What Are the Best Ways to Treat Bed Bugs?

Bed bug infestations are difficult to treat and should always be left to professionals. While many individuals attempt DIY solutions online, most are ineffective and may actually lead to additional issues.

Before your technician returns for heat treatment, you can prepare your home by clearing away clutter and placing clothes in plastic bags. In addition, using mattress and box spring encasements will protect these essential pieces of furniture.

Heat Treatment

Heat treatment for bed bugs is widely acknowledged to be the most effective means for eliminating bed bugs. This treatment kills all life stages at once, eliminating their chance to return in future infestations. Vacuuming, washing bedding and sealing infested items in plastic bags are also effective means for ridding yourself of bed bugs and their eggs.

Vacuum and launder linens regularly, while carefully inspecting items for signs of infestation. Look out for tiny reddish-black to black spots, dark feces smears and light tan skin shed by pests in corners, crevices and crevasses of beds as well as inside drawers cabinets and dressers – as these could indicate a pest problem.

Alternatively, registered pest controllers can utilize insecticides. Pyrethrins and pyrethroids derived from chrysanthemum flowers as well as synthetic versions are two popular bed bugicides; however some strains have developed resistance. Foggers or liquid sprays may also work to kill off bed bugs effectively – be sure to follow label instructions when using the product properly!

Chemical Treatment

Chemical treatments can be useful in treating minor bed bug infestations that are caught early or for spot treatment. Thoroughly vacuum furniture, nightstands, dressers and closets that could harbor bed bugs before taking further measures like vacuuming the space between mattress layers to remove bed bugs, eggs and shed skins then placing all into a sealed plastic bag to dispose outside.

Doing a thorough inspection of a mattress involves carefully scrutinizing its seams and tufts, looking out for signs of bedbugs in coils of box springs or frames, under beds, nightstands, chairs backs or baseboards to look for signs.

Apply a ready-to-use botanical insecticide such as Cimexa Dust in areas where bed bugs may be hiding. This low-toxic dust is odorless and nonstaining, killing both adult and nymph bed bugs without harming people or pets. Cimexa Dust may also be used as a crack and crevice spray around windows and joints of drawers and cabinets as well as on furniture surfaces and carpet edges – an effective product!

Bed Bug Traps

Bed bugs are more cunning than many give them credit for, being able to figure out ways around traps and even climb walls, thus being used as part of an effective control plan for an infestation. Traps should only be used as one method.

Maintaining a clean, clutter-free home is one of the best ways to avoid bed bug issues. Be sure to regularly vacuum your mattress, nightstands, box springs and mattress covers as this helps seal them and stop bed bugs entering through their seams. Also important are inspecting second-hand furniture thoroughly prior to purchase as this eliminates bed bug eggs that might have made their way onto textiles or clothing that you bring into your home, washing clothing and textiles before bringing into the house, using silicone caulk sealant on cracks and crevices can also keep bed bugs out preventing entry into the bedroom or other sleeping areas.

Inspection

Bed bugs require careful inspection in order to detect their presence. Small reddish-brown oval bugs, these insects can often hide in tiny cracks and crevices of mattresses and carpets/rugs/baseboards/electric outlets and electrical outlets – where you might also find clothing piles on closet floors and boxes full of books or papers on nightstands and dressers if the infestation is widespread enough.

Utilize an insecticide spray containing pyrethroid (such as Temprid SC) to address all suspected hiding places. Spray your mattress, box spring, frame and any crack-and-crevice tips available with your spray to reach even the tightest spaces.

Once you’ve treated all possible hiding spots, use a mattress encasement like those from Mattress Safe to enclose both mattress and box spring. This keeps them protected from bed bug treatment chemicals for at least a year; thus allowing you to avoid having to repeat treatment every time you move or change beds.