Get Rid of Bed Bugs at Home

Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed on the blood of warm-blooded creatures, and particularly humans. These bugs are often found living on mattresses, box springs, bed sheets, and baseboards, as well as suitcases, shoes, and backpacks. Calling a professional exterminator is the quickest and most effective way to get rid of bed bugs at home, but you can tackle minor infestations on your own. To treat bed bugs yourself, the best course of action is thorough cleaning and a combination of treatments that include heat, cold, and pesticides.

Steps

Containing the Infestation

  1. Map out the infestation. Before you can treat for bed bugs, you have to determine the extent and location of the infestation. In a larger infestation, the bugs may be in multiple rooms, on sofas and other furniture, and in baseboards and cracks. As you go through the house cleaning and collecting items to treat, use a flashlight to inspect for bed bugs. Pay attention to areas like:[1]
    • Mattress seams and piping
    • Tears in mattresses and box springs
    • Head and footboards
    • Bed frames
    • Cushions and seams
    • Desk and dresser drawers (seams and crevices)
    • Electrical switch plates
    • Behind baseboards
    • Cracks in walls, plaster, and wallpaper
    • Electronics and appliances
  2. Collect all laundry. Bed bugs don’t actually live on humans or pets, but rather in and on things that get close to people, such as clothes. To treat bed bugs at home, you have to collect any fabrics that could be hiding bed bugs. Place all your fabric items into plastic bags and seal them until you can wash and dry everything. Items to collect include:[2]
    • Bedding
    • Drapes and curtains
    • Laundry
    • Clothes lying about on the floor
    • Towels in the kitchen and bathroom
  3. Pick up and throw out any garbage. Any clutter or garbage can give bed bugs a place to hide. Go around the entire house and collect garbage, items you don’t need or want, and other things that can be disposed of. Place everything into plastic bags and seal the bags well.
    • Remove bags from the house as soon as they're full and sealed. Store the bags outside until they can be picked up or dumped properly.[2]
  4. Throw out paper products. Bed bugs can flatten their bodies, so magazines, cardboard, boxes, and other paper products make great hiding places for them. Collect any magazines and newspapers that can be thrown out and place them in plastic bags. Seal the bags and store them outside until they can be disposed of.
    • If you use boxes for storage, replace them with plastic totes and dispose of the cardboard.
  5. Pack up all your personal items. Pick up all personal items from the floor, shelves, desks, dressers, and other areas and transfer them to plastic bags until you can treat them. Seal the plastic bags and store each bag in the same room the items were in. This will help stop the infestation from spreading. You should pack up all personal items, including:[1]
    • Books
    • Toys and stuffed animals
    • Small electronics
    • Notepads
    • Decorations
    • Pictures
  6. Empty your dressers and closets. Bed bugs can also live on the clothes in your dresser and closet. Empty all the clothes from these areas and transfer them to plastic bags to be washed. Seal the plastic bags when you’ve collected all your clothes.
    • When the dresser is empty, remove the drawers so they can be treated.[1]
  7. Separate your bed from everything. Bed bugs are most likely to be found where people sleep, and it’s possible that the only infested item in your home is the bed. Because the bugs can't jump or fly, separating the bed will stop them from moving around easily.[3]
    • Pull the bed out from the walls so there's at least 6 inches (15 cm) of space between the bed and the walls.
    • Install bug interceptors on the legs of each bed.
    • Pull out anything that’s under the bed.
    • Remove all rugs from around the bed area.
    • Tuck bed sheets between the mattress and box spring so they aren't touching the floor (after the bed and bedding have been treated).
  8. Eliminate hiding places. Cracks in drywall, plaster, and wallpaper also make excellent hiding places for bed bugs. To flush the bugs from these areas, patch and repair cracks.[4]
    • Use plaster to fix cracks and holes in drywall or plaster.
    • Use glue to mend peeling wallpaper.
    • Remove paint in areas where it’s chipped or bubbled.

