Can you think of anything worse than falling asleep and having a nightmare of you falling down a bottomless pit?
Well, maybe you can, but one of the most realistic nightmares that can have is waking up to tiny insects crawling around your bed and leaving you with red and irritating bites all over your body.
Although bed bugs are known not to spread any infections, if you have a bed bug infestation, you probably know how frightening it is to be invaded by unwelcome visitors who constantly feed on you as you sleep.
Eradicating bed bugs is by no means an easy task, but it’s definitely not impossible. Avoid some common DIY bed bugs treatment mistakes when trying to get rid of these creepy insects.
1. Don’t Panic
The thought of blood-sucking crawlies is definitely frightening and disturbing, no matter what they look like. But, it’s important to keep a clear and calm mind. This will help you to come up with a solid plan of attack without going into a panic.
First, you should concentrate on getting rid of these bugs as soon as possible. You will have enough time to react once they are completely gone.
Focusing on the task at hand in a cool and composed manner will go a long way in avoiding many of the mistakes highlighted below.
2. Don’t shift To Another Bed
The first mistake that most people make when they find bed bugs is to change where they normally sleep in the house. This is not a good idea. You should avoid sleeping in a different location until you have solved your bug problem.
It’s expected that you would want to change beds to get a good night’s sleep without being bothered by bed bugs. However, these creatures are extremely resilient, and they travel pretty fast too.
Bed bugs are known to travel long distances within a very short period of time. They move rapidly across your garments without you even noticing. Because of this, it’s easy for them to get to your couch and other furniture in your home.
Of course, you should not try to leave your home when dealing with a bed bug infestation. Going to a friend’s house can easily result in you spreading the insect infestation to other homes. Your friends will certainly not be happy about this!
3. Remember, Bed Bugs Can Reside Anywhere
Despite their name, bed bugs are not strictly restricted to your bed. You can easily find bed bugs in tiny cracks and dark spaces in your home.
As long as they have a stable supply of food, they can reside in any of these weird places:
- Stacks of paper
- In nightstand drawers
- Near electrical outlets
- Behind picture frames and many other shocking places.
So, if you suspect that you have bed bugs in your home, take a look through some of these places to get a better picture of what you are dealing with. They’re probably somewhere in your bedroom, so focus on that room first.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Inform Your Landlord
If you live in a rented house or apartment, it’s important that you inform your landlord as soon as you suspect that you have a bed bug problem in your house.
Bed bugs are very hard to track. Therefore, they may have originated from your neighbour’s house, and the sooner the landlord is aware of the problem, the sooner they can deal with it accordingly.
By remaining silent on what may seem like a personal problem, you can cause your entire building to be infested with bed bugs. That’s one problem that you don’t want to be traced back to you.
Also, remember that your landlord may be able to foot the costs of bed bug removal services. Depending on your lease contract, your landlord can pay for a bed bug removal service to do thorough extermination.
5. Remember To Dispose of Your Vacuum Cleaner Bag
One of the best ways to get rid of bed bugs is to vacuum every inch of your house. The objective is to capture all the bed bugs, their eggs, and any excrement they may have left behind.
However, a common mistake that people make is to forget to dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag.
Vacuuming helps, but it is not a full-proof solution for getting rid of these stubborn insects, and if you don’t properly dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag, the bed bugs can escape and find their way back into your house.
6. Don’t Use Nasty Bug Spray
You may assume that if bed bugs are attracted to the smell of blood, the best way to keep them off of your skin is to use bug spray. Well, while this may seem like a smart idea – it will do you no good. Unfortunately, most bug sprays that are promoted as ‘safe’ are only effective on insects like mosquitoes and not bed bugs. Also, most of these insect repellents only last a few hours. Put simply. They don’t do anything to keep the bed bugs from biting you.
Furthermore, by these insects coming out of hiding in the wee hours of the morning, most of the bug spray will have rubbed off onto your bedding. This leaves you with dirty and bug-infested sheets, and your skin will be as available and bare to hungry bed bugs as before.
7. Check Pesticide Labels Before Use
You shouldn’t ignore pest control for ha Typically, pesticides are full of toxic and harmful chemicals. After all, only harsh chemicals can effectively deal with stubborn pests like bed bugs.
When picking a pesticide to get rid of bed bugs, be sure to check the pesticide label to see if it’s safe for you to use in your house. The label should indicate whether this is the case.
Strict pesticide regulations demand that all products be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. With that said, it’s still important not to put them close to pets and humans.
On top of this, some pesticides are only meant to be used outdoors. Using such pesticides in a closed space could make you, your housemates and your pets very ill.
8. Seek Professional Help When Dealing With Bed Bugs
Sometimes, even if you follow the right steps and avoid all the above mistakes, you may still not get rid of all the bed bugs in your home. At this point, eliminating the bed bugs should be best left to the experts.
Expert exterminators have years of experience tackling such infestations. Some experts use a special heat treatment process to remove the bed bugs in one go. Heat treatment is by far the quickest and most efficient way to get rid of bed bugs.
