Bedbugs are little parasitic creatures that thrive on human blood. Bedbugs are a problem that had once disappeared and has slowly resurged. The reasons for this are unclear. Some people believe that foreign travel is to blame while others blame it on the exchange of personal furnishings. Whatever the reason it is clear that bedbugs are an annoyance and getting rid of them is not always easy. Many symptoms accompany a household infected with these nuisances. Anything from skin irritation and allergic reactions to psychological disorders have been linked back to bedbug infestations. Bedbugs find their way into your home on clothing, luggage, furniture and by visitors that don’t even realize they are hosting this vile critter. The only way to actually treat bedbugs is to eliminate them. The following list will help you rid yourself of an infestation and hopefully prevent reoccurrence.
First you will need to start by doing a thorough cleaning of the entire home. Infected or not there is no reason to take any chances on if an area has been infected. Bedbugs are mostly active at night and in heat so make sure to keep your home very warm and dark when eliminating bedbugs. When looking at your bed to see if it is contaminated look in the seams. Bedbugs leave dark residue from their excretions and it will often be most prevalent in those areas. If your bed is infested it is best to remove both the mattress and box spring. They will be the areas that most likely harbor the largest number of bedbugs.
Next you need to focus on the areas around the bed this includes the headboard, nightstands and dressers. Empty all of the contents out and thoroughly wash with alcohol. You will want to take special precautions to get into all of the cracks and crevices of these items ensuring the removal of all of the critters.
Chairs, sofas, carpet and closets are all places that play the perfect host to bedbugs. Examine these areas thoroughly. In order to properly treat these areas you can use an agent that flushes out the bedbugs. Knowing where the bugs are hiding is half the battle. The second half is destroying them.
Sanitizing will become your new favorite thing to do. Although you can rid yourself of bedbugs it is best to have a professional pest control firm in to do a complete job. Make sure you have removed all the clutter from the home. This will create the best possible environment for the professionals to do their job.
If you spot bedbugs the best poison that is safe to use even with children present in the home is rubbing alcohol. This will not only kill the bedbugs themselves but also their eggs. Pesticides were once used to kill bedbugs but new laws have been enacted for public safety that makes them illegal to use.
It is wise to launder all items and then place them in a large black bag. Creating an environment where the bedbugs don’t have any place to feed they will die. After you have left these items in a warm environment, sealed for three weeks take the items out and launder them once again. It is almost certain after this amount of time that all of the bedbugs will have perished.
Vacuum the entire house to remove eggs and live bugs. Make sure that you repeat this process everyday for weeks. You can spot treat with insecticides. Make sure that after you let it set that you repeatedly vacuum the area. The next step is to prevent infestation. You can do this by following several steps.
You will want to make sure that any furniture that you purchase from another source is cleaned and free of all bedbugs before bringing the items into your home. When traveling, whether foreign or in the states, check the hotel bedding for signs of a bedbug infestation. Make sure you keep luggage up off the floor. Take these precautions to prevent bedbugs from entering your home. Bedbug removal is incredibly tedious. Take the precautions necessary to prevent them from coming home with you.