Signs Your Home Has Bed Bugs and Treatments That Kill the Pests

Bed bugs don't get as much press as they did several years ago, but that doesn't mean they're no longer a threat. You can carry them home from any public place or guests could carry the bugs in on their clothing. Another easy way to get bed bugs is when you buy used furniture and don't check it thoroughly before you bring it in the house. Here are some signs you might have bed bugs and treatments that help get rid of them.

Signs Your Home Has Bed Bugs

Bed bugs usually come out at night, so you may not notice them moving around the floor and walls of your house. Your first clue could be itchy welts that you assume are mosquito bites. If the bites keep happening every night or if it's the wrong time of year for mosquitoes, then the thought of bed bugs should spring to mind. You can search your bedroom for the bugs to verify that they're present.

The adult bugs are large enough to see easily if you can find their hiding place. Look around your bed since the bugs like to live near their food source. You may see brown or red spots on your mattress from the bugs or you may see their bodies nestled in mattress seams. If you suspect you have bed bugs because you're covered in bites, but you can't find any bugs, call a pest control service to do an inspection. Once you've determined your home has bed bugs, you can decide on a quick and effective way to remove them.

Methods for Killing Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are killed by high temperatures, freezing temperatures, and some pesticides. Since the bugs are usually concentrated in your bedroom, you don't want to use dangerous pesticides from the store because they may not even be effective. You can try vacuuming up the bugs, spreading diatomaceous earth made for insecticide use on your bed and carpet, cleaning with a steam cleaner, and freezing your clothing, but if you have a bad infestation, professional treatments will get quicker and better results.

Call a pest control company that treats for bed bugs. They might use high temperatures by heating up your house or they might use dry ice to freeze the bugs instantly. Treatment options have their unique advantages and disadvantages, and the pest control company can help you decide on the right way to get rid of the bugs. It may take more than one treatment to be successful and while you wait, you should take measures to protect yourself from their bites.

Do this by checking your clothing carefully before you put it on and by creating a quarantine zone around your bed so your bed stays free of the bugs even if they are elsewhere in the room. You might put down a perimeter of double-sided tape that traps the bugs as they approach the bed. You can also place the feet of your bed in small bowls of water that act as moats that keep the bugs from climbing up on your bed. Vacuum your bed first and then place bed bug covers over your box springs and mattress so any bugs already in your bed are trapped inside.

A bad bed bug infestation can be a major annoyance and cause you to lose sleep. You may have embarrassing bites on your face or neck that are easily visible. Getting rid of bed bugs might be difficult, but it isn't impossible. Be sure to follow all the instructions provided by your exterminator so you can get the bugs under control as soon as possible.

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