In this article, you will learn how to get rid of bed bugs and keep them away. It is important to follow all steps as outlined below and continue the process for several weeks. If you truly want to rid your home of bed bugs then follow this guide completely.
Purchase the necessary products and get started right away. Most of the products mentioned are unavailable at your local store. We suggest purchasing online as the links are direct to the products with the correct specifications needed to get rid of bed bugs.
Your bedroom and mattress are the most common places to find bed bugs in your home. This is because bed bugs mostly want to hide or hang out where they can get their next meal the easiest. Unfortunately, bed bugs tend to bite when you are sleeping and find you through your exhaling carbon monoxide.
Follow the steps below to treat and encase your mattress and get rid of bed bugs lurking around on them.
Remove All Bedding - Place all of your blankets, bedsheets, pillows and any stuffed animals in a garbage bag and tie it off really good to prevent bed bugs and eggs from getting out and infecting other areas of your home.
Once you complete the steps above place the clothing and other washed/dried items into a fresh clean garbage bag to remain sealed until your home is bed bug-free. This will prevent your infestation from spreading back into your treated clothes.
Treat Your Mattress - Treating your mattress is the first area you should focus on. This is where you spend 8 hours per day at night when most bed bugs like to feed.
Encase Your Mattress - Use the SafeRest Mattress Encasement to encase your mattress trapping any bed bugs missed inside and preventing more from getting on your bed. This should be an approved bed bug encasement product hence the recommended product highlighted in blue.
Vacuum Entire Room - After the steps above have been completed it is a great idea to vacuum and declutter the entire room you are working in. This is to further ensure you are getting rid of bed bugs.
The goal with this step is to starve the bed bugs in your home which will get them out of hiding and into your traps, residual treatments and come in contact with powders which will kill them. Unfortunately, you are the bait in this process but don’t worry if you follow the steps we have outlined you will no longer be bitten by bed bugs and can finally get a great night of sleep.
Follow the steps below to keep bed bugs from getting back on your bed and biting you at night.
Bed bugs love clutter. They use the clutter in our homes to hide until they are ready for another blood meal. Keeping your home clear of clutter is a great way to prevent bed bugs but also helps to get rid of them removing possible places for them to hide.
Knowing where bed bugs are hiding will help you to effectively treat and get rid of bed bugs for good.
Follow the steps below to treat your entire home for bed bugs with a contact bed bug killer spray and residual bed bug killer spray. This is the best way to get rid of bed bugs for good.
Declutter your entire home - This may be the easiest part of getting rid of bed bugs. Remove all items from the floor and place them where they belong after you treat your items with the ZappBug Room Bug Heat Treatment Chamber that cannot be put into the washer and dryer. Here is a smaller sized bed bug zapper that is more cost-effective. The larger bug zapper mentioned above is great for furniture also.
Remove Clothing From Drawers and Closets - This is important as bed bugs like to hide in your clothing and in your drawers. You will need to remove all clothing from your drawers and closets and place them in garbage bags just like when you treated your bed for bed bugs. This process should be done as you did in step 1 above for all other rooms in your home.
Treat Items With a Bed Bug Zapper - As you are cleaning your home and removing clutter it is a great idea to zap your home items that cannot be washed. Do this for all items in your affected bedroom then move to your other bedrooms and repeat the process before moving to your living room and other rooms of your home. This step is crucial to your success in getting rid of bed bugs.
Use a Contact Bed Bug Killer Spray First - This is a product that you will spray on the baseboards of your home, on couch cushions, inside dresser drawers, underneath dresser drawers, inside the hollow portion of the dressers in your home, crown molding, backs of picture frames and around windows. It is a good idea to think about where bed bugs could be and spray there but don’t spray everywhere. Just focus on the above-mentioned areas.
Use a Residual Bed Bug Killer Spray Next - A residual spray will last several weeks and kill bed bugs that come in contact with it. We like to spray the contact spray first to kill bed bugs immediately but then follow up with this residual spray for a long-lasting effect. Combining these two steps will ensure a better result for getting rid of bed bugs. With the residual bed bug spray, you will spray in all of the same areas you did for the contact spray mentioned in the point above.
When spraying your home keep in mind that it is a best practice to start with the infected room or rooms then move to the other bedrooms before treating the rest of the home. Bedrooms are where bed bugs typically hang out so start there and work outward.
Use Harris Residual Powder In Cracks and Outlets - Harris residual powder will continue to work for you and kill bed bugs in your home for several weeks. As long as the powder stays dry it will work. Kills Residual Powder should be applied to all cracks in your home. You will place in between your carpet and baseboard as well as inside your electrical outlets.
Your efforts in the first 3 steps will most likely get rid of your bed bug infestation. However, it is important to keep the process going every week for about 3 to 5 weeks to ensure a successful bed bug treatment. Sometimes a lucky bed bug will be unharmed and survive your efforts or an egg or two escaped this treatment. While this is may not happen we will still want to continue with steaming and spraying residual bed bug killers in your home.
It is also very important to continue vacuuming your affected rooms in your home every day and disposing of your vacuum bags outside of the home.
Remember to keep your home free of clutter and after a few weeks, you can enjoy your home bug-free! If you are ever infected with bed bugs again you will now possess the information and tools to ensure an effective treatment once again.
If you have found bed bugs in your home then you probably want to get rid of these bed bugs as quickly as possible. It is very important to begin treatment immediately and really be proactive about getting rid of the bed bugs infesting your home. The sooner you begin the better off you are.
Continue reading for more bed bug information.
A bed bug as a few size variations depending on the age. Bed bugs start out at 1mm in size and reach up to 5mm in size as a fully grown adult. See the image below to know exactly what a bed bug looks like.
Many people think that you cannot even see bed bugs. That is completely false. Bed bugs hide in many places so be sure to check out this guide on finding bed bugs.
Looking for bed bugs is important as you really need to see one to identify it and confirm an infestation.
Look high and low. Bed bugs like to hide in dark places and tend to stay close to a bed or couch where it's hosts frequent. Start with your bed and inside your box spring then look behind picture frames and underneath your dresser drawers. You can see where bed bugs hide here in this article.
Getting rid of bed bugs requires consistency and information. There are home remedies but these usually take a lot of time to be effective. We have come up with the best treatment options to save you time researching for yourself. Below we go into detail about how to get rid of bed bugs and the most effective treatment options available.
If you want to treat your bed bug infestation yourself then follow our steps below. It is highly recommended to still consult with your local pest control service as they have a bit more knowledge about the types of bed bug infestations in your area. What works in your area my not in another. Bed bugs grow immune to some of the chemicals we use to kill them.