Can Bed Bugs Come Back
Yes, bed bugs can come back. One pregnant bed bug left behind can lead to reinfestation of 300 adults and 1000 new eggs in just three months. You have to be vigilant post-bed bug treatment. Dont remove your encasement for at least a year. Follow up with regular vacuuming of the whole bedroom, including your bed.
Infographic: Guide To Safe Bed Bug Mattress Disposal
Disposal should always be the last resort when it comes to infested mattresses and furniture, as its often not needed. There are a lot of treatment options you can consider to get rid of bed bugs before you have to throw away your furniture. Put everything in the laundry that you can, and use the highest heat setting to kill bed bugs. They are very sensitive to heat. If you vacuum vigilantly, that is also a must. Make sure you always empty the cylinder regularly outside to prevent any of them escaping back into your home.
If you keep the infestation contained in one room, they are much easier to get rid of completely. You should ideally assume that every piece of furniture in the room youve isolated the bed bugs to is infested. Bed bugs are sneaky, and will infect any furniture within their immediate area.
Do You Need To Throw Out Your Furniture After A Bed Bug Infestation
Most people are very quick to get rid of their bedroom furniture, or at the very least, their bed, mattress, and all their bedding, as soon as they start getting bitten by bed bugs. But this is an expensive exercise, and worse still, it might not be effective. So do you need to get rid of your furniture to get rid of your bed bugs? The answer will only be a definitive yes if you can get all the bugs to go with the furniture and, honestly, that is highly unlikely. Bed bugs are very tenacious and anyone who has ever had bed bugs knows that.
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Are Bed Bugs Hard To Get Rid Of
The short answer is yes. This is not a problem that can be solved by reaching for the can of roach spray you keep under the kitchen sink.
Even professional pest control companies generally expect at least two treatments to completely get rid of the bed bugs from your home. Why are bed bugs so hard to get rid of? There are several reasons that bed bugs are notoriously hard to eliminate.
Heres the deal:
The current bed bug outbreak in the United States began in the 1990s. It is not yet ingrained in our culture to be vigilant when staying at hotels or vacation rentals, or thoroughly inspecting used furniture that you bring home.
One nights stay in an infested room is enough to bring bed bugs home with you in your bags. Once introduced, it often takes several months to realize the itchy welts on your skin are from bed bugs.
They hide during the day, and the bite itself is painless. An introduction quickly becomes an infestation. Resistance to chemical treatments, their cryptic lifestyle, and rapid rate of reproduction combine to create a situation where bed bugs are hard to get rid of.
Stay with me here while we see how quickly we can get rid of bed bugs:
How To Stop Bed Bugs Infesting A New Mattress
Dont buy a used mattress. Theres a chance that it could have bed bugs in it. You would be trading your own infested mattress for another thats probably infested, too.
Stopping bed bugs infesting a mattress is easy. Before you bring the mattress into your home, fit an encasement around it. Encasements dont let any bed bugs either in or out. Theyre also not attractive to bed bugs as they dont offer many places to hide.
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Dismantle Your Bed Frame
Your bed bugs on mattress treatment will be incomplete without dismantling your bedframe. Bed bugs can hide in the smallest of places. If your bed frame can be taken apart, its worth taking the time to search every inch of the frame to find any hiding places. Use a flashlight and a magnifying glass to help you get a better look. A box spring mattress base is not immune from hiding bed bugs, so search every inch behind the fabric.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide
Bed bugs can travel undetected through luggage, used furniture, and clothing because their flattened bodies makes it easy to hide in small spaces, like crevices in nightstands or baseboards. This is why its crucial to machine wash clothing after a long trip to eliminate the pests before they become a problem.
Over time, bed bugs can spread out from their hiding spots, traveling to other parts of a room, even to other parts of the house or apartment. They live in groups rather than forming nests and like to live in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards for easy access to their food source us.
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What You Can Do
– You can call a junk removal service and hire people to dispose of it.- If you are allowed to leave your mattress on the curb, make sure you make clear that the mattress is not to be taken by a person.- Encase the mattress in a strong plastic cover to stop the bed bugs from spreading once your mattress is outside. They can move to your neighbours or get on people passing by.- If you deem it necessary, leave a note saying that the mattress is infested and must be thrown away.
Throw The Mattress Away Before Treating The House
Even your best efforts will result in some bed bugs spreading. Bed bugs run away from sunlight. When you expose them by moving the mattress, they dont waste any time. They immediately start finding another place to hide.
Theres only so much you can do. Your best option is to throw the mattress away before having the entire house treated. This will ensure that the house is pest-free, and your mattress is entirely new and clean.
