Bed bugs are small oval insects that are around 5-7 mm in length. They can live for several months without sucking blood. The sole motive of bed bugs is to suck animal’s and human’s blood while they are asleep. They are very good at hiding during the day and start their blood bath during the night. The good news here is, they don’t have wings. Because they are so good at not being detected, there are only some ways to know if they are there or not. Below are ways how you can detect and get rid of Bed Bugs.
Signs Of Bed Bugs
Contents
Red Itchy Bites
Bed bugs often go unnoticed until we see the marks, which look like a rash. If these marks are in straight rows, zigzag lines, or even in a cluster, then you need to know it’s the work of a bed bug. Though it’s just a rash, it’s quite irritating and itchy.
Bugs In Your Mattress
You mostly find bed bugs hidden under your mattress. After the bugs feed in the night, they leave some bloodstains on the sheets, which look like rust spots. Bed bugs also shed their skin a lot, so you may find an oval exoskeleton of brown color when you make your bed.
The Smell
Bed bugs often leave behind an unpleasant odor, which smells like a wet or damp towel kept for many days in the room. The whole room will smell like that, and you may want to check the room for bed bugs.
Check Your Closet
Bed bugs are most likely to cling onto clothing, which is another way they spread so easily. Check your clothes thoroughly. If you found bed bugs on the clothes, that means they are spreading fast.
To get rid of bed bugs, you need to know the places where you will generally find them. Under the mattress, the closet, doors, folded areas, box springs, crevices, and cracks.
Clean the Areas
Scrub the mattress and the sitting areas with a stiff brush so that it may remove the eggs. Clean all the drawers and corners of the beds with a cloth dipped in hot water.
After this, vacuum all the areas nicely.
Repair
Repair all the crevices and cracks with plaster or glue and make sure there is no hole left. Bed bugs are good in hiding and can take shelter in any of the holes. You may have tried to clean all the areas, but there will be chances that they are still there.
Pesticides
There are almost 300 registered pesticides that can help you get rid of bed bugs.
Chemical treatment can be very helpful, especially when you have detected the insects at an early stage.
Heat Treatment
You can also opt for heat treatment. It can reach areas fast and also to the places where the chemicals cannot reach. You will have to take care of only one thing: you will have to stay somewhere else for a while and remove some heat-sensitive stuff that can be ruined by the heat treatment like wax and crayons.
Conclusion
Bed bugs can be found in many places, and though you keep your house clean, there can be chances of your house being invaded by insects. Clean mattresses and couches with a vacuum cleaner and also keep checking for bed bugs once every week.
