Bed Bugs Treatment

"Bed bugs treatment requires a thorough cleaning of an infested home or apartment using non chemical and chemical approaches. Treatment should remove the bed bugs, kill bed bug eggs before they hatch, and identify if other rooms in the home. If living in an apartment, adjoining units next to, over and below the infested unit should be inspected. "

Bed bug treatment involves both chemical and non chemical approaches. Both are needed in combination to ensure that an infestation is eliminated and so that it doesn't return. Whether you do it yourself or hire a pest control firm to kill bed bugs, more than one treatment might be needed.

Do It Yourself vs. Pest Control Expert Bed Bugs Treatment - What to Choose?

The key to bed bug removal is to know where to look, to be thorough and to have the right tools.

Do It Yourself Bed Bugs Treatment:

Removing bed bugs from a room will take 1 to 2 people an entire day. Products needed include a good vacuum, mattresss safe bed bug spray, steamer, fossil dust and mattress covers designed to trap bed bugs in the mattress. A typical kit can be affordably purchased from an on line company such as Dermisil for Bed Bugs . Purchasing only 1 product, such as a spray, will kill visible bed bugs, but will not kill the eggs, resulting in a return of the infestation.

Professional Bed Bugs Treatment:

Many, but not all exterminators will charge for an on site inspection. For example Terminix will provide a free quote and free inspection (phone 1.877.291.4849). They will also guarantee the effectiveness of the bed bugs treatment. Other exceptions are free quotes you can receive from any exterminator selected from our list of local bed bug experts. Another way to go is to get a free quote from Service Magic.

Some firms charge $50 - $500 for a bed bug inspection. The higher end of the estimate involves the use of a bedbug sniffing dog (bedbugs give off a raspberry smell). The bed bug treatment itself can cost $750 or more. You can then compare the price quoted to what it will cost in time and products to do it yourself. A professional firm can determine if you actually have a bed bug problem and they will know where to look for the pests.

The benefit of a professional is their experience and access to chemical and non chemical treatment methods that aren't available to consumers.

The bottom line is that if you have a small infestation in 1 room, then a do it yourself approach might make sense. If you believe that the infestation is larger, then call in the professionals.

Either way, it will probably take 2 to 3 bedbug treatment sessions to eradicate the problem. Be sure to get a guarantee if you use a professional.

Bed Bugs Apartment Infestations

Tenants or apartment owners are often reluctant to admit to a landlord, management company or co-op board that they have bed bugs out of fear or embarrassment. Once they call, it is also unclear in many municipalities who is responsible for bed bugs treatment.

While most codes call for a building manager to keep an apartment habitable and free from vermin. The problem is that it often doesn't specifically address bed bugs. If you have bed bugs that you brought into the building, there is a 20% chance that they will spread to an adjacent apartment and a 7% chance that they will spread to an apartment above or below the infested unit.

If you have a bed bugs apartment problem, it may make sense to negotiate with a landlord, such as splitting the cost of bed bugs treatment 50/50. To determine who is responsible in your town, call the local or state attorney generals office or city information line and ask who regulates landlord and tenant issues.

How Do You Know The Bugs You See Are Bed Bugs?

The insects you see in your home may resemble bed bugs, but actually be something else. One way to tell is via appearance of the bed bug and if there are any symptoms of bed bug bites on your body. A bed bug bite or red bump on the skin is actually an allergic reaction. Bed bugs do not spread disease to humans, but the bed bug bite can be extremely itchy. They do naturally go away in a few days.

Photo of Bed Bugs

You can mail a sample bug to the Harvard School of Public Health.

They have a team that will examine your specimen and let you know if the insect in question is a bed bug. There is a $20 fee for this service.

Bed Bugs Treatment for Bed Bugs Bites

Bed bug bites are usually seen in clusters or neat rows on the skin. Everyone reacts differently to the bites with some people having no allergic reaction with others getting large red bumps and in severe cases blistering. The bites itch, so a natural anti-itch cream such as Itch Dr. could help as a way of soothing the skin.

Bed Bugs treatment for bites will naturally clear in several days and are not dangerous. Human allergic reactions tend to worsen each time a person is bitten.

Photo of Bed Bug Bites on Arm

Required Steps and Products for Bed Bugs Treatment

The following techniques are used to remove bed bugs from a home or approach a bed bug problem in an apartment. The majority of bed bugs in a room will be 5 feet from the bed. You can see adult bed bugs with the naked eye. Bed bug Eggs are the size of a pin head and may be difficult to see or find, but can be killed as described below.

1. Inspect the Room - Use a flashlight and a magnifying class to locate where bed bugs are hiding in a room. Check every crack and seam that is at minimum 5 feet to 20 feed from the bed.

bed bugs treatment
Diagram of Typical Bed Bug Hiding Places

2. Bag and wash all linens - Place any clothes and linens that can be washed into plastic bags and close with a tie wrap to avoid spreading bed bugs through the home when bringing them to the washing machine. A good choice is to use Ziploc Double Zipper Big Bags since they are bed bug proof. Wash in hot water and then dry at highest temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Heat will effectively kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs. Empty any nearby closets. Do not bring clothes back to the room until the room is bed bug free to avoid re infestation.

2. Throw Out Clutter - Bed bugs can easily hide in magazines, newspapers and books. Inspect and throw out any disposable items. Remove any hiding place such as objects that are under the bed.

3. Loosen Carpet along Walls Near Bed - Bed bugs like to hide along the joint where carpet meets the wall. Loosen carpet and then use the vacuum attachment to remove the bugs. Do not use a brush attachment to avoid bed bugs and eggs getting caught in the attachment and then falling off.

4. Vacuum the Entire Room - Vacuum all areas thoroughly. Use the crevice attachment to vacuum along the seams on the bed frame, box spring and mattress. Dispose of the vacuum bag when done in a sealed plastic bag and then place outside. If needed, loosen bed frame to expose any joints to see if bed bugs are hiding.

5. Spray the Mattress and Cracks Around the Room - Buy a bed bug spray that is mattress safe such as Sterifab. Spray into cracks, onto any visible bugs and around the seams of the mattress, box spring and bed frame. Spray around the edge of the room, window sill if near the bed and behind pictures and headboard.

6. Steam - Use a hand held steamer to go over the mattress seams, carpet edges, cracks and other areas where bed bugs may hide. Steam cracks in upholstery. Steam will kill both bed bugs and bed bug eggs.

7. Dust for bed bugs Treatment - A natural dust designed to kill bed bugs should be spread around the floor in a very thin layer at the base of the bed, under furniture, along the edges of the floor. The purpose of dust to is to kill any eggs that hatch. Bed bugs that come in contact with the dust will be killed. Some homeowners have the dust placed into walls if renovating a room in order to prevent future infestations from neighboring apartments. Dust can be placed behind wall plates and electrical plates to kill any hiding bed bugs.

8. Cover the Mattress and Box Spring - If a mattress has a rip in it or is old, consider disposing of it out of doors. If it is worth saving and not ripped, then buy a bed bug proof zippered cover for both such as the AllerZip Waterproof Bed Bug Proof Zippered Bedding Encasement from Amazon.com.

You can also check our list of home remedies for getting rid of bed bugs.

Professional Bed Bugs Treatment

A pest control expert has several bed bugs treatment tools at their disposal that are not available to a home owner or apartment owner. These include:

Bed Bug Sniffing Dog: Bed bugs give off an odor similar to raspberries. Dogs are trained to sniff this smell and locate bedbugs.
Heat: Rooms that are super heated for at least 7 minutes to 114 F degrees kills all bed bugs. Heat distribution may be uneven, so it is often combined with other chemical methods. Some firms may have a heat room on a truck, where possessions such as clothes can be placed. The chamber is super heated, killing any hiding bed bugs and eggs.
Bed Bug Pesticides: A room or building can be sealed and fumigated to kill all bed bugs. Exterminators are licensed to use a broad range of chemical treatments.
Freezing: A freezing spray can be used, although cold isn't considered to be as effective as heat. Cold needs to reach -27 F.
Fumigation: As a last resort a home can be tented and fumigated for at least 12 hours.