When you suspect bed bugs in your home or commercial property, it’s important that you approach the problem with the right tools and treatment methods. While you should certainly get in touch with a professional pest management company to help alleviate the infestation, there are definitely steps that you can take to contain and control the issue before an inspection or treatment takes place.
By following our list of bed bug do’s and don’ts you can implement temporary measures to keep the active bed bug population in your home, office or place of business from spiraling out of control. In addition, by following the proper bed bug protocols you can actually save time and money.
Bed Bug Do’s
- Do call a pest management professional as soon as you suspect a bed bug issue in your home or business. The sooner you can address a potential bed bug threat, the quicker and more cost effective the treatment will be. Consider Integrated Pest Management, a preventative and environmentally-friendly approach to pest mitigation that relies on a common-sense practices. In addition, by calling in the pros you can more easily achieve peace of mind and prevent your bed bug issue from escalating further.
- Do keep your possessions in their normal place, even if bed bugs are present. If you start moving furniture, clothing, electronics, or other items from infested locations, the infestation will only spread further throughout your home or business, causing an even larger headache! It’s best to keep the infestation localized to as few rooms as possible. This will also make remediation easier.
- Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home. Similarly, avoid taking your bedding from the location of the infestation to other rooms of your home. In addition, bed bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide that you breathe and are capable of crawling down a hallway in search of their next meal.
- Do save a sample of bed bugs that you’ve found in your home or business. If you are able to provide this sample to your bed bug specialist, it may help to guide elimination and treatment efforts. Additionally, such efforts can help bed bug pros identify if the suspected insect is in fact a bed bug or some other pest. It can be easy to mistake flea bites for bed bug bites.
- Do attempt to declutter rooms where bed bugs are active. Cleaning and throwing away unnecessary items such as papers, magazines and other odd’s n’ ends, can help reduce the spaces for bed bugs to hide. You should also avoid storing items under your bed. Taking these steps will also make it much easier for our pest experts to eliminate bed bugs during a treatment visit. Place items you wish to discard in a garbage bag, tie it off and promptly remove it from the home.
- Do wash any affected bedding or clothing. After washing, place these items in your dryer on the hottest possible setting.
- Do ask visitors to your home to check their own homes and belongings for any signs of bed bugs. The last thing you want is to “give” bed bugs to other family members and friends.
Bed Bug Don’ts
- Don’t freak out! It’s going to be ok! Yes, bed bugs are certainly an inconvenience, but when you work with an experienced pest control specialist you can make sure that the issue is being addressed and that the pests will be eliminated from your home or business very soon. The earlier you address your bed bug problem; the easier mitigation will be.
- Don’t try to take matters into your own hands with sprays or foggers. You may be tempted to use products such as Boric acid or mosquito repellent. Rarely do such efforts pay off, only wasting your time and money as the active bed bug population continues to grow in spite of these efforts. In addition, it can be difficult to know the toxicity of chemicals you are purchasing from the store and how exposure may affect the long and short-term well-being of you, your pets, employees or family.
- Don’t throw out your mattress or other furniture preemptively. With the proper treatment, almost all items can be salvaged and enjoyed post-treatment. There’s no need to spend money on bed bug treatment in addition to new furniture and other possessions. Additionally, you run the risk of someone else bringing the affected mattress and/or furniture into their home or business.
- Don’t bring second-hand furniture, clothing, or electronics into your home. While bargains on used goods are tempting, you never know if the original owner had a bed bug problem of their own.
- Don’t make additional purchases while there are active bed bug treatment efforts taking place in your home or business. These new items (such as furniture) can quickly become infested and act as new homes for bed bugs to hide, which lengthens and complicates the control and mitigation process.