Bed bugs are good hitchhikers and can easily infest homes. They can hide in furniture other than beds, dressers and nightstands; in closets; in storage containers; and cracks in baseboards, wallpaper or paneling.
Vacuum and clean regularly, sealing and disposing of the vacuum bag. Use encasements on mattresses and box springs. Put interceptors under beds, sofa and plush chairs and check them every 1-2 weeks. For professional help, contact Bed Bug Control Boise.
When it comes to bed bug control, inspection and cleaning are the keys. Bed bugs are wingless, oval-shaped insects that measure 1/5 inch in length and have a dark red or mahogany color. Adults have well-developed antennae, compound eyes, and a pronotum that extends forward on either side of their head. Nymphs look similar to adults but are smaller and lack the antennae. They also have a broader head with more hairs behind it.
When looking for a bed bug infestation, it is important to look everywhere that the pests hide during the day, including in and under the mattress, box spring, and frame; inside drawers and cabinets; around baseboards and heating units; under furniture cushions and rugs; and in crevices behind picture frames and wall hangings. Also, a good idea is to declutter your home as much as possible to give the pests fewer places to hide.
The number one place to look for signs of bed bugs is along the mattress seams. You will often see dark or rust-colored stains on the seams, and you may also find shed molted skins from the bugs themselves. You should also check the tufts, folds, and edges of your mattress.
You should also inspect the bed frame, and be sure to flip the box spring over. Bed bugs can fit their bodies into small cracks and crevices on the bottom of the box spring, and they also like to crawl underneath it. Inspect the headboard as well, and pay special attention to the rolled edges and tufts of the fabric covering.
Once you have inspected your mattress, be sure to look at the pillow cases, sheets, and blankets. If you notice dark spotting or blood spots on the fabric, this is a sign of an infestation. You should also look for the eggs and fecal matter that bed bugs leave behind.
It is a good idea to also look at the other items in your bedroom, such as books and magazines, toys, clothes, blankets, and other bedding. If you see any signs of bed bugs in these items, they should be washed and dried in very hot water or exposed to high heat (115 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes. If they still appear, the items should be discarded.
Inspect Your Furniture
When purchasing second-hand furniture, especially beds or mattresses, it is essential to thoroughly inspect the items before bringing them into your home. This is particularly important if you are buying used furniture from a yard sale or from a curb. Often, these items have been infested with bed bugs and may inadvertently bring the pests into your home.
Whether you are buying new or secondhand furniture, it is a good idea to have a flashlight and latex gloves on hand for your inspection. Start by looking for dark spots or stains on the fabric of the furniture. These dark spots are not just random blemishes; they are bed bug excrement that has been left behind as these unwelcome visitors feed during the night. You may also see signs of their skin shed which appears as reddish-brown flakes.
Next, you will want to check the seams and other hidden areas of the furniture for bed bugs. They tend to hide in the cracks and crevices of upholstered furniture and can be difficult to find. Be sure to inspect all surfaces of the furniture including underneath the cushions and inside the frame. You will also want to examine the screw holes in wooden furniture and any loose paint on the frame. These are all great places for bed bugs to hide and will be hard to detect without a good light.
If you do see any signs of a bed bug infestation, it is best to leave the furniture outside and call a professional to deal with it. If you do decide to take the risk and bring the furniture inside, be sure to vacuum it thoroughly including all seams and folds. Then, put the cushion covers in your washing machine and dryer on high heat to kill any bed bugs or their eggs. Make sure to keep a record of all the steps you have taken to deal with the problem so that you can track your progress and ensure that the infestation is completely gone. It is a good idea to continue to check your furniture for at least a year to be sure the problem has been eradicated.
Inspect Your Clutter
Before bed bug treatment, be sure that all infested items are removed from your home. This will help to prevent them from being accidentally transported elsewhere in your house. This includes clothing, books, and other personal items. Items should be placed in garbage bags and labeled to indicate they contain bed bugs. This will prevent their accidental release from your home and will also make it easier to track progress during the pest control process.
Clutter is a prime hiding place for bed bugs. Be especially careful about bringing home used furniture and other items from the street or from friends’ homes. Even cardboard boxes can harbor these nocturnal insects. They are small, apple seed sized, and can travel quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Bed bugs don’t make nests, but they can live a long time on the surface of an item or in the folds of clothes. Adults have six legs and are rusty red in color. They are not able to fly or jump, but they are excellent runners and hitchhikers. Immature bed bugs, called nymphs, shed their skins five times before they mature into fully mature adults. Females can produce three to four generations in a year.
Once established in your home, bed bugs can be very difficult to eradicate. They are resistant to many popular insecticides and can withstand long periods of inactivity. This makes them one of the most difficult household pests to control.
In addition to regular cleaning and vacuuming of infested areas, you should seal cracks and crevices around baseboards, light sockets, and electrical outlets. You should also remove drapes and clean the curtain rods and hardware. You should wash curtains, pillows, towels, stuffed animals, and all other cloth items in hot water and dry them on the highest dryer setting before using them again. All items that can’t be washed should be double bagged and set aside until they can be carefully inspected and treated.
To further improve the effectiveness of your bed bug treatment, you should use interceptor monitors under the legs of beds and other furniture. These devices are hybrids between active and passive traps in that they lure hungry bed bugs and then capture them. Interceptors are proven to be significantly more effective than visual inspection alone.
Inspect Your Carpet
While bed bugs are most commonly found in mattresses, these nasty critters will also find their way into any long-fibered carpet. These nocturnal pests hide in the creases and crevices of your rug during the day and come out at night to bite you, your family or your pets, according to the CDC. These bites often cause itching and minor pain, but they can also lead to skin rashes and allergic reactions in some individuals.
When checking for bed bugs in your carpet, look for fecal spots (dried blood spots) or shed skins (exuviae), which look like dark, whitish, light-colored or translucent insect shells. You should also be on the lookout for a foul, rotting or bloody smell in heavily infested areas.
If you suspect that your carpets are infested with bed bugs, you should first vacuum them to remove any eggs. This will also help deter future infestations. After vacuuming, take up the rug and examine it closely for signs of a bed bug infestation, such as fecal spots, blood spots and shed skins.
In addition to examining your carpets, it’s important to thoroughly inspect any furniture with cushioned or upholstered seats and backs, including sofas and chairs, for bed bugs. You should also thoroughly check any upholstered headboards, ottomans, and other pieces that are likely to harbor these pesky nocturnal pests.
Depending on your circumstances and how bad your infestation is, it may be necessary to throw out or carefully clean upholstered furniture. If you do discard furniture, fully seal it in heavy-duty garbage bags and take it to a dumpster outside your home. Leaving discarded items unattended could spread the pests to other parts of your home or to neighbors. Infested items should not be stored in cardboard boxes, as bed bugs can crawl through the holes and escape.
If you decide to spray your home with a pyrethroid, you should use caution and follow the label safety directions exactly. This is especially true in homes with children and pets, as certain types of pyrethroids can be toxic to animals.