Complete Bed Bug Removal Instructions
How
to Get Rid of Bed Bugs and Do-It-Yourself
Step-By-Step
The
following step-by-step instructions are devised by our team of
experts who have dealt with these types of infestations on a daily
basis.
1. Look For The Bugs
The first step to getting rid of bed bugs is to do some
extensive investigative
work. Pay close attention to where people sit or have slept for
long periods of time. Bed Bugs are visible to the eye. The adult
bed bug is brown to reddish-brown to translucent, depending on
if they have fed or not, oval-shaped, flattened, and
about 1/16 to 5/8 inch long.
Be prepared to inspect all areas of the room using a bright flashlight
and a pocket microscope or magnifying glass if
you have one available. Bed Bugs can
leave reddish- brown spots on mattresses and have a distinct smell.
Remember that the bed bug's flat shape and small body enable it
to hide easily in cracks and crevices. Bed bugs, eggs, larvae,
and fecal deposits will go unnoticed with just a casual inspection.
You should leave nothing unturned when doing your inspection for
bed bugs and no site should be ignored that may be a bed bug hiding
place... they hide anywhere! Examples: wall sconces,
behind electrical switch plates, behind wall posters, between
books and magazines on shelves and in racks. Inspect all the places
near sleeping areas, which may mean taking the bed frames apart!
Bed bugs can migrate to other rooms and even travel with you!
Keep in mind if you live in an apartment, they can migrate to
and from a neighbors apartment, and you may need their
cooperation to stop the infestation.
Bed Bugs (eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults in seam on mattress)
2. Prepare The Area
A thorough cleaning of the premises will make bed bug control
efforts much more effective. Strip all beds down to the bare sleeping
surface. Bedding, sheets, blankets, comforters, covers, and shams
should be washed in very hot water. Very hot water (120+degrees)
will kill the bed bugs. Personal items (stuffed animals, soft
toys, blankets) should be removed, cleaned with a vacuum cleaner,
and bagged in plastic for several weeks or more. Clutter should
be removed from furniture tops and bed stands. Open up the clock
radio and phone (that's right, Bed Bugs may be hiding in there
too!). Tap the open ends into a bag or on sticky tape so the bed
bugs can’t jump and hide. VACUUM EVERY SURFACE IN
AFFECTED BEDROOMS INCLUDING THE INSIDE OF DRESSER DRAWERS, DRESSER
CAVITIES, WALLS, CLOSETS, AND EVEN WALL RECEPTACLES AND OUTLETS.
In severe infestations, clothing should be removed from dressers
and chests. Utilize a crack & crevice vacuum tool to remove
bed bugs from deep harborage such as: under baseboards; under
carpet edges (pull up along the tack strip); around switch plates
(you may have to remove the plate first); from the bed frame;
inside box springs; inside furniture; and from floor cracks.
Use a hand-brush attachment to vacuum up most of the bed bugs.
Vacuum mattresses and box springs (especially along seams and
folds); upholstered furniture; and behind drapes. Also vacuum
the floor completely. After vacuuming, remove the bag from the
vacuum, tie it tightly, and remove it from the premises ASAP.
Remember, really infested bedding may have to be completely discarded.
IMMEDIATELY THROW AWAY VACUUM BAG.
3.
Attack the Bed Bugs Where They're Hiding
Hot Steam from an electric steamer is the next step in fighting
bed bugs. After vacuuming,
use a steam machine to get in all of
the cracks, crevices, carpet and even on the bedroom furniture
and mattresses. Anywhere you think they may be hiding. This will
ensure that you got most of them prior to final treatment
To get rid of bed bugs effectively, you've got to hit them hard
where they're
hiding--in cracks and crevices
of the beds as well as around your rooms. Spray Bug Patrol®
and apply Fossil Shell Dust® on wall voids and under baseboards
and in cracks and crevices, soak the areas thoroughly.
Concentrate most of your efforts on vacuuming, steaming, and final
bed bug killer & fossil shell dust to crack and crevices.
These are the areas where bed bugs hide.
4.
