How Do Bed Bugs Get in Your Home?
Some pests come into your home looking for food, and then take that food back to nests outside your home. Not the bed bug. The bed bug only wants to live near its next meal. Because of this, bed bugs will never be far from humans and human activity. They are opportunists that will come into your home as stowaways on luggage, furniture, bedding, clothing and moving boxes. They can also come into your home through the walls of an adjacent apartment or other dwellings. Occasionally, other insects are mistaken for bed bugs, including bat bugs or bird bugs. All of these insects can come into your home via pets who may carry them in from outside.
Bed bug infestations primarily start because of contact you have made with these insects in another location. For that reason, it is important to make sure that you thoroughly inspect any hotel room you stay in. Never leave your luggage on the floor or bed of a hotel. Always place your luggage on a luggage rack, but not before thoroughly checking the rack itself.
Examine all the areas where bed bugs hide:
- Bedrooms
- Anywhere people watch TV and might take a nap, such as couches, lounge chairs, etc.
- Seams of any luggage, backpacks, purses or other bags you have brought with you on a trip
- Used or vintage furniture
- Check all bedding and furniture after any guests stay in your home
Sometimes bed bugs come from nearby residences. Check with your neighbors for any recent infestations to confirm that no bugs are traveling through the shared apartment or condominium walls. If you used a communal laundry room, inspect your laundry basket for any hitchhiking bed bugs.
Good to Know
The only proven means of eradicating bed bugs in your home is to call a pest control service that is experienced in the control of bed bugs in homes.
Bed Bugs DIY — Does It Work?
Treating bed bugs without the help of a professional exterminator is difficult. You may find that your infestation is extremely difficult to eradicate completely depending on:
- The severity of your home’s infestation.
- The availability of hiding places for bed bugs in your home.
- The number of walls your home shares with other residences.
- Whether or not your neighbors have a bed bug infestation.
There are a number of steps you can take to reduce a bed bug infestation on your own:
- Vacuum
- Get rid of any clutter on floors and check for signs of bed bugs.
- Vacuum your home thoroughly, making sure to get every inch of flooring.
- Remove the pillows, sheets and mattress cover from your bed and meticulously vacuum your mattress to get rid of as many actual bugs, shed skins and droppings bed bugs may have left behind.
- Heat
- High heat will kill any bed bugs and their eggs.
- Launder any item that is washable and has been on or near your bed on the highest heat setting your machine will allow.
- Dry all of the same items on the hottest setting as well.
- If you have access to a professional steamer, you can try steaming your apartment, making sure to go over your carpet, box spring, mattress and upholstery with the steamer several times.
Neither of the above remedies will completely eliminate a bed bug infestation on their own. But together, vacuuming and heat treatment may decrease the number of bed bugs in your home and can help give you a sense of relief.
There are a few other DIY treatments you may find that purport to be helpful in eliminating bed bugs. However, you may find them to have varying degrees of success:
- Diatomaceous Earth
- Diatomaceous earth is a chemical-free powder that is thought to be effective where insecticidal dust is inadequate, such as carpeting, bed frames and small cracks and crevices in walls and flooring. This treatment is thought to dehydrate bed bugs, lessening your home’s bed bug population. Despite the fact that diatomaceous earth is chemical-free, always wear proper protection during the application process.
- Essential Oils
- Essential oils are often touted as safe DIY treatments for the eradication of bed bugs. Here, you apply a few drops of different essential oils to your mattress or bedding with the hopes of warding bed bugs away from your bed.
- Tea tree oil is thought to have anti-parasitic properties but the undiluted version can be very irritating to humans. Always make sure to dilute any essential oils in water or a carrier oil to protect yourself from irritation. Please note that diffused essential oils can be irritating to the lining of the respiratory tract of pets, including cats and small dogs.
- Lavender, peppermint, thyme and oregano oils are also thought to offer bed bug relief.
- Essential oils are unproven at eradicating bed bugs, however, the use of essential oils may lessen the number of bites you incur.
Both of the above treatments are untested and unproven. Like heat treatments and vacuuming, applying diatomaceous earth and essential oils can be hazardous and expensive — and may do absolutely nothing to reduce your bed bug problem. The only proven means of eradicating bed bugs in your home is to call a knowledgeable pest control service that is experienced in the control of bed bugs in residences.
How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs
The only truly effective and guaranteed way to get rid of bed bugs in your home is to call a knowledgeable pest control service that has expertise in controlling bed bug populations. Pest control experts will inspect your home thoroughly to assess your home’s bed bug circumstances. Beginning in your bedroom and making their way through every other room of your home, a professional from a pest control service will examine everything in your home where bed bugs might be hiding, including the walls and floors, using special tools specially created for this task. Some companies even use working dogs who are specifically trained for the task to sniff out any bed bugs that may go otherwise undetected.
If the bed bug specialist confirms a bed bug infestation, they will then recommend the best course of action for your home and your particular situation. Your individualized treatment plan may depend on how entrenched your particular infestation is, as well as your own personal preferences and comfort level. Your pest control professionals will then employ the correct tools and science-based treatments to eradicate the bed bugs in your home in the best way for your family, your pets, and the environment.
Always Call a Pest Control Specialist
Your best plan of action when handling a bed bug situation is to call a reputable pest control expert at the first sign of an infestation. At Home Pros can help match you with a knowledgeable and friendly professional pest care service in your area that can help you with any and all bed bug concerns and issues.
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