After finding a large group of Bed Bugs at your home, especially in your bed, you may then look for the way to get rid of Bed Bugs before they spread around. Although bed bug bites are not too dangerous, they only cause itching on the skin, Bed bug bites are really uncomfortable.
That’s why you need to get rid of Bed Bugs around your home to prevent their sharp bites. If you’re browsing on the internet, you surely will find a dozen of solutions that you can do to drive out Bed Bugs. Instead, this post has six smart steps to get rid of the Bed Bugs that hopefully help you a lot. Here you go!
Step 1: Take off your bed sheet and wash it
After you have identified that the Bed Bugs are found in your mattress, the first thing you have to do is to take off your bed sheet, keep away from the mattress and place it in a large plastic bag or bin. The best way is to wash it as soon as possible.
Since the Bed Bugs will live in fabric and lay eggs everywhere, it would be better for you to start by washing everything you can including the bed sheet. When washing your bed sheet, you need to use high water temperature and high heat when drying. Need to know, the Bed Bugs and their eggs will die at a sustained temperature of 119-124 degrees.
In addition to washing your bed sheet, you also need to wash any clothes such as blankets, fabric curtains, stuffed animals that you place on your mattress, your hanging clothes and many others around your bedroom that may be a place for Bed Bugs to hatch their eggs.
Even though washing so many clothes is pretty tiring, nothing’s worse than thinking you have a bed bug problem under control that is only for more eggs to hatch in some unexpected place. After all of your clothes are clean, it would be better for you to keep them out of a dresser for a few weeks.
Step 2: Vacuum your mattress and everything around
Vacuuming can be done while you’re washing the bed sheet or other clothes on the washing machine. After taking off the bed sheet, you can start vacuuming your mattress. However, this is the most effective way in the entire process to get rid of Bed Bugs in your bed.
When vacuuming, it’s better for you to have a vacuum with a HEPA filter that guarantees that Bed Bugs and their eggs cannot escape. During vacuuming, you should focus on your mattress and the area around your bed.
Make sure to thoroughly vacuum your mattress to catch live Bed Bugs. The areas you should vacuum around your bed include the seams and joints of your furniture, the insides of your dresser, your carpet and also other places that you have noticed signs of Bed Bug infestation.
As a suggestion, you may need to vacuum and vacuum more often. It would be better if you can vacuum early morning and at night time, since the Bed Bugs will be more likely to be out of hiding.
Step 3: Kill the Bed Bugs
It’s time to kill the Bed Bugs after you successfully catch them in a vacuum container. According to some sources, there are a bunch of ways that you can take to kill them, including:
- Using heat or cold temperature: While washing your bed sheet or clothes, you can wash them in very hot water for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can put the affected item in a freezer at least 0o Fahrenheit.
- Using chemical: You can also use a chemical spray to kill the Bed Bugs. Make sure to use a safe chemical product that is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- Using streamers: Steamers can be an effective way to kill the Bed Bugs as it can be used on mattresses, couches and other places where the bed bugs hide.
- Using mattress cover: The mattress cover will trap the Bed Bugs inside and prevent Bed Bugs from entering. The cover can also be a protective barrier preventing the Bed Bugs from biting you while sleeping.
Step 4: Monitor affected areas
You should know that the Bed Bug infestation will take weeks or even months to wipe out. If you want to ensure that your method is really working, you may need to check the infested area once a week for a few months.
Step 5: Prevent future Bed Bugs
After you’ve performed all of those steps, you may still find Bed Bugs and their eggs from time to time as new eggs hatch. After that, a new Bed Bug will come into contact with the killing dust.
To easier spot the Bed Bugs, you may need to place the Bed Bug interceptors under each leg of the bed. However, those stuff can trap the Bed Bugs before they climb up into your bed. Ideally, you can check the interceptors for a full year. If you notice new signs of Bed Bug activity again, you need to treat the affected area again.
To prevent future Bed Bugs’ attack, you may need to vacuum your mattress and anything around your bed or bedroom to get rid of the Bed Bugs eggs. We suggest you vacuum them up rather than spraying them. Make sure to vacuum your furniture and floor more often, ideally you can vacuum every morning or at night time.
When you find new areas of Bed Bug activity, you can repeat those steps that we’ve mentioned above. Additionally, the Bed Bugs are hardy creatures, so don’t think that you totally get rid of them, as a new egg may hatch again in an untouchable area.
Step 6: Hire a pro
If all the steps above cannot solve your problem in getting rid of the Bed Bugs in your bed or even there are a large group of Bed Bugs at your home, it’s the best time to hire a professional exterminator. They usually will evaluate your Bed Bug infestation and make a plan to get rid of Bed Bugs. Generally, they will take 2 or 3 visits to start working.
Okay, those are six steps that you can do to get rid of Bed Bugs at your home. Good Luck!!!
