This blog is for anyone who is searching for answers on how to beat bed bugs. My house has been bed bug free for 8 months now and I didn’t spend thousands of dollars on extermination. I used basic tools such as bed bug spray, trash bags, plastic sheeting, blue painter’s tape and duct tape. I also used a vacuum cleaner and a hand-held steamer.
I believe you can rid your home of bed bugs without spending thousands of dollars on expensive treatments, depending on how long you’ve had the problem and how many bugs you have.
Warning, getting rid of these pests is no easy task. It could and probably will take you 3-4 hours or more per day for several days in a row, depending on how many bugs you have. The more you put into this, the more likely you are to get rid of them. It took me several nights of working from 9 pm until 3 am to get rid of mine.
I discovered I had bed bugs in the middle of the night and searched many websites looking for answers but couldn’t find one website to walk me through what to do step by step. This blog is a compilation of what I’ve learned from other sites and from my own experience. It lists what to do to kill bugs and prevent them from spreading, step by step.
First, are you sure you have bed bugs? Do you have bug bites that are all in rows of 3 or more? Are they like mosquito bites, but there is no dot or hole in the center? Do you have lots of bites (more than one or two?) If you only have one or two, then you probably have been bitten by a spider. Click here for pictures of bed bug bites.
One bed bug can bite you hundreds of times in one night. And, each bug can lay hundreds of eggs per night, so you want to get rid of them immediately , if you think you have them.
Also, the bites itch and burn and can last a long time. Mine took about a month to go away completely. But, not everyone reacts to the bites. So, if you don’t have bites, that doesn’t mean you don’t have them.
Other signs of bed bugs are: black specks or lines on your sheets. When you crush them, they smear, or small white bed bug shells. For more information on signs of bed bugs, click here.
Next, try to figