How To Effectively Get Rid of Bed Bugs in 5 Ways

What is the most irritating pest that you have come across in your life? In a recent survey, 70 % of people across the world answered ‘bed bugs’.

How many times did you get disturbed in the middle of deep sleep due to the bed bug bite? Or do you get embarrassed in front of your guests due to the bed bugs on your couch? 

It’s time to say goodbye to those nasty creatures. Here are the 7 wonderful ideas to chase away the bed bugs from your home.

And the interesting fact is that many of us are not aware of their presence in our beds or furniture. Seeing the itchy welts on the back skin or legs, you might have mistaken it as an ant bite. 

First Identify the Warning Signs of Bed Bugs Infestation

• They normally hide under the seams, edges, and zippers. Inspect thoroughly at those places
• In case of furniture, they hide in the dark crevices and corners. Turn over your chair or sofa set and check underneath.
• The adult bed bugs will be oval and reddish-brown. Their nymphs will be translucent.
• You can identify their eggs which will be smaller than a rice grain and milky white.
• Through their molted skins you can identify their presence
• Their waste appears as black spots or thin streaks.

1. Laundry

Begin your cleaning steps from the basic level. Take out all the removable items like bedspreads, pillowcases, cushions, and covers from your bed and couch. Wash them at the utmost washing conditions prescribed for each of them. Especially take care of the temperature setting on your machine as the bugs can sustain up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Or you can separately soak them in hot water for 15-20 minutes.

While putting the stuff in the dryer, on a safer side you can choose a 90-minute setting. The cushions and pillows can get a dry steam treatment if you don’t prefer them in your dryer.

If your machine is not supporting the hot water treatment, get them treated at your favorite laundry place. Specify your washing needs to your laundry person and the experts will be very much aware of the washing instructions.

2. Vacuum And Steam

As soon as you identify the presence of bedbugs, start treating the bed, couches, and furniture set. Run the vacuum through your couch to collect all the bed bugs, eggs and wastes from the cracks and crevices of it.

Frequent vacuuming will help you to reduce the infestation rate of the bed bugs. High-quality filters in the vacuum will help you to trap all the bedbugs in the waste-collecting bag.

After vacuuming begin with the steaming process. The steamers will help you out with the most eco-friendly way of destroying these bugs and their eggs. The steam temperature will be more than 180° Fahrenheit and the bedbugs and its eggs can’t withstand this temperature.

3. Residual Sprays

The residual treatment is as important as the vacuuming and steaming procedures for your beds and sofas. It is always better to opt for the non-staining residual sprays. These insecticides will offer complete protection against the bed bugs up to 12 weeks. 

A spray applicator will be provided with the insecticide bottle. Attach it to the bottle and start applying on the flaps, cracks, crevices of your couch. Cover all the areas including the zippers and seams of your cushions and pillows.

Recommendations:

• Put on a full sleeve dress and chemical resistant gloves to avoid skin contact
• Check on the label for expiry date and how to use instructions

Note: 

Never use the expired residual sprays as they may be more harmful to you than to the bugs.

4. Climb up Interceptors

Once being affected by the wicked bed bugs, no one will be ready to take a second chance for their appearance. That’s why experts suggest the use of climb up interceptors beneath your set of furniture. After the vacuuming and thorough steaming, place the interceptors at appropriate places.

On any chance, if the bedbugs are again into your place, they will try to enter the sofas through the sofa-legs on the floor. Once they climb up to the wall of the first tray of the interceptor, it will next fall into a pit. The pit is coated with talcum powder and that will stop them climbing back out. You can attract any hiding bed bugs to the interceptor by bed bug lures. With its odor, it attracts the bugs and gets them into the interceptor for months.

4. Encasements And Insecticide Dust

The best way to seal off the couch or beds from the bugs is the encasements. Before covering the beds, you can apply a thin layer coating of any mild insecticide over them. With the help of a paintbrush or dust dispenser, try to spread them to the couch corners and crevices too. Then tightly enclose the bed in the encasements without leaving any minute gaps in-between.

The dusting and sealing process will be fruitful, only if you are maintaining them for 4 to 6 weeks in an enclosed state. The interesting fact is that bed bugs can sustain their life without food for almost a year. You can extend the sealing period if you feel your couch need more treatment time. This extension will ensure the destruction of all bugs due to hunger.

Conclusion

All the pests around us are a matter nuisance. The good maintenance of our home and surroundings will help us to an extent in preventing them. Though prevention is better than cure, it is essential to know the curing methods too especially in the case of bed bugs. 

Once entered into our households, these bugs will stay with us as long as they are fed well. So start from the beginning level treatments. Adopt any of the seven above mentioned techniques according to their intensity at your place. One idea is definitely going to work for you. We would love to hear about that from you soon.

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