4 Effective Ways to Go About Bed Bug Detection

Bed bugs are common pest issues, especially in low-income homes, studies claim. If you’re worried that you may have some of these creepy crawlers at home, feeding on your blood as you slumber, here are four effective ways to go about bed bug detection.

Check yourself.

Do you have itchy insect bites, the origins of which are a mystery? Are these bites concentrated on areas that touch your bed? It’s highly likely that you’re sharing your bed with these critters.

Inspect your bed sheets and pillowcases for brown spots.

The brown spots may be blood from the bed bugs (when they’ve been out on a feeding spree, or when they have been crushed), or their excrement. If you see these spots on your sheets and pillowcases every time you change them, bed bugs are surely present.

Keep an eye out for little insects on your mattress especially between the seams.

The little critters usually hide in the fold and seams because they’re dark and warm.

Do a bed bug detection and inspect your sofas and upholstered chairs as well.

Bed bugs do not confine themselves to the bed; so do check out other pieces of furniture, which are rather similar to your bed. You may want to include your suitcases or luggage, especially if you’ve been travelling and had stayed at a hotel. A lot of travellers actually end up bringing home bed bugs from their accommodation.

If bed bugs are indeed present in your home, here are a few tips that you can use to get rid of them.

Get rid of clutter because bed bugs like to hide away in piles of clothes, paper and rubbish. If you see bed bugs in clutter, put all the rubbish in a bag to prevent bed bugs from scattering in your house.

Pest control specialists also advise using a plastic mattress encasement. This will contain the bed bugs and suffocate them, especially if you take the mattress out in the sun.

Using bed bug monitors will also help so you can vacuum the bed bugs you actually see. When you do vacuum the bedbugs off, dispose of the bag or filter in an outdoor trash bin.

As for clothes, sheets, and other fabric materials that have bed bugs, washing them thoroughly and putting them in the hot/dry cycle of the dryer will kill off the critters along with their eggs.

Nobody should live with bed bugs. The key to making sure that your home is bed bug-free is to keep it clean. If you do detect the presence of these critters, apply tips from the experts on how to effectively get rid of them on your own. Don’t hesitate to let the experts at AAI Pest Control help you with a bed bug infestation.