How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs: The Experts’ Advice
Don't feel bad or ashamed or think of yourself as a poor housekeeper if you find bed bugs in your house. These invasive critters are opportunists and great hitchhikers. In most cases, infestations occur because of unfortunate luck.
Bed bugs may latch onto your belongings during your stay in a hotel. Sometimes, they come in through guests staying at your home, kids coming home from college or friends, secondhand furniture and clothing, etc. The list could go on and on.
If you’re looking for tips on how to avoid bed bugs, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some practices you can follow:
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Inspect hotel rooms. Look behind the headboard, between the mattress and box spring, the luggage stand, and the nightstand drawers. Check them thoroughly for dark specks or live bugs.
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Do not purchase or acquire any secondhand furniture or mattresses unless you intend to treat them before bringing them into your home or apartment.
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Be sure your house guests aren't carrying bed bugs when they visit. Don't be afraid to ask if they have been exposed to bed bugs in their home, a hotel they stayed at recently, or elsewhere.
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Leave your luggage in your garage or vehicle after a vacation, business trip, or staying at a friend’s home. Bring your clothes in one load at a time and wash and dry them on high heat, even if they have not been worn. Never set your luggage on the bed immediately either. Clean it first to ensure it isn’t carrying any bed bugs.
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Be aware of your children’s and their friends’ belongings. Sleepovers can be the ultimate way for bed bugs to infiltrate your home.
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The areas that are most likely to be affected by bed bugs include:
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Multi-housing units
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Hotels and resorts
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College and university dorms/housing
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Assisted living facilities
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Furniture rental companies
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Hospital and medical offices
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Public transportation
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Office buildings
Bed bugs can also be introduced into your home after visiting or staying in any of the abovementioned places.
Are You Worried About Bed Bug Problems?
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
There are two main bed bug treatment methods: insecticide and heat treatment. Both can be very effective if done properly. At Premier Pest Elimination, we concentrate on insecticide treatments only, mainly to keep costs down for our customers. Besides, the majority of pest control providers that use heat typically follow it up with insecticides.
The success of bed bug control is largely affected by proper preparation and the cooperation of families, tenants, property managers, and owners. This is the case for both insecticide and heat treatment. The best results always happen when everyone works together.
Some commonly made mistakes when eliminating bed bugs include poor preparation and limiting treatment to one room, apartment, hotel room, etc. More often than not, bed bugs are found in adjoining rooms, apartments, and spaces within a short distance from the primarily infested area or the spot where they were first discovered.
Three months is the average time frame from when you were exposed to or picked up the bedbugs until you notice an infestation. If you happen to find yourself with bedbugs, try to think of where they might have come from. Is it from when you came home from a trip? Or from house guests?
If you recently bought a secondhand furniture, it might have carried the bed bugs in. This further emphasizes why we don’t recommend acquiring used furnishings or mattresses for your home, unless you treat them first.
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