Treat the Bed
The bed area needs to be treated next. Look carefully at the folds
and seams of the
mattress, the headboard, foot board (if present),
box spring/support platform, frame, etc. You will be able to see
the bed bugs with the visible eye or the aid of a pocket
microscope or small magnifying
glass. Use the electric steamer to hit these areas hard. All cracks
and crevices of the bed structure should be treated for bed bugs
with a light application of Bed Bug Patrol. Apply the spray on
the tufts, folds and seams of the mattress. The underside of the
box spring may be sprayed as well.
An electric
steamer is a great way to reach cracks and crevices quickly and
easily to kill the bed bugs.
TIP: Cover
the mattress AND box spring with a mattress cover(s) being careful not to make any
tear holes in the new cover. Also spray a perimeter with Bed Bug
Patrol around the bed floor as a repellant.
5.
Treat the Furniture (Night Stand, Chests, Dressers, Couches and
Chairs)
The last step in bed bug elimination is to do a very thorough
crack and crevice treatment of the furniture in the room. For
wooden furniture pieces, you cannot miss any cracks. Apply Bed
Bug Patrol and Fossil Shell Dust to upholstered furniture, use
a similar treatment as the mattress and box spring. Always turn
bed bug infested furniture over and treat from the bottom. Look
carefully underneath all the legs of the furniture! Bed Bugs love
to hide in the most unlikely places! Some furniture may have hollow
metal framing (children’s bunk beds are an example). Treat
inside the metal tubing with dusts, aerosols or liquids as discussed
in the bedding paragraph above.
6. Trapping Bed Bugs a very
good way to get detection and it is good to trap bed bugs
before
they have the chance to bite. Most bed bug traps on the
market are CO2 operated and cost upwards of $600 or more. Our
bed bug traps are are pesticide-free and sell for just $19.95,
they are easily
installed underneath bed
posts, chairs, dresser drawers, couches, love seats, anywhere feet of furniture touch
the ground. Be careful to make sure that you pick up
comforters, linens, blankets, and sheets, so they do not touch
the traps and allow the bed bugs to climb up them and not
into the traps. Our bed bug traps are also much more economical
and very easy to use. Bugs approaching the bed (or other furniture)
from the floor or bed to the floor will be captured easily and
permanently by the trap. This adds
an additional item to your arsenal of bed bug trapping/killing
products and insures a successful extermiantion.
7.
Follow-up in 2 weeks!
VACUUM, VACUUM, VACUUM & STEAM
EVERYTHING!
Getting rid of bed bugs is not easy. Inspect the treated room
again in two weeks. Do a thorough inspection (especially cracks
and crevices) and continually treat any area where bed bugs are
persisting or where they have moved.
Pest
Control Pesticides
There are
multiple methods for bed bug removal. You can hire a pest
control service to inspect, spray and repeat treatment to kill
the bed bugs using carcinogen-based pesticides. This is not
always a good choice for households where children, pets or the
elderly reside.
Heat Treatment
You can also try the newest bed bug
removal method, which uses heat to kill bed bugs. There are now
companies who use a propane heat system of air ducts that they
place in the infested building heating the air to 150 F for 2
hours. This does kill the bed bugs, but is labor intensive,
which brings the cost to 1,200 for a small apartment. The bed
bugs have also been seen to run from the high temperatures and
invade adjacent properties creating new infestations.
Natural Alternatives
You can also choose all natural
treatments made form natural plant extracts. These 100% natural
products use extracts from plants that penetrate the waxy
coating of the bed bug killing them quickly. There are all
natural sprays as well as fossil shell dust also known as
Diatomaceous earth. This is a safe alternative, which can be
sprinkled in areas where bed bugs congregate, especially hidden
areas. Harmless to people, the tiny particles cut the waxy
exoskeleton and kills the insect within 48 hours. These
treatments can be applied without the assistance of a pest
control professional saving you money.
You can eliminate a bed bug
infestation. It takes time and effort to inspect, treat and
possibly retreat and infested area. For the determined
individual, bed bugs can be killed and a home, office or other
infested location can be reclaimed by its true resident, human
beings.
TIP: Heavy
bed bug infestations may need more than a second treatment. Be
persistent!
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