We understand the growing demands of the average homeowner. In addition to regular maintenance to the home, there are other issues to be aware of; such as pests and rodents. We reached out to a pest control do-it-yourselfer, Sam Gerald, for some information on a rising issue. All homeowners should be aware of the risks, preventative measures and solutions for bed bugs.
Some Tips On Keeping Bed Bugs Out Of Your Life
It’s true that they only recently became a big problem in households and businesses nationwide, but bed bugs are making up for lost time by exploding in number and presenting numerous issues related to their hardiness and resistance to the tried and true methods of pest control. This article will give you some tips on how to prevent the bugs, how to get rid of them if you’re unlucky enough to get an infestation, and the things that you can do to keep you and your family safe from this menace.
Prevention Is Always Better Than A Cure
Bed bugs are one of the worst insects that can infest your home for several reasons. The first is the fact that instead of eating your food or merely being a nuisance, they actively feed on your blood and leave itching red welts in their wake. The best thing to do is to know how and why these infestations begin and then to prepare yourself and your home to prevent the bugs from ever getting in.
Most often an infestation of bed bugs will be the result of the homeowner traveling to a location where the bed is infested. Even if you don’t notice that there are bugs in the bed when you sleep in it, they can attach themselves to your clothing and luggage and hitch a ride back to your home. Therefore it’s important to check any hotel bed you might sleep in for signs of bugs, such as dark brown spots or an odd odor. If you do find evidence of an infestation be sure to ask for a different room. You might also want to check review websites to see if there is any mention of infestations in the hotel you’ll be staying at before booking.
One thing you can do to get your home ready for bed bugs is to invest in a bed bug mattress cover. This will keep the bugs from setting up a nest inside the mattress, even if you bring a few stray ones home from your travels.
Worst Case Scenario – Infestation
Although preventing the bugs is the best idea, sometimes infestations are unavoidable through no fault of your own. Should this happen you will want to know the steps to getting rid of an infestation of these tenacious parasitic creatures.
The pesticides you can buy at the grocery or hardware store will unfortunately have little to no effect on these bugs, although you don’t have to call an expensive exterminating service right away. There are in fact several steps you can take yourself to eliminate bed bugs.
The first thing you will want to do is to remove all of the bedding that has been infested and wash it in hot water (in excess of 130 degrees) for at least a half an hour. Then the bedding should be dried on high heat for at least an hour. This will kill many of the bugs that are attached to the sheets and pillowcases.
Once that is done you should pick out a good professional bed bug spray such as sterifab and apply it liberally to the bed. Make sure to get into all the cracks and crevices of the bed frame and surrounding area as these are notorious hiding places for the insects. In addition to the spray, you might want to consider investing in a bed bug trap to be placed around the bed frame at each post. These plastic traps contain no chemicals but will prevent any bugs in the carpet from making it to the cleaned and treated bed. They also will catch and kill any bugs that might try to move from the mattress.
All of these tools in combination with one another will allow you to remove these terrible pests from your home and get back to peaceful and restful nights of sleep.
Sam Gerald has written many articles involving the do it yourself part of home improvement, and his main interests are pest control related. He currently resides in Georgia, where there are more than enough pests to keep him occupied.
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My notes:
* Direct spraying with a bedbug tick and lice spray did nothing to stop one bedbug from running around like nothing happened for several minutes so I crush them in kleenex and flush.
* my biggest advance in my battle was from pulling my mattress away from the mattress I had lying against the wall. They were using that as a mainstation.
* Sealed that mattress in zipper and plastic and threw out the sheet covers that were on it.
* Since then (after weeks, actually months, of constant bites) it seemed to stop. Then one day I caught 3 at 2 AM (one on my arm and two under my pllow). Then this morning (two weeks later, another. I assume it was because these were the only times a red pillow was actually leaning on my bed from the floor.
* They also choose a host. My wife in the same bed for all those weeks was never bitten. She even sleeps on the floor and does not get bitten or bothered.
* They might favor A+ blood type? And I have heard some people are not allergic and don’t know they are getting bitten. My daughter and I are the only ones who are aware we have been bitten in our house and we are the only ones with A+ Blood type.
* We became infested when a tenant upstairs had them and fumigated. I actually caught one running into my apt under the door soon after the fumigation.
* Off and other insect repellents have no effect on them whatsoever
* I had sticky (mousetrap paper) under the feet of my bed but that didn’t catch an yand was annoying because I was the one getting stuck (now and then random etc).
* I think my only hope is too starve them to death. Blankets won’t touch the floor – some sticky tape around the bed legs where I won’t step on them and yes definitely keep bed away from the wall.
* will do laundry this weekend again with sheets and pillow cases hot water and highest setting for 30 minutes in dryer. I read borax is more effective than bleach.
* I can not consider overheating the room (there is art and antiques in my room and I have no where to move them).
* additional notes: I hate them more than any other bug. They are a cross between a cockroach and a tick (which is also next to impossible to crush) and a mosquitoe. They have cockroach and tick legs and body, but suck blood and leave when full like a mosquitoe (ticks can’t ever seem to get enough).
* I get them with a tissue and drop them into the toilet and flush.
* Found the best time to catch them is at night. Especially if you sense their presence, get up, even if it is 2AM, turn the light on quickly and check all aruond – the pillow, sheets, and wall.
* The only satisfaction I get in this battle is when I go through a night without a bite, or when I catch one and crush it up and throw it into toilet and maybe make it suffer a little before I flush.
Great notes Jack, they really add a lot to the discussion so thanks for that.
It’s true that direct spraying doesn’t do much, that’s why I advocate a holistic approach to the removal of these pests. I definitely understand your frustration and wish you the best in getting rid of the problem. Also didn’t know that about the A+ blood type, very interesting idea that I plan to look into further. Thanks again for responding to the post.
Best Wishes,
Sam G
Informative news! And this will surely help people that how they can remove bed bugs easily. I am glad