Of course, if you want to treat your house, you could treat the mattress too. The treatment would almost certainly work if done correctly. The only reason to bother buying a new mattress is if the idea of sleeping on your previously infested mattress disgusts you.
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What Do Bed Bugs Look Like
Bed bugs are small but can be seen with the naked eye. Pictures of bed bugs on mattress show them to be a small bug with an oval brown body. They survive on the blood of humans and animals, after feasting on their victim, the body becomes engorged with blood and will take on a more red tone.
Thankfully, they dont have wings so you wont see any flying around your bedroom. although, they do move over surfaces at a quick speed. Bed bugs can thrive in favorable conditions, feasting on your blood before each shedding and laying hundreds of eggs.
Bed bugs are mostly active at night and will bite your skin when youre at your most vulnerable, sleeping.
How To Get Rid Of A Bed Bug Infested Mattress
Written by: A ONeill, Licensed Pest Management Professional
Disposing of your mattress because it has bed bugs may not always be the best idea. Often youll be able to manage the infestation by using a mattress and box spring encasement cover.
However, if your mattress is heavily infested, it is old, or you really cant stand the thought of sleeping on it even with an encasement and prefer to get rid of it, then a few simple steps need to be followed for proper disposal.
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Infestation: Signs Of Bed Bugs On A Mattress
If you suspect that you have a bed bug infestation, there are a number of signs to look out for.
The most common sign of a bed bug problem is blood. Bed bugs like to feed on human blood. This means that they will generally feed while you are sleeping.
If you have bed bugs, it is likely that they will feed while you are in your sleeping area. To confirm this, look for blood stains on your sheets or on your bed.
It often looks like small red spots or lines on your mattress pad. If you are starting to suspect that you might have bed bugs then it is time to do a little more investigating.
Look in your bed for any signs of bed bugs. These signs can include, but are not limited to, dark spots, shed skins, eggs, live bed bugs, chewed-up spots, presence of powder and feces.
Bed Bug Mattress Covers
Mattress covers serve a dual purpose: they trap any bed bugs already inside the mattress, while also preventing any new bed bugs from working their way in.
If you hire a professional bed bug exterminator, then mattress covers can make their job easier.
The bulk of bed bugs will be concentrated in one place.
And any that arent trapped will be exposed out in the open.
Its important to note that certain brands of cover are designed specifically to counter bed bugs. These brands are labeled as bed bug proof or escape-proof, since bed bugs can crawl through the zippers or seams of other types of cover.
Make sure that when you buy a mattress cover, it covers both the mattress and the box spring. In order to work properly, a mattress cover needs to be properly installed: otherwise, bed bugs will continue to pose a threat to you while youre asleep.
Bed bug mattress covers are commercially available in most stores, though choosing which one to buy can be stressful. If youre looking for a recommendation, you can check out our advice on the top bed bug mattress covers.
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When Bed Bugs Bite
Bedbugs mainly feed on humans during the night. They like to sit on you and pierce your skin with their needle-like teeth until they have taken enough blood. They then suck the blood in and move on to the next spot.
They will often do this several times during the night. The bites can cause an allergic reaction which will cause a lot of itching. However, for the person who is allergic to bed bug bites, the bites can be a lot more painful.
The bites can be seen on your body but you will rarely feel them.
A bed bug bite is round and looks like a small red bump. The bite is painless most of the time but it can cause a lot of itching.
If I Find A Bedbug Do I Need To Throw Out My Mattress
You do not have to throw out a bedbug-infested mattress. There is a common misconception that once you find a bedbug, you have to throw out basically everything you own. This is not true. Most household items can be treated for bedbugs, and throwing bedbug-infested stuff in the trash can actually exacerbate the issue. In fact, in some municipalities , it is very highly discouraged. This is because that is a surefire way to spread the problem to your neighbors. In a city that is experiencing a resurgence of bedbugs, that is a big no-no.
Plus, buying a new mattress does not solve the problem. Bedbugs do not only live in beds. They are called that because they are nocturnal, so they most commonly feed on people while they are asleep in bed. But bedbugs can travel for a blood meal, so they will seek refuge in furniture, cracks, crevices, between floorboards, under the molding, and even inside electronics and outlets. If you dont take care of the infestation, bed bugs will simply spread back to the new mattress after you get it.
Moreover, it is possible to salvage a mattress after a bedbug infestation if you know what youre doing. To avoid contributing to the infestation spreading, and to save yourself some money on a new bed, heres how to get bedbugs out of your bed:
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Life Process And Biology
A female bed bug can lay 200 to 250 eggs in her life time as well as the eggs hatch in 6 to 10 days. The life cycle of a bed bug can be completed in as low as three weeks.
