Bed Bugs: Guide to treatment, control & elimination

Bedbugs are notoriously difficult to treat, as anyone who has ever experienced an infestation will tell you. The resilient little creatures are one of nature’s survivors, and sometimes ridding your house of these unwanted guests can seem almost impossible. However, from your initial actions upon the discovery of bedbugs, to the method of treatment that you choose to adopt, there are many things that you can do to optimize your chances of getting rid of the pests for good.

Discovery

When you first make the discovery that you are sharing your home with bedbugs, it usually means that they have already been there for a while. The first signs may be visible evidence, such as fecal specs, blood specs, or dead bedbugs. However, these are often difficult to spot, and it’s more likely that you will notice a number of tiny red bites on your body when you wake up in the morning. However you find out that you have a bug problem, the quicker you set to work treating it, the better chance you have of resolving the problem.

First Steps

The first thing to do is not to move into another bed, as you will increase the risk of spreading the bugs. Bedbugs are great travelers, using both furniture and people as their vessels, and this is one of the most common ways that infestations can spread. So resist the temptation to move, no matter how hard it may be, and just stay where you are. Another common mistake is to throw out all of the affected furniture. This is another great way to help spread the infestation, and it won’t solve the problem either. Bedbugs may live in the bed and the sofa, but they are also just as likely to live in any tiny holes around the furniture. On top of that, when you bring in the new furniture it will soon become infested as well.

Treating Your Clothing

One of the first things that you should do is to treat your bedding and clothing. Luckily, this is quite easy to do. Simply give all of your clothes and bed linen a good hot wash, and then dry them in a hot dryer afterwards. Once they are dry, keep them in the hot dryer for a further 20 minutes to ensure that the bugs and the eggs are all dead.

Types of Treatment

There are two options when it comes to treatment: going professional or going it alone. Advice on whether to bring in the experts or whether to do it yourself varies, with many people claiming to have experienced success with no professional help. The decision often comes down to whether you feel you can afford a professional bug expert to come in.

Professional Treatment

If you decide you bring in a professional, then you will need to choose a good PCO (Pest Control Operator). Before choosing one, you should do a few checks to see if they are suitable for the job. These include:

• making sure that they are licensed.

• ensuring they have liability insurance.

• checking whether they come with a guarantee.

• confirming that the treatment comprises of at least two follow-up visits.

Professional treatments vary, and you will normally be given specific instructions as to how to help the treatment process, such as refraining from cleaning the house. Once the PCO has treated the area, it is very unlikely that the problem will be solved. This does not mean that the PCO didn’t do a good job on the first occasion, but that bedbugs are one of the most difficult types of pests to get rid of. Make sure that follow-up treatments are included, and you should notice a significant drop in nocturnal biting activity.

 Self Treatment

There are a whole host of simple, do-it-yourself bedbug treatments on the market. Some are completely biological, some contain pesticides, but all claim to solve your problem quickly and easily. The advice is to do your research. No bedbug problem will be solved with a few sprays of a magic formula, and you should try to find out which ones people have had success with in the past. There are also many different factors to consider, such as how bad the problem is in the first place, and how many treatments are needed, which will all affect the cost. Of all the home treatments on the market, one that is used time and time again with success is cedar-oil based. It should be sprayed in areas where the bedbugs are likely to walk, such as around the bottom of the bed, on shelves next to the bed, and on the floor.

If you do decide to go it alone, always follow the instructions directly. Some products insist on cleaning the area before application, some recommend that you leave it as it is. Some cannot be used on certain surfaces, some can be used on any surface. You have to check every detail of the product to see if it is suitable for you.

The Battle Begins

Whatever method you choose to follow, you should be warned that the bedbugs are very unlikely to disappear overnight. Prepare yourself for a long, hard fight, but don’t get discouraged. Once they are gone, you are more likely to take the appropriate measures to make sure that they never turn up in your home again.