Quick Tips For Keeping Your Home Bed Bug Free

Bed bugs are not only found in your bed

These small creatures have a habit of tucking themselves away in seams and crevices of many places other than your mattress. It may be old furniture, carpet or a sofa that they call home and whilst they are typically associated with unclean living areas, they have also been known to live in very well maintained homes and hotels.

Most active at night, they painlessly bite us to feed, leaving itchy irritations, however luckily they do not transmit disease and unless you are allergic to them you’ll most likely only consider them an annoying and creepy pest.

Ways to get rid of bed bugs

Bed bugs are quite difficult to see. Unless you have been bitten and wake up with red spots, you may only notice dark brown or red marks on bed linen, which typically are their droppings. They also tend to house themselves in a variety of locations so even if you think you have isolated them to a bedroom or living room, there is a good chance that they are living elsewhere too.

Spring clean

Give your home a thorough cleaning. Wipe down all walls and surfaces, vacuum carpets and wash all clothing and bed linen. Put blankets and mattresses out in the hot sun and place wet clothing and bedding in a dryer on a hot setting to ensure any remaining bugs are gone for good. Sprinkling barrier powders around any cracks and crevices where they can enter your home will also help to prevent them returning.

Protect your mattress and pillow

Once you have given your mattress a good airing and wipe down, consider getting a bed bug mattress protector, which zips up around the mattress totally encasing it preventing bugs from breeding. A zip up pillow cover is also a great way to protect your pillow from stains whilst still allowing it to breathe. Machine washable, they are both effective solutions worth investing in.

Steam clean

Heat is one way to eradicate bed bugs fast, and particularly heat from steam. Bed bug steamers remove them and their eggs fast and work well on all surfaces. Having your carpets professionally steam cleaned is also a good option. Don't forget drapes and other areas around the home.

Call in the experts

Prevention is always the best medicine however when you are faced with bed bugs that literally may be anywhere in your home, it may be best to call upon the experts in pest control to sort things out for good. Not only are they trained to know exactly what to look for and where to look but also they have the appropriate treatments available and will comprehensively clean your home giving you peace of mind.

Doing it yourself is always an option worth attempting however be mindful that some pesticides contain nasty chemicals that may be dangerous to children and pets especially when used indoors. Store purchased products are also not always as effective as those used by a professional so it may take slightly longer and require multiple treatments to kill them for good.

As annoying as they might be, these common pests can literally be found in the cleanest of homes and transported around simply on the back of a suitcase. If you are faced with their presence, there are options.

Bryan Andrews writes for the Pestrol Pro Pest Supplies blog.