How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs - 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 investigative work. Pay close attention to where people sitt or have slept for long periods of time. Bed Bugs are visible to the eye. The adult bed bug is brown to reddish-brown, oval-shaped, flattened, and about 1/4 to 5/8 inch long.



Be prepared to inspect all areas of the room using a bright flashlight and a 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!

Bed Bugs (eggs, larvae 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, AND CLOSETS.

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. 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 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.

TIP: Cover the mattress with a mattress cover 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. 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.

TIP: Heavy bed bug infestations may need more than a second treatment. Be persistent!
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