How many of you can claim that you have never fallen asleep on the couch?

Bed bugs prefer inhabiting the areas where you spend a lot of time which is why bedrooms are usually ground zero for bed bug infestations. But guess what the second most popular spot for bed bugs in your home is after your bedroom? The humble couch!

Finding bed bugs in your couch is quite common according to a survey conducted by the University of Kentucky’s Department of Entomology which discovered that 25% of people had infestations in their chairs and couches after their beds.

So how to get rid of bed bugs?

Here are 6 ways how to get rid of the bed bugs in your couch:

• Laundry

Remove all removable items such as the cushions and covers from your couch and wash and dry them at the highest setting. Bed bugs usually die within 20 minutes at 118 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you’re unsure about how hot your dryer can get, then simply run it for 90 minutes to be on the safe side. You can set your cushions aside to be steamed if they don’t fit in your dryer.

If your laundry machine is not capable of handling your couch cushions and upholstery, then you can have them washed at your local laundromat which can reach the required temperatures to penetrate the thick fabrics.

• Vacuum

Vacuuming is not the ultimate solution in completely eliminating bed bugs but it is a good way to keep the bed bug numbers down as vacuum picks up a lot of bed bugs and their eggs.

Vacuuming also helps in getting rid of any signs of bed bugs such as their shed skins and fecal matter- which you would not want on your couch. You can easily dispose of the vacuum bag in a tightly sealed plastic bag and dispose of it outside of your home so that none of the bed bugs can infiltrate your home again.

• Steam

You can kill off another part of your bed bug population left in your couch with really hot steam.

A professional steaming can cost anywhere between $300 to $1200 but you can opt to use a home steam cleaner which you can keep on using to keep your home clean and bed bug-free. All it requires is a one-time investment of $300. Focus on all the cracks and crevices, particularly along the seams.

• Spray

You have two spray options, which are:

— Chemical Spray: Spray the chemical spray on your couch and it’ll kill off the bed bugs and their eggs and keep the couch bug-free for roughly 2 weeks post-treatment. Despite the effectiveness of this option, you can choose to skip this for a more natural option if you have children or pets and don’t want to use chemical pesticides in your home.

— Natural Bed Bug Spray: Spray your couch with a non-toxic spray to kill the remaining bed bugs upon contact. The only disadvantage of using natural bed bug sprays is that they can only kill bed bugs upon contact rather than providing continuous protection all year round.

It is best to hire a Take Care Termite bed bug exterminator to spray your couch though as he/she will be professionally trained and fully equipped to spray those hard-to-reach places in your couch where bed bugs may be hiding.

• Bed Bug Traps

After killing the bed bugs living in your couch, stop new ones from infiltrating it again by strategically placing bed bug traps under your couch and chair legs. If your couch touches the ground then it is a good idea to buy some lifts to lift it off the ground to prevent any bed bugs from crawling up.

• Couch Encasement and Insecticide Dust

You can use a couch encasement to completely seal off your couch from any bed bugs escaping or entering your couch. You can also use insecticide dust and evenly distribute a layer of it all over your couch. Spread the dust across the surface of the couch with a dust dispenser and use a paintbrush to get it in all the cracks, corners and crevices. After which you can completely seal your couch.

This dust is only effective if the bed bugs make contact with it which will dry them to death from the inside out. Leave your couch sealed for about 4 to 6 weeks. If you really want to be on the safe side, keep the couch sealed for a year. Bed bugs can survive a year without feeding on any blood so this time period guarantees that any surviving bed bugs will die of starvation.

We offer a wide range of pest control services in California, including professional bed bug treatment and management. If you have a bed bug problem or want to know more about how to get rid of bed bugs, our Take Care Termite exterminators in Tracy, CA will be happy to help you.