No matter how much you hate bed bugs infesting your mattresses, clothes, and furniture, it is a fact that these pests are very common. They will seem to appear out of nowhere and grow rapidly over a short period of time. What is unfortunate is that the bed bug problem does not go away easily. Although you will come across a variety of sprays for bed bug treatment at home improvement stores, most of them fail to deliver the desired results. For a treatment to be effective, it should not just kill the bed bugs that come in direct contact with a particular pesticide, but it should completely eliminate the entire bed bug population from a room or area.
Removal of bed bugs from a house or property is hard, particularly when the infestation has reached a severe stage. Furthermore, if a treatment method does not kill all the bed bugs, the remaining pests will grow and multiply again and the problem will come back again to haunt homeowners.
What Attracts Bed Bugs
To deal with any problem, you should dig into its root cause. If you plan to avoid bed bug attacks, you should have some knowledge about what attracts these pests to a house, building, or hotel. People have many incorrect opinions about what draws bed bugs into homes and apartments.
Is it dirty conditions that attract bed bugs?
No.
It is a misbelief that bed bugs will be attracted to dirty places. Bed bugs are a type of pest that can thrive under any condition. All they need to live and multiply is the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals.
Bed bugs have a special sensing capability, which allows them to detect body heat and warmth from a few feet away. Once they find the food source (blood meal) available in a particular area, they will be attracted. Another trait that is unique to bed bugs is that they can live in a wide range of materials such as cushions, laundry, furniture, suitcases, cardboard boxes, etc. As long as they have their blood meals available, they will be able to live and thrive in a place.
Main Causes of Bed Bug Infestation
It is important to know what causes a bed bug infestation in the first place. How do bed bugs actually enter a house, apartment, or building which had no infestation before? There is no one-word answer to this.
Though there are multiple means through which bed bugs find their way into a house, all of these are mostly related to transportation. If you or someone carries an infested item into your home, bed bugs will be transported to the property. This will all happen while you remain fully unaware of it.
Key causes of a bed bug infestation include:
- Bringing used furniture into the home
- Cross-contamination of bed bugs between rooms or houses
- Hitchhiking of bed bugs onto luggage you travel with
- The arrival of new guests into the home
Travel is widely considered to be a key reason for the transportation of bed bugs from one place to another place or property. If you stayed at a hotel or resort which had a bed bug infestation, your luggage and clothing will get contaminated and you will carry the bed bugs with you wherever you go. You should be particularly careful when you purchase a used furniture item. As you bring infested items into the house, you will have a bed bug infestation in your home soon. Likewise, bed bugs can also travel from an infested room or building to another.
Effectiveness of a Bed Bug Treatment
As soon as you spot the presence of bed bugs in your home, you should start taking action. What is more important is to apply those treatment methods that will exterminate the entire population of bed bugs.
Bed bug treatments should be selected based on:
- The severity of the infestation
- Cost of treatment
- Location of the infested property
Homeowners and renters often employ DIY control methods to get rid of a bed bug infestation. Do-it-yourself techniques kill bed bugs, but they do not kill all the bed bugs you have in the house. After the treatment is over, remaining bed bugs multiply rapidly again and the problem remains. When it comes to effectiveness, you should always try to avoid using over-the-counter pesticides. Most of these do not work well and they also contain very harmful chemicals.
Bed bug sprays available in stores are not very effective, because they only kill those bed bugs that come in direct contact.
Complete removal of bed bugs from a house is actually a time-consuming process. You can never expect one treatment to do the job. According to experts, one-time treatment will not remove all the bed bugs. For the best results, you will need to apply multiple treatments in succession, as per the specific needs of the type and size of bed bug infestation you have.
How to Effectively Get Rid of Bed Bugs
All bed bug problems are not the same. It is only after a pest inspection that you will be able to know how severe the infestation is. Pest control specialists first assess the entire pest situation and consider several factors before they develop a custom solution to eradicate bed bug infestations.
The most effective treatment for the removal of a bed bug infestation consists of the following four essential steps:
Identification:
It is extremely important to conduct a proper inspection of the area where you have a bed bug attack. There are multiple signs that you need to watch out for in order to identify an infestation.
First of all, you need to look in every potential area or crack where bed bugs can live, hide and reproduce. The sofa cushions, seams of the mattress, bed frames, cracks in doors and windows, a seam of carpets, suitcases, and all furniture items must be properly checked to evaluate the actual level of the bed bug infestation. Unless it is found how severe the bed bug problem is, the application of any treatment will simply be guesswork. So, it will not prove to be very effective.
