Bed bugs are one of the most difficult and expensive, pests to rid your household of. While professional exterminators show the highest rate of success, it is possible to get rid of bed bugs on your own using a few different treatment methods, and by following a three phase approach. These three phases include monitoring, treatment, and preventing reoccurrence, and they are just the beginning in DIY bed bug control.
To best understand how to clear out bed bugs, we have to understand what attracts them in the first place. The main factor that attracts bed bugs to our home is us! Bed bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale, and feed on a carnivorous diet of the blood of animals and humans, so your breath and blood are the reason bed bugs come to visit. They can be introduced to your household through hitching a ride from an infested location on your household pet or your clothing, or, if a nearby home or apartment building has a bed bug infestation, the insects can spread to your home through air vents or ducts, and even crawl through pipes. Bed bugs can remain dormant or hide on secondhand belongings like furniture or clothing. Bed bugs like to hide in cramped, confined spaces like around the seams of couch cushions or along the bottom of box springs.
Bed bugs can stowaway in your belongings or on your clothing from the sheets of hotel beds or furniture at other public places frequented by many visitors. A widely held myth about bed bugs is that they only infest unclean living spaces, but this is not the case. Bed bugs are not attracting to dirty spaces, but to carbon dioxide and warmth. As human beings exhale dioxide and we require warmth in our shelters, there is no avoiding these attractive factors, but being vigilant and taking active steps are key to preventing their infestation.
There are three phases of ridding your home of bed bugs—monitoring prevention, treatment, and prevention. Monitoring is the primary and most simple step. Do a visual inspection of the places in your home bed bugs are most likely to reside, especially if you think they may have been the vehicle that caused the infestation, such as secondhand furniture or bedding. Look for the small, flat insects about the size of an apple seed and tiny milky white eggs the size of a poppy seed. A common way to find visual proof of bed bug infestation is using duct tape to lift any particles and inspect them further. If bed bugs are present, these samples will prove valuable if you later choose to enlist the help of a professional to get rid of bed bugs in your home, and help you to determine which rooms have become infested.
Bed bugs are most often found in bedrooms, hence their name, and can hide in cracks along bed seams and underneath box springs. Make sure to make your bed an island—meaning moving it at least six inches away from the wall to make it more difficult for an infestation to spread. Dispose of any clutter that may provide bed bugs with places to hide, and vacuum carpets to suck up any hiding bed bugs or eggs. If you find evidence of bed bugs or their eggs during your visual check, don’t panic—it is unnecessary to dispose of your bedding or bedframe, though they will need to be isolated. By identifying where bed bugs are present, you are ready to move onto the next step in controlling the infestation—treatment to kill the bed bugs.
Heat treatment is one effective do it yourself methods to exterminate bed bugs. Bed bugs are remarkably hardy, and can thrive in a wide temperature range—up to 115° F!, so a high temperature is necessary to penetrate their exoskeletons. Professional exterminators use equipment that can reach over 150 degrees Fahrenheit, so it best to call them to full clearly out your home beyond the shadow of a doubt; however, professional exterminations can cost hundreds of dollars, so doing it yourself is a route many people pursue. When treating bedding or clothing, use plastic bags to transport the infested items to your dryer, as bed bugs can escape while transporting the bedding. Steamers, like professionals use, are your best bet to self-treat bed bugs, but make sure to be thorough. While some people report success using heat guns, the potential for personal injury and damage to your property is high, so it is not recommended, but a hair dryer set to a high setting is a great alternative. Some people also report success storing linens in black garbage bags under a hot sun, or inside a hot, enclosed car, but make sure to secure the bags and place them only in the trunk so as not to further infest your vehicle. Foggers, which create fog to drive beg bugs away, are fairly ineffective as bed bugs tend to hide, and can potentially be hazardous to your home. Additionally, The Environmental Protection Agency does not recommend space heaters as a way to exterminate bed bugs, as the fire risk is high, so make sure to take proper precautions while heat treating your home.
The opposite of heat treatment is also an option—treating bed bugs by freezing. use Placing the bagged linens in a freezer set to 0°F or outside in the winter for a minimum of four days is a common home remedy to bed bugs, freezing the liquids inside their bodies and causing them to die. Make sure the temperature is below 46°F as the pests can survive cold up to that point. This method is budget friendly though not as effective as professional extermination or household pesticides.
Pesticides are the most effective, but trickiest solution to bed bugs. While there are many pesticides on the market, The Environmental Protection Agency warns to only use ones that specify treating bed bugs on the label. Make sure to follow all instructions carefully, and do not make the mistake of “overspraying” your home—which this method may seem like a good idea, it can be harmful to both humans and pets. Bed bugs have developed a resistance to DDT, but some find diatomaceous earth, a desiccant, or drying agent, to be helpful in killing bed bugs. As desiccants dry out the liquid inside a bed bug, the pests cannot form a resistance to it. When using diatomaceous earth, make sure to never use pool grade, as it can be harmful to humans if inhaled.
Bed bug prevention is an ongoing process that can become routine in time. Make sure to wash all clothes brought with you on trip, particularly if you stayed at a hotel, or anything purchased secondhand. For added protection, purchase bed liners, paying careful attention to the zipper to make sure newly hatched bed bugs cannot get through the teeth. Bed bug interceptors, placed underneath he legs of a bed frame, can also be useful in preventing reoccurrence by trapping bed bugs who attempt to crawl up onto the bed. Most of all, be aware, and continue to monitor your home for any potential bed bug infestations.
Bed bugs and their eggs can be resistant to several different forms of extermination, so it may take a few tries to get rid of them on your own, but by following a three phase approach of monitoring, treatment, and preventing reoccurrence you stand your best chance of clearing out these pests from your household. If possible we always recommend hiring a professional exterminator.