Bed Bug Home Protection Tips
Whether you’re in the middle of a bed bug infestation or have just gotten rid of them, it’s normal to want to know how to keep them from coming back.
To protect your home from bed bug infestations it is critical to understand a few basic principles.
Principle 1 – Dirty or clean, your home can become infested
Bed bugs don’t care if your house is clean or dirty. They are an equal-opportunity infester. Although keeping a tidy house may make it easier to detect an infestation, and make treatment easier, simply keeping your house clean will not guarantee that you will never have to deal with bed bugs.
Principle 2 – Second Hand furniture is a bedbug risk
Second-hand furniture is notoriously responsible for bed bug infestations. If you like purchasing furniture from yard sales or second-hand stores you are putting yourself at a high risk of bringing bed bugs home. Inspect all second-hand furniture thoroughly before purchasing, and don’t be afraid to ask the person selling the furniture if they have had any problems with bed bugs.
Principle 3 – Throwing away furniture is not a bed bug fix
Throwing away furniture won’t solve a bed bug infestation. It is not necessary to throw away infested furniture, and simply throwing your furniture away will not result in the elimination of bed bugs. Rather, throwing away furniture simply results in more cost associated with the infestation because people generally replace that furniture with something new.Principle 4 – Bed Bugs can hide ANYWHERE
Bed bugs can hide anywhere. Bed bugs are extremely efficient at finding places to hide where they are almost impossible to find. Places they hide could be nooks and crannies of your headboard or box spring, in between chair and couch cushions, or around curtains. They can even settle in drawer joints, electrical outlets, or in wall voids.
Preventing A Bed Bug Infestation
Bed bugs are really good at sneaking into our homes and catching us off guard. That’s why we should be vigilant about bed bug inspections. Hotel visits are one of the most common ways we might accidentally bring bed bugs home. Purchasing secondhand furniture can be another way for bed bugs to get inside.
Hotel visits are one of the most common ways we might accidentally bring bed bugs home
It’s always wise to check your hotel room couches, chairs, and beds for signs of bed bugs before you unpack your luggage. You might even leave your bags in the bathroom while you do your search. Taking a close look at used furniture before bringing it home can also give you peace of mind. Hopefully there’s nothing to find, but knowing how to check for bed bugs will help you make sure you keep your home and belongings safe.
The Best Way To Kill Bed Bugs
If you catch a bed bug infestation early it is possible to get rid of them without the aid of professional services. However, if the infestation is more than a couple weeks old there is a high likelihood that the bed bugs have laid eggs. Once eggs have been laid the chances of getting rid of them yourself diminish quickly.
Most people who have had success using DIY methods were obsessively diligent laundering bedding, checking for bed bug signs, and treating areas around the bed where the bed bugs would be likely to seek refuge.
Heat is also the only method that kills all stages of bed bug life with a single treatment.
Over the years there have been many gimmicky treatment tools and methods that have come on the market. The one tried and true method that continues to have the best results is a thorough heat treatment. Heat is the only method that is penetrating enough to reach all of the cracks and crevices where bed bugs could have deposited eggs. Heat is also the only method that kills all stages of bed bug life with a single treatment.
Many customers also prefer the heat treatments over spray applications because it is not necessary to throw furniture or bedding away when a heat treatment is done correctly, whereas many companies that only offer spray applications will require their customers to throw much of the infested furniture away.
Heat Treatment is the best way to fight a Bed Bug infestation.
DIY Tips to help you succeed at fighting Bed Bug yourself
