Of the many pests that can dwell in your home, bed bugs are among the most persistent and difficult to remove. Bed bugs are tiny brown creatures that are difficult to detect unless you know the signs of a possible infestation. Understanding more about these pesky critters can help you eliminate them from your home.
How Bed Bugs Invade Your Home
Bed bugs are a traveling pest that can enter your home through a variety of means. Staying in a hotel with a bed bug problem is a common way to attract these unwanted hitchhikers. Most types of luggage offer great hiding spots for these creatures. Bringing home used furniture, such as a couch from a garage sale, is another way to bring home bed bugs.
Signs of Infestations
Although it’s challenging to spot a bed bug, these pests do leave some obvious signs indicating their presence. Your bedroom is a good place to start your search, especially the sheets on your bed. Check carefully for rusty stains; these often show up when bed bugs are crushed as you sleep. Dark tiny spots on the sheets may be bed bug waste. Near the bed, you may find discarded skins or egg pieces. If you’ve developed itchy rashes on your skin, bed bugs may be feasting on you during the night.
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
Eliminating these pests is a long process that sometimes requires multiple treatments for complete success. A professional pest company begins the process by carefully examining your home. Even with your best efforts, you might not be able to identify all locations where the pests are hiding within your home.
After determining the severity of the infestation, the pest control specialist can employ a number of different methods to eliminate the pests, including insecticide and heat treatments. Insecticides are used as a targeted approach to a bed bug infestation and are typically applied directly to common hiding places of bed bugs, such as door frames and baseboards. Multiple applications may be needed to fully eradicate the pests.
Heat treatments, which increase the temperature of a room beyond what bed bugs can survive, are used for more severe infestations that resist targeted treatments. This method can take hours to finish and requires you to remove objects that could be damaged in extreme heat. Small heat treatment systems can also be used for items in your home, including furniture and clothing. Steamers offer another way to use heat to eliminate bed bugs. These products can be safely used on fabric items without causing damage.
Preventing Bed Bugs
Although available treatments are effective, the process is time-consuming and stressful. Following a few tips can help you avoid bringing home these unwanted guests. When you travel, don’t put your luggage on the floor or the bed. Instead, place it on a hard surface where bed bugs are unlikely to hide. After your trip, wash your clothes at the highest temperature setting and keep your luggage outside until you get a chance to surface clean it. If you shop at thrift stores or garage sales, wash items you buy thoroughly before you start to use them.
Bed bugs are a challenging foe to deal with on your own. If you suspect that you may have a growing infestation hiding in your home, contact Adams Pest Control today to get a free quote.
