm water setting, and immediately wash. Bed bugs can live with little air, but they can not live without any air. After putting it through the washer and dryer, the water, lack of oxygen, and heat will help eliminate any bed bugs piked up during travel.
Use mattress encasement to kill bed bugs
Mattress encasements are big, thick plastic covers designed to fully seal and protect a matress. The mattress is the most common place for bed bugs to hide. They are rather picky about where they live. They look for areas that never get too hot or too cold. It is also rare for the underneath of the mattress to be disturbed. Because of this, bed bugs can stay hidden there for months without being noticed. They also like to hide in crevices and folds such as mattress seams, fabric creases, and there for months without being noticed. The mattress is also the closest you can get to their food source. Mattress encasements stop them from being able to get to you by sealing them to the mattress. They don’t have any way to gnaw through or bite you through the plastic. The only problem with the casing is how long it takes them to die. Bed bugs can live for up to a year without feeding because their metabolism is extremely slow. The reason being is the metabolism moves very slow. They don’t need water or much air. As such, it is vital that you do not open the casing. Leave the bugs entirely isolated. Box springs can also harbor bed bugs. They hide within the wood slats and folds in the fabric. Luckily they make box spring encasements as well. If you encase both box spring and mattress, you create a strong barrier that makes it extremely difficult for bed bugs to reach you.
Clean rooms after guests visit
After a guest’s visit, it is important to make sure no one is unintentionally staying afterwards. Ask guests to leave their shoes at the door on a mat or on the hard floor. It only takes 15 steps to get everything off your shoes and into the carpet. Do not put guests’ coats or bags on beds. If there is even one bedbug on guests clothing there is a possibility of it migrating into your bedding. If space is limited, or it is more convenient to put bags and coats on mattresses there is a solution. You can put a sheet or spare blanket under the coats and belongings . Right after that, wash the blanket and sheet. If your guests are staying overnight or over a week or two, there are still actions you can take. After guests leave, you can clean the closets by vacuuming thoroughly and disposing of the vacuum bag after words. Have your guests put suitcases on hard surfaces to reduce the chance of bringing bed bugs into your home.
Bed Bug Treatment
In reading this we hope you don’t lose sleep or add to your stress. We hope this helps prepare you to prevent and protect your home, and even help get rid of bed bugs before the problem gets out of control. It is important to remember that bedbugs do not pose the public health risk of some other pests like ticks and lymes disease. Though bed bugs are pesky bugs, and can be a nuisance to your home, it is not something to let take over your home and life. Our highly trained Green Pest Management bed bug exterminators are here to keep that worry off of your mind. Give us a call at (302) 777-2390 for a free bed bug inspection or treatment quote, and get the best pest control near you for any other pests you may be dealing with. Hear what customers are saying about Green Pest Management:
Q&A
What are the first signs of a bed bug infestation?
Common signs include small reddish bites, dark spotting on sheets, shed skins, and live bugs hidding in mattress seams, bed frames, or furniture cracks.
Can you get bed bugs even if your home is clean?
Yes. Bed bugs are attracted to people, not dirt. They spread through travel, used furniture, shared spaces, and close contact enviroments.
Why are bed bugs so hard to get rid of?
Bed bugs hide in tiny cracks, reproduce quickly, and can survive weeks without feeding. Their ability to stay hidden makes DIY treatments unreliable.
Do bed bugs only live in beds?
No. Bed bugs can hide in couches, baseboards, outlets, luggage, clothing, and even behind wall trim. Beds are just the most common feeding area.
Can bed bugs spread disease?
Bed bugs are not known to spread disease, but their bites can cause itching and irritation, and infestations can spread throughout the home.
Will bed bugs go away on their own?
No. Bed bugs do not leave without treatment. They continue to feed, reproduce, and spread throughout the home.
Do DIY bed bug treatments work?
DIY methods may kill a few visible bugs, but they rarely eliminate the full infestation. Professional heat or chemical treatments are usually required.
How fast do bed bugs reproduce?
A single female can lay multiple eggs per day, allowing small infestations to grow rapidly if not treated early.
Can bed bugs survive cold or hot temperatures?
Bed bugs can survive a wide range of temperatures, but extreme heat is one of the most effective professional treatment methods.
When should I call a bed bug professional?
Call a professional if you see live bed bugs, find multiple bite marks, notice spotting on bedding, or if DIY attempts haven’t worked. Professional pest control technicians are trained and can identify the source and eliminate it safely.
I was looking for some ways to treat bedbugs infestation at my home. So I was searching online and came to find your blog. All the tips that you have mentioned seems worth trying. Can you tell me how often I have to call a professional to get this treatment done? Thank you for sharing this blog with us. I am looking forward to read more such blogs in the future.
With our bed bug treatment, it should only take the one treatment and a little time to get rid of them. We offer a 30 day guarantee that if they aren’t gone we come back and treat again to ensure the problem goes away. Once they are gone it’s up to you to put those tips we mention in our blog into action to protect your home against future infestation.
What type of clothes should I while removing Bedridden couches and mattresses?
There are suits that you can get at most hardware stores that are hooded and zip up, and they are easy to get on and off. Those will offer the most protection. Also if you are moving matresses or furniture you could bag those up so the bedbugs are contained while moving them. If you don’t care to run to the store and spend the money on the zip suit you can wear normal clothing just make sure that after you’ve worked in the bedbug infested area that you immediately remove the clothes and wash them in hot water or place them in the dryer. Heat will kill bedbugs. If that doesn’t work you can give Green Pest Management a call or your local pest control company. They’ll have the products and knowledge to hit the problem head on and get it taken care of. Bedbug services can get pricey, but better than living with a problem that is only going to get worse if left untreated.