Bed bugs: Do this First!

What is the first thing you do when you suspect you have bed bugs?  It is probably the wrong thing to do.

You should NOT throw out your mattress. You should not spray your entire house with retail pesticides. You should not try to ‘do it yourself’. You should not buy Diatomaceous Earth and spread it yourself all over your house. You should not carry infested furniture through the apartment building to the dumpster. You should not throw out your bed frame and put your bed on the ground. You should not stop sleeping on your bed and start sleeping on the sofa.

There are a lot of ‘should nots’.  This is because a lot of these activities can actually exacerbate the problem and spread the infestation, beyond the infestation point.

1)      If you suspect bed bugs but your mattress/boxspring is not overly soiled, you are simply throwing away money. You can economically encase your mattress and boxspring with bed bug proof encasements instead of spending hundreds or thousands on a new bed set(s).

2)      Never set your bed on the ground as it allows even easier access for bed bugs to you at night.

3)      Every single legal chemical or non-chemical ‘green’ alternative spray on the retail market are ALL “Contact killers”. This means that you have to find the bed bugs in order to kill them. If you spray your house with chemicals, it could simply drive bed bugs further into their hiding spots. They spend 90% of their time in cracks/crevices.

4)      Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a great tool if applied properly. However most retail DE bottles lay down a very thick coating of DE that bed bugs will simply avoid. Professional application equipment for DE dustings, apply a very thin layer of dust that bed bugs crawl through instead of around, therefore being an effective residual killer.

5)      Carrying infested furniture through your house/apartment building simply spreads the infestation from one point to another and exacerbates the ability to get rid of them. Wait for professional treatment of infested furniture, before moving them. At the very least, buy plastic disposal bags for furniture before moving them.

6)      If you change your sleeping habits from the bedroom to the living room, you are simply drawing bed bugs out of the bedroom and into your living room, thereby spreading the infestation. Seek professional help for treatment and options to protect you where you sleep, without spreading them through your house.

The first thing you should do when confronted with bed bugs, is call a professional. Bed bugs have been named the “most difficult pest to control” by the National Pest Management Association survey’s of pest professionals.  Let a professional give you treatment options and advice before you try to tackle it yourself.

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