Bed bug Professionals should be knowledgeable about bed bugs, educating you so you understand why time consuming and thorough preparation is so important.
Bed bugs aren’t found just in beds. Any space a credit card edge could slide in is a possible hiding spot. Bed bug exterminators need to treat baseboards, picture frames, bed frames, dressers, drawers, and tables. Because preparation will disturb the bugs, you should choose a pest control company and learn their operating procedure before doing much to the room.
Insecticides don’t penetrate the eggs, which take up to two weeks to hatch. The follow up treatment is usually scheduled two or three weeks after the first treatment to get those newly hatched nymphs. You want to get them before they become adults and lay more eggs. Prepare the same as for the first treatment. You can save time and money by unpacking only a few essentials until the follow up is done.
The bed bug reproduction cycle
A visual identification is very important so you know what to look for. Bed bug bite is not a good way of identify them because fleas,spider and wasps bites are Similar. Bedbugs are small, wingless insects that feed on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. They are easily moved from room to room on infested objects.Bedbugs prefer locations where they can hide easily and feed regularly, like sleeping areas. Their flattened bodies allow bedbugs to hide in extremely small locations: under wallpaper, behind picture frames, in electrical outlets, inside box springs, in mattress pads and in night tables. Newly hatched bedbugs feed as soon as food is available. Bedbugs can live from several months to up to a year and a half without feeding. Older bedbugs can go even longer without feeding.
How do I prevent a bedbug infestation?
Get rid of clutter. Vacuum often, including under and behind beds. Repair or remove peeling wallpaper and tighten loose electrical faceplates. Seal all cracks and crevices on wooden bed frames, between baseboards, and in walls, ceilings, windows, door frames and furniture. Check any entry points on walls that you share with neighbours, and openings that allow access to the inside of the wall (like areas where pipes, wires and other utility services enter). Check every item you bring into your home for the first time, including used books, new furniture, and garage sale or antique store furniture. Be very cautious with second-hand or refurbished items. New mattresses are often delivered in the same truck that carries away old mattresses, so be careful to check your new mattress before it enters your home. Insist that your new mattress be sealed before it is delivered. Never take a mattress or sofa from a curb. Check items before you put them in your vehicle and check your vehicle after helping a friend move. Remove and inspect all bed linens, including pillows. If you see signs of bedbugs, wash the linens using the hot cycle of your machine. Slowly lift up each corner of the mattress and examine all creases, tufts and buttons, along each side of any piping material sewn onto the edges, along mattress handles and air holes, and under pillow tops. Slowly lift up each corner and check where the box spring sits on the bed frame. Look closely at the top surface of the box spring, inside folds of material, along seams and where the fabric is stapled to the box spring. Also check along the edge of the cloth underside. If you see signs of bedbugs, flip the box spring upside-down and remove the cloth underside to look inside the box spring. Check all surfaces, crevices, screws, staples, tacks, and under wooden plugs that cover screw or nail holes on the bed frame, legs and headboard. Also go over the wall behind the bed (bedbugs can hide in wallpaper and electrical outlets). Remove electrical, telephone or cable faceplates to check behind them. Always be sure the power is turned off before opening an electrical outlet. Pay extra attention to gaps in the baseboard or rips or bumps in wallpaper. Wall baseboards closest to the bed, using the crevice tool to check inside gaps. Between the folds of curtains, along the curtain hem, inside curtain rods and under the hardware on the wall. Around window and door casings and frames, along the hinges and in the hole for the door latch. Under area rugs and the edges of carpets. Fold back the edges of wall-to-wall carpeting and check the carpet tack strips. Remove any loose cushions and check the creases, especially the seams and around the zippers of upholstered chairs and couches. Check the seating area and any creases along the sides and back of the chair or couch. Check the legs and where they join the upholstery, and where the fabric is tacked to the frame. Go over all corners and surfaces of wood furniture like dressers, cabinets, tables, chairs and bookshelves. Remove drawers and look at the inside, the top, sides, back and legs, paying extra attention to any cracks. Use the crevice tool to check any gaps
How do I get rid of bedbugs?
Professional pest control operators can use a variety of tools to control bedbugs. These include liquid insecticide sprays, aerosol insecticide sprays, insecticidal dusts, diatomaceous earth, pressurized carbon dioxide snow, and steam and heat treatments. Whichever treatment is used, it will only be effective if physical control methods and preventative measures are used together.
How do I make sure they don’t come back?
Avoid moving to another bedroom. While you may feel a strong need to do so, surviving bedbugs could tag along which might lead to another infestation. Instead, continue to use the same bedroom, monitor carefully and often for any surviving bedbugs, and take the steps below to protect yourself from being bitten. Completely enclose your mattress and box spring in zippered bed encasements available from allergy or pest control supply companies. Put duct tape over the zipper, because zippers have a space where bedbugs can enter or escape. Mattresses can also be wrapped and sealed in plastic film. As long as the encasement stays intact (no rips or holes), the bedbugs will not be able to get through it to bite you and will eventually die. It is a good practice to keep the mattress enclosed this way for a full year. Coat bed legs with double-sided carpet tape or petroleum jelly, or place the legs of the bed in leg protectors or glass jars with a bit of baby powder to trap the bedbugs on their way up or down the bed leg. Commercially available bed leg interceptors are available and are a way to detect bedbugs. Use white or light-coloured sheets. This makes it easier to spot them. Remove headboards completely. Paint existing wood furniture, including baby cribs, white for easier detection. Replace upholstered furniture with metal or plastic, or material that can easily be cleaned with soap and water.
How do I avoid bedbugs when travelling?
Do a complete inspection of the room before bringing luggage, pets or other items in. Do not put your luggage on the bed. Place your luggage on a tile floor (like in the bathroom), away from any upholstered surfaces. Once you have checked the luggage stand keep your luggage on the stand instead of unpacking your belongings and placing them in the drawers. Inspect the sleeping area. Slowly lift up each corner of the mattress and examine the creases and tufts of the mattress and box spring, behind the headboard and the wall behind the bed, the pillows, bed coverings and bed skirt, the bed frame and legs. Use a flashlight to inspect the inside of the closet, paying special attention to any cracks or crevices. During your stay, place your shoes in an open area. Do not store anything under the bed. If you find signs of bedbugs, notify the front desk and ask for another room, or stay somewhere else. If you change rooms in the same hotel, make sure your new room is not next to the possibly infested room. Before bringing luggage into your home, place it on a hard surface away from any places bedbugs could crawl to and hide, and check it carefully. Unpack your clothing and check personal items Wash all clothing and fabric items in hot water, regardless of whether you wore them or not. Dry non-washable items in the clothes dryer on the highest heat for an hour. Vacuum your luggage. Throw out the vacuum bag in a sealed garbage bag right away. Wash any vacuum cleaner brush or nozzle attachments you used in hot water with detergent. For a bagless vacuum cleaner, empty the dust collector into a garbage bag, throw out the bag immediately, and also wash the dust collector in hot water with detergent. Avoid bringing your laundry in a cloth bag unless you plan to wash and dry the bag. Use light-coloured plastic baskets that are easy to inspect when they are empty. Do not set your laundry basket on the floor, or near the seating area or trash cans. Place your basket on top of the washer and check it thoroughly before putting clean laundry back into it. Check any chairs before you sit down.