Bedbug Advice and Information that Will Save You Money

Bedbugs can be very difficult to get rid of but if you know what to do when you do have them you should have no problem getting rid of them. If you think you might have bedbugs or know you have bedbugs it will require hard work to get rid of them. Bedbugs like to hide and they are very good at it, but they are large enough to see with the naked eye and it is fairly easy to predict how they will act.

• Bedbugs only feed on human blood.
• Bedbugs do not like to come out during the daytime.
• Bedbugs are very good at hiding but usually do not hide far from their food source (people).
• Bedbugs usually bite at night when you are asleep but they can also be in your couch and feed when you are sitting still for an extended period of time.
• Bedbugs sense the CO₂ we exhale when we sleep and they sense the heat of our bodies, this is how they know when to feed.
• Bedbugs usually will hide in our mattress or box spring, they typically will not hide far from your bed (or couch) unless there is an extremely high population present.
• Bedbugs were nearly eradicated in the US but they have been on the rise in recent years, many experts blame the resurgence of bedbugs in the US on international travel and on the banning of pesticides.
• Although bedbugs can be extremely resistant to chemical treatments, chemical treatments applied in an integrated pest management (IPM) plan are extremely effective.
• Extreme heat and cold will kill bedbugs.
• Adults can survive for many months without feeding.

I will give you 5 steps that will help you live bedbug free. Of course every situation is different so you must use the knowledge that I provide to best decide what will work in your situation. Although expensive, it is best to hire a professional. But even if you hire a professional you will still need to do many of these things to ensure that you can live bedbug free.

The most important part of any bedbug elimination program is to inspect for bedbugs. This takes time and patients. This is something that you can do yourself as bedbugs are visible with the naked eye. But, trained professionals have the experience to quickly locate signs of bedbugs and will have a keen eye that known how to recognize bedbugs. If this is your first inspection you can still be effective if you slow down and are very thorough.

Look for living adult bedbugs and nymphs in seams, in cracks, and in crevices. When inspecting a mattress check all the seams and under any labels. When inspecting other furniture be as thorough as possible and check every crack or nook and cranny. Use a flashlight.

Also look for exoskeletons and blood stains. Bedbugs shed their skins as they grow and will leave them behind for you to find. They also will leave small blood stains around their hiding areas.

After you have located bedbugs you will need to clean the area to prepare for treatment. The important thing is that you remove any clutter in the area. If bedbugs are in your bed and you have clothes, toys, books, or other objects laying around the bed that just gives bedbugs more places to hide.

Pick up clutter an place it in a closed container such as a tub or trash bag. If possible take untreatable objects and place them in the dryer. If there is furniture near the bed move it as far away as possible. You will want to isolate your bed or couch from the rest of the room.

If your bed is not on a bed frame then get one. One of the most difficult ways to get rid of bedbugs is when your sleep on a mattress that is sitting on the floor. When your bed is off the ground this gives bedbugs less access to your bed.

Put pitfall traps under each of the legs of your bed frame. These traps will catch any bedbugs that are hiding away from your bed that will try to get to you while you are sleeping. It is easy to find and kill bedbugs that are hiding in a mattress or box spring but it is extremely difficult to find stray bedbugs that may be hiding in obscure places in your room.

This may be the most important part because this will ensure that you will not get bedbugs again. There are several things that you must do in order to ensure that you control any bedbugs population.

1. Do not take sheets from infected bedbug areas (bed or couch) and take them to another part of the house. The area that is infected should be treated as if it has an infection disease.

2. Put sheets, pillows, pillow cases in the dryer each morning. Be sure you carry these to the dryer in a closed container (not an open laundry basket as you can drop bedbugs in other places in the house, or even a wicker laundry basket as bedbugs could hide in the basket itself)

3. Keep your bed away from all walls and curtains. If your bed is next to the wall then this just gives bedbugs more access to your bed.

4. Do not let sheets that are on your bed hang off and touch the floor. You want to make it as hard as possible for any bedbugs that are not in your bed to get onto your bed to feed.

When you know where bedbugs are at you can kill them by smashing them or catching them. You can also you chemicals to kill them. Although not recommended you can treat your matress with products that will kill the bedbugs. Be sure to follow the label of the products that you use. As it can be extremely dangerous to use a product against the recommendations of its label. Treatment is best left to professionals.

When professionals treat mattresses or furniture they usually will treat cracks, crevices, and seams where bedbugs like to hide. They will also use a variety of different products to ensure that any bedbugs that may be resistant will die.

When people do these things bedbugs do not stand a chance. There are many factors that will play into a bedbug treatment and that is why it is best to hire a professional. Professionals can be very expensive and if you cannot afford a professional you must take action. You cannot ignore a bedbug problem, it will not go away it will just get worse.