Bed bug larva goes through insufficient transformation. It takes five phases prior to a larva matures into an adult bed bug. A blood meal is required each time before a nymph moults right into the following period.
Bed bugs are opportunistic feeders. They take in as much blood as feasible from you till they are fully engorged.
A tropical bed bug can live for as much as 100 days while a typical bed bug can live for as much as 1 year. As much as they require blood dishes for development, bed bugs were discovered to be able to endure an extended period without blood meals.
Bed bugs are enticed to the co2 as well as temperature released by human bodies. A greater concentration of co2 because of human visibility stimulates bed bugs to feed.
As they approach the human host, they are attracted by the temperature of the host.
How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
By Sanchita SenCertified Sleep Coach
If you wake up with irritated or inflamed skin, you may have bed bugs in your mattress. People often confuse bed bug bites with mosquito or some other insect bites, and then
If you wake up with irritated or inflamed skin, you may have bed bugs in your mattress. People often confuse bed bug bites with mosquito or some other insect bites, and then they put off fixing the problem. But if theres a cluster of inflammation on an exposed area of your skin, it may be caused by bed bugs.
If youre reading this, youre probably wondering how to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress. In this article, we will show you how to spot bed bugs in your mattress, eliminate them, and prevent future infestation.
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What Not To Do When You Have Bed Bugs
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- Do not Panic. You can control bed bugs with careful inspection and by using proper control methods.
- Do not try to kill bed bugs by using agricultural or garden pesticides. Using outdoor pesticides to control bed bugs can make you or your family very sick.
- Do not use products that appear to be homemade or custom formulated. Homemade products could be dangerous and they might make the problem worse.
- Do not use products that have labels in a non-English language
- Do not apply pesticides directly to your body. This could make you very sick.
- Do not use rubbing alcohol, kerosene or gasoline. These chemicals may cause fires
- Do not throw away your furniture. Beds and other furniture can be treated for bed bugs. Throwing away your furniture can spread the bugs and you have to buy new furniture.
- Do not store things under the bed. Storing stuff under the bed gives bed bugs many new places to hide. This makes it more difficult to get rid of bed bugs.
- Do not move things from room to room. Moving your things from the room with bed bugs to another room in your house may spread the bed bugs.
- Do not wrap items in black plastic and place in the sun. It will not get hot enough to kill all the bugs.
How To Protect Your Next Mattress From Bed Bugs
Once these professionals have done their job and completely rid your home of the infestation, you can begin the process of maximizing your bed bug defense to prevent future infestation.
We recommend the purchase a high-quality comfortable new mattress. You deserve it after all of this! With your new mattress, and possibly entirely new bed and bedroom furniture as well, you can then begin preventative measures to avoid having to deal with this again.
First, put a mattress protector on your new mattress. These mattress covers can prevent bed bugs from getting onto the mattress itself. These encasements lock the bugs right out! It is important to point out that bed bugs also hide inside a box spring, so if youre purchasing a mattress protector for this reason, you should put one on your box spring too. Regular bed bug inspections are the best method of prevention to avoid a full-blown infestation. Learn and look for the signs of bed bugs on a mattress. As well, you should regularly wash your sheets and pillow cases using high heat. Any bed bugs or eggs that are in your bedding will be killed in the wash. This can stop the infestation from beginning if you catch it while you only have one or two. If you return home from a trip where you spent time in a hotel or at the airport, thoroughly check your clothing and luggage for any hitchhikers. Even better, wash everything before it even comes inside.
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Benefits Of Freeze Treatments For Bed Bugs
Insecticides have their place, and we still use them in many households or combine them with heat or freeze treatment. But temperature based treatments tend to be more reliably effective, especially for severe bedbug infestations.
Some of the many reasons that people appreciate temperature-based treatments is that they involve no chemicals, and leave no residue behind, making them safe to use around your children and pets. Since many bed bug infestations are often centered around high contact areas like beds and sofas, avoiding chemical treatments on these surfaces can give you extra peace of mind.
All of these benefits make bed bug freezing treatments better for residential properties, as well as many commercial properties. Only when a bed bug infestation is severe and in a small space that can be heated like a hotel room does a heat treatment make more sense.
In most infestations, the benefits of Cryonite make it the method of choice, but our bed bug specialists are experienced in all of the various bed bug control methods, including heat treatments and traditional pesticide-based treatments. After an inspection of your property, we can provide recommendations for which technique will be best.