A pest control company such as Final Exterminators uses various tools and techniques to discover each bed bug hideout. Feel free to reach out to one of our pest control specialists for professional help.
Contain:
The next crucial step of the procedure is to contain the infestation before it can get worse and spread to other adjacent rooms or areas. This is again a step, which requires skillful techniques.
Getting rid of the live bed bugs is vital to contain the infestation in an effective manner. A pest control expert will vacuum all those seams, joints, and cracks to suck up live bed bugs and remove them in a careful manner so that the infestation does not transfer to any other area. Then all the affected mattresses, clothing, textiles, and linens will be washed in hot and dry water. Steam can also be used to kill live bed bugs present in the infested items. Since this is only containment, this will not get rid of the entire bed bug infestation in your building or apartment.
Kill:
Finally, it is time to eliminate the entire bed bug infestation. Based on the severity of your pest problem, specialists will either suggest one effective bed bug treatment or a combination of more than one treatment for the most effectiveness. Use of steam, insecticides, temperature (high and freezing), and desiccants are some of the most powerful methods to remove bed bugs as well as hatched eggs once and for all from your home, apartment, or building.
Monitor:
Once the entire infestation has been effectively treated and all the bed bugs have been exterminated, it is important to make sure these tiny blood-sucking pests do not come back again.
Severe bed bug infestations can take many weeks to go away. After every step of the treatment procedure, the infested area will be checked. If there is a sign of any new bed bug activity, treatment will be repeated. At the same time, you will need to adhere to some best practices such as keeping an eye out for dried blood spots on beddings, mattress protection, and vigilant travel to keep any new infestations away. A pest control specialist will be able to properly carry out the entire procedure as well as guide you in the process for the best results.
The invasion of bed bugs in homes is common. But it is also one of the most dreaded for people. Though bed bugs are not carriers of any diseases, they can cause a great deal of discomfort and ruin peaceful sleep. Some people also show allergic reactions to bed bug bites. If bed bugs have attacked your home, you should never ignore them or delay the application of bed bug treatments. There are multiple ways to get rid of bed bugs. It is crucial for you to know the best bed bug treatments so that you can remove them fast before the infestation spreads further.
Given below are some of the best bed bug treatments you can use to eliminate bed bugs from your house or apartment.
#1. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth is a highly effective treatment for the removal of bugs. But it is not well-known to a lot of people. In fact, if applied in a proper manner, it can kill 90% of a bed bug infestation.
Diatomaceous Earth soaks up oils and fats from the cuticle of bed bugs’ exoskeleton. As a result of this, the pests dry out and finally die. If your home has been attacked by bed bugs, you should definitely use this earth in the affected areas and leave the earth for a couple of days. Once the earth starts to act, you will see bed bugs die. And then you can vacuum the space to get rid of the dead bugs and ultimately get rid of the entire infestation in your home.
The best thing is that Diatomaceous Earth is cheap and easily available. Just give the powder 8-10 days to see results.
#2. Tea Tree Essential Oil
Tea Tree oil is used in the removal of a number of pests including bed bugs. It is one of the best home remedies to get rid of pests.
If the infestation is small or limited, tea tree essential oil can be used to kill the bed bugs in homes. The oil has an additional property: it masks human smell, which draws in bed bugs in a house. You will easily find this product at a general store near your location. Just remember to apply the method in a proper manner. Take 20 drops of tea tree essential oil in a spray bottle and dilute it. Once the solution is ready, spray it in the affected areas of the house.
#3. Borax
Borax is considered to be one of the best bed bug treatments for the removal of bed bugs. Once the product has been applied, it will suffocate bed bugs and all the bed bugs will soon die as a result.
To remove bed bugs, you need to sprinkle Borax on the mattresses. Make sure you use a generous amount of powder to properly cover the infested mattresses. Next, you should spray some water on the powder to suffocate bed bugs. Borax has other uses also. When you have a bed bug infestation, one of the first things you need to do is to give all the infested items a wash with Borax. You can also put some of it in the washing machine for permanent removal of the pests. If done right, Borax will prove to be highly effective in killing bed bugs.
#4. Vinegar
Most people have vinegar in their homes. But everyone should know that vinegar is an effective bed bug killer.
Vinegar has a very strong smell. When vinegar is applied to bed bugs, it destroys their nervous system. As a result of this, bed bugs fail to survive and finally die. So, if you have spotted the presence of bed bugs in your house, you can certainly rely on vinegar for emergency treatment. However, you should keep in mind that vinegar doesn’t have any effect on bed bug eggs.
