What Steps Can I Take to Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs can be difficult to deal with because the treatments for them work best when applied directly to the bugs, and they are excellent hiders. They will hide in cracks that you may barely notice. It takes a professional who has been trained in bed bug detection to be able to identify all the places that they may hide.

Call a Professional

The first step in treating for bed bugs is to call a bed bug control professional who can complete the chemical treatment for you. This is important because you need to kill all stages of the bed bugs in order to end an infestation, and a professional will be able to do that effectively.

Wash Your Bedding

Take your bedding to a laundromat to wash. It is important to double bag the bedding. This will prevent the bed bugs from hiding in your car as you take bedding there. Throw the bag away when you get to the laundry mat, as it may now contain bed bugs. You may want to seal these bags in an airtight container to avoid passing the bed bugs onto someone else. Be sure to wash and dry the bedding on high heat.

Address Your Mattress and Box Spring

The first step is to vacuum your mattress and box spring. While you may be tempted to throw your bed away, you can take some simple steps to stop bed bugs from being a problem. Buy a cover for both your mattress and box spring that will trap any bed bugs that may be in your box-spring or mattress that the vacuum misses inside. They will not be able to survive. Additionally, it can serve as a protection to stop it from happening in the future.

Move Your Bed Away from the Wall

While you are working on clearing up the bed bugs, you do not want to worry about new bed bugs finding their way into your bed and onto you. You can move the bed frame away from the wall. You can treat the headboard with insecticide. You can also put the legs of your bed into bed bug traps that are designed to catch any bed bugs that may be trying to climb off the floor onto your bed. Since bed bugs cannot fly, these measures can help while you prepare for the extermination treatment.

Image courtesy of Gilles San Martin via flickr (CC by-SA 2.0)