Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

The most cost effective way is to do it yourself. There is no need to hire an exterminator using chemicals to rid your house or apartment of bed bugs. What it takes is perseverance in looking and finding the locations they have infested as well as repeating treatments. Prevention should also play a role in your tactics.

Consult our article on “Do You Have Bed Bugs” to determine if this is actually your problem as well locating where they are hiding. Reduce clutter to make the inspection and treatment easier. Personal items such as stuffed animals, soft toys, etc. should be removed, vacuumed and bagged in plastic for several days in the sun if they cannot be washed with KLEEN FREE NATURALLY.

Spray all areas where bed bugs are nesting with ERADICATOR SPRAY. Repeat this treatment daily for at least 10 days. You may want to repeat this treatment cycle three times if the infestation is heavy. Wash all items in ERADICATOR and KLEEN FREE NATURALLY. Put 2 oz. per load of KLEEN FREE NATURALLY in your wash. Spray all bedding, bed structures, floorboards and adjacent furniture.

Vacuum the house in all areas and dispose of the vacuum contents in a sealed trash bag. Repair cracks in plaster and glue down loosened wallpaper to eliminate bed bug breeding sites. Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate your walls and floors. Remove and destroy wild animal roosts and bird nests when possible. Scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs. Repair screen openings to keep out birds, bats or rodents that can serve as alternate hosts for bed bugs.

Whether to discard your mattress and box springs depends on the condition of the mattress and infestation size. If there are holes or tears in the gauze fabric or fabric of the mattress, bed bugs and eggs may be inside, as well as outside. You can use SleepSafe bedding covers to completely enclose any bed bugs. Enclose your mattress and box springs with these covers which have special locking zippers. By eliminating their ability to feed for a year, they will die.

A second common source for bedbug infestation occurs in homes where bats, swallows, chimney swifts, pigeons, or other wild hosts have been roosting. Although similar in appearance, these bedbug species that normally feed on bats and birds can be differentiated from the bed bug preferring humans.
The bat bedbug can and often feeds on humans. The bat bedbug has long hairs on its body. Eliminate their bat hosts from the building and seal all openings so bats cannot enter.
Another group of bugs resembling the bed bug infest birds. These bugs are usually confined to bird nests.

Implement preventative measures to prevent future problems. If you buy used furniture, particularly bed frames or mattresses, inspect it before bringing into the home. Mattresses, in particular, carry the greatest risk of harboring bed bugs and their eggs. You should be wary of acquiring used furnishings, especially beds and couches.

When you check into a hotel or move to a new apartment, ask what their preventative measures against bed bugs are. Check bedbugregistry.com to see if there have been any reports of bed bugs. If possible, carry a flashlight with you and inspect the bed area completely. Place your bags on hard surfaces, not soft surfaces, and then check them before you bring them into your house.

It is important to know not all bites or bite-like reactions are due to bed bugs. Bed bugs or their signs will be present if it is a bed bug bite. Bed bugs do not live under the skin. If you experience biting sensations during the day, it may be an allergy related condition.