Are you finding bed bugs in your home?

The horrifying realization that you have bed bugs can only be felt painfully. Getting rid of a bed bug infestation can be difficult and a nightmare to deal with, so here are 7  steps you can take to find and get rid of bed bugs. 

Here are 7 easy ways on how to prevent bed bugs from entering your home:

• Identify the Signs of Bed Bugs

The key to preventing the spread of bed bugs in your home is by identifying the signs of bed bugs activity early on. Make sure that you know and understand what bed bugs look like and the signs they leave behind such as rust colored stains on your clothing or sheets as well as a sickly sweet odor around your bed area. You may even see discarded bed bug shells around the edge of your mattress.

• Vacuum Your Whole Home Thoroughly

Vacuum your whole home completely and not only the bedrooms where you have seen signs of bed bugs. Bed bugs can hide in a variety of places in your home and can spread quite easily from room to room. So it is important that you quarantine all the items in the room that is being treated. You can also protect your mattresses by using special mattress encasements as well as sealing your clothes, books, toys and photo frames in special plastic bags.

• Wash Your Infested Items in Hot Water

This is the fastest and easiest way to get rid of bed bugs and their larvae by boiling your infested items in hot water. Wash all your bedsheets, clothes and pillow covers in your washing machine and heat dry them afterwards at the highest heat setting. The idea is to raise the temperature of the infested items to 120 F as bed bugs are not capable of withstanding such a high temperature. You can even choose to put your bagged items in your car in the summer as the temperature is hot enough to kill bed bugs and their larvae.

• Be Careful When Travelling

Finding bed bugs is becoming a lot more common in metros all over the world. You can unknowingly pick them up from motels, hotels, airplanes, buses and trains and bring them back home. Even the best hotels struggle with bed bugs from time to time. If you happen to be spending a night in a hotel, then avoid leaving your luggage open or store your luggage in the bathroom as bed bugs avoid this area. You can also seal your luggage in trash or plastic bags if required. Also, if you happen to have any guest staying over, make sure that you clean up your guest room thoroughly after your guest departs.

• Avoid Using Pesticides and Bed Bug Bombs

Avoid using pesticides as bed bugs have developed a resistance to them. So this seemingly easy bed bug treatment option does not work and can be harmful to your children or pets. If you feel that it is absolutely essential to get rid of the pests in this way then it is best to consult and hire a professional exterminator company prior to using them.

• Avoid Picking Up Items at a Yard Sale

Most of the victims of bed bug infestations usually buy bed bug infested items unknowingly from the roadside and bring them back home. Avoid doing this.

• Don’t Overlook the Cracks and Crevices

Finding bed bugs in the cracks and crevices of your furniture, beneath the floorboards, in the lining of your couches and mattresses, electrical outlets, window sills and even curtains is quite common. Make sure that you inspect and apply bed bug treatment to all the cracks and crevices in your home.

The above 7 reasons add emphasis that hiring the services of a professional pest control service is a much more effective way to get rid of bed bugs. If you are looking to hire the services of a licensed pest control service in Tracy, CA, give us a call at Take Care Termite and Pest Control today!