#5. Bicarbonate of Soda
Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda proves to be very useful in the killing and removal of a bed bug infestation.
To kill bed bugs, you need to sprinkle the powder onto the affected areas in your home. As bed bugs come in contact with the bicarbonate of soda, their skin gets dehydrated and they finally die. Baking soda is an effective bed bug killer. All you need to do is repeat the sprinkling on a regular basis. In between, you should also vacuum the area to get rid of the dead bed bugs. For this, you should have an adequate supply of baking soda in your house.
#6. Force Bed Bugs to Starve
Though it takes a little time, starving bed bugs is one of the best techniques to kill and get rid of bed bugs.
To starve bed bugs, you need to cut off their food supply. If you deprive bed bugs of human blood for some time, they will not be able to survive. First, you need to vacuum the infested mattresses in a proper manner. Once this is done, you should fit a mattress encasement or Ziploc bag. In 2-3 weeks, you will see that the bed bugs have starved due to a lack of human blood.
#7. Heat Treatment
Treating bed bugs with high temperatures is one of the best solutions to instantly kill and get rid of a bed bug infestation. However, it is not a simple technique. In fact, it requires experience and plenty of skills.
For effective heat treatment, you will need to hire professionals who will use a specific set of equipment to raise the temperature of the room or the infested area. A licensed professional will carry out the entire procedure in a safe and appropriate manner to get the best results. If you are located in and near Moreno Valley and Riverside, CA, you should head straight to Final Exterminators. We specialize in the extermination of bed bugs and many other pests.
Compared to other bed bug removal techniques, a heat treatment provides results in just a couple of hours.
#8. Pesticides
The use of pesticides is an extremely useful method to kill bed bugs. Though you can easily find a wide variety of pesticides and pesticide-based dust in the market, the application has to be done correctly.
Since pesticides are made up of chemicals, they should be applied in a manner that is safe for the occupants of the house. First, the affected area needs to be prepared for the use of pesticides. Then, the chemicals should be applied in every nook and crevice of the infested area. Once pesticides have done their job, the entire space will need to be vacuumed. A pest control company has experience in how exactly the application should begin and proceed. Therefore, seek the help of extermination experts to get the job done right for the best results.
#9. Bed Bug Traps
Bed bug traps offer an excellent mechanism to not just trap bed bugs, but also detect and monitor the infestation.
The best thing about bed bug traps is that they are eco-friendly and highly effective. Due to their versatile design, you can fit these devices just anywhere in the room. The bed bug blocker or interceptor doesn’t just fit anywhere, but it can also withstand the heavy weight of furniture and beds. Most of all, anyone can quickly set up bed bug traps under beds, tables, chairs, sofas,s, etc.
#10. Neonicotinoids
This is a modified version of nicotine. This is actually an insecticide that can be used to kill bed bugs fast.
In many cases, bed bugs develop resistance to the effect of pesticides. If you have failed to see the best results from the use of common pesticides, you should definitely try using Neonicotinoids. The chemical destroys the nervous system of bed bugs, thereby killing them ultimately.
#11. Bed Bug Bombs
Using bed bug bombs or foggers is one of the best methods used to exterminate the population of bed bugs.
If the infestation has spread over a large area and you want immediate results, bed bug bombs will be useful. A bed bug bomb is actually an aerosol can, which contains a pesticide in it. Once the product is activated, the chemical inside the can spreads all around into the air in the form of mist. This means you will be able to cover a large area with this product with the least effort. However, the application of the chemical should be carried out in a safe manner. Most importantly, the affected areas need to be vacated before bed bug bombs are put into action. For detailed information on the procedure, you should talk to a pest control expert.
Talk to a Bed Bug Treatment Specialist
It may be easy to get rid of a limited bed bug infestation. But when the infestation is large and covers a large area, you will need the help of experienced professionals who specialize in bed bug treatments.
If all of your DIY solutions have failed and the bed bug problem in your home or building has not gone away, you should get in touch with a professional pest control expert or exterminator. In fact, hiring a professional is the fastest and the most effective way to eradicate a bed bug infestation.
Operating in and near Moreno Valley, CA, Final Exterminators is the ideal company you can rely on for the removal of all kinds of bed bug infestations on your property. At Final Exterminators, we provide highly effective pest control and extermination services for the removal of a wide range of pests such as bed bugs, roaches, rats, ants, etc.
Our bed bug removal service includes bed bug inspection, identification, treatment, and removal. To consult with one of our experts, you can give our offices in Moreno Valley and Riverside, CA, a phone call.