Cleaning Up

  1. Wash and dry all laundry. Heat is a very effective way to kill bed bugs, so washing your laundry and drying it in a dryer is a great way to eliminate them from clothes, bedding, towels, carpets, drapes, and other fabrics. Only open a bag when you're ready to wash the contents. When the items go into the dryer, use the highest temperature setting and run the dryer for at least 30 minutes to kill the bugs.
    • Once a load comes out of the drier, transfer the clean items to sealable plastic bags to prevent them from becoming re-infested.[1]
  2. Brush infested areas. Bed bugs reproduce by laying eggs, and you have to dislodge the eggs from infested areas in order to remove them. Use a stiff-bristled brush and go over all the infested areas that you located when you were cleaning.
    • Pay particular attention to mattresses, box springs, and sofas where people sleep, as these are the most likely places for eggs to be.[1]
  3. Vacuum thoroughly. Vacuum all the areas where you found signs of infestation. Do not use bristled brush attachments, as bed bugs can hide in the bristles. Use the hose attachment to access hard to reach areas. When you're finished, remove the vacuum bag and throw it out immediately, or empty the canister into the garbage and take it outside. Areas to concentrate on when vacuuming include:[1]
    • Baseboards
    • Walls
    • Furniture and cushions
    • Cracks and crevices
    • Rugs and carpets
  4. Kill bugs on personal items. There are a number of ways that you can treat a bed bug infestation on personal items. Aside from insecticide, two other effective methods are heat and cold. After you clean an item, place it into a clean, sealable plastic bag to prevent re-infestation.
    • For items that can withstand heat, such as shoes and toys, place them in the dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes.
    • On hot summer days that are 95 F (35 C) or higher, you can also leave bagged items in direct sunlight to kill the bed bugs inside.[5]
    • For items that can't be washed or heated, place them in the freezer in bags. Set the freezer to 0 F (-18 C) and leave the items in there for at least four days.
  5. Quarantine items that can't be treated or thrown out. There may be some items that you won’t want to throw out, but cannot treat because they can't be washed, heated, frozen, or sprayed with insecticide. Transfer all these items to a separate plastic bag. Seal the bag, and then seal it within another bag to prevent the bugs from escaping.
    • Leave these items sealed in the bag for an entire year. Bed bugs can possibly survive for this long without feeding, so the only way to kill the bugs is to starve them.[6]

Treating Your House

  1. Treat and encase the affected mattresses. After you’ve removed the bedding from the affected mattresses and vacuumed the mattress, box spring, headboard, and frame, you'll have to treat the mattress. The most effective way to treat an infestation and prevent a future one is with guard liners or encasements.
    • Active Guard Mattress Liners are special fitted sheets that are treated with a mattress-safe product that will kill bed bugs within 72 hours.
    • Zippered mattress encasements trap bed bugs inside and prevent them from escaping or feeding. Leave the case on for a year to ensure that the bugs have died.[4]
  2. Treat infested areas with insecticide. Cleaning and vacuuming alone usually isn't sufficient to get rid of a bed bug infestation in the home. Insecticides are usually required to properly treat infested areas. Take all safety precautions, and carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Wear a mask, goggles, respirators, and other personal safety equipment when using pesticides.[3]
    • Areas to concentrate on include baseboards, cabinets, the bottom and sides of drawers, inside closets, door frames, doors, windows, dresser feet, and bed feet.
    • To spray areas like beds, couches, and other furniture that’s used and touched often, only use a product that’s safe for such areas.
    • Make sure the pesticide you use is EPA certified and specifically for bed bugs.
    • Optional pesticides include desiccants, dusts, aerosols, and liquids.
  3. Monitor and treat again if necessary. One round of cleaning and treatment may not be enough to get rid of your bed bug infestation. Over the next one to two weeks, perform daily inspections to look for signs of bed bugs.
    • Leave all your cleaned items in sealed plastic bags until you're certain the infestation has been addressed.
    • If you find evidence that the infestation is still there, clean and treat the house again.
    • Consider using a different kind of pesticide the second time around, as bed bugs do develop resistance to these chemicals.

Warnings

  • Insecticides like bombs, foggers, sprays, and smoke generators are not effective against bed bugs.
  • Do not ingest insecticide or get it in your eyes. Keep animals and pets away from it.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/bed-bugs.htm
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/preparing-treatment-against-bed-bugs
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/298185.php
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/bedbugs-infestation#1
  5. ↑ http://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/biting-stinging/others/ent-3012/
  6. ↑ https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/do-it-yourself-bed-bug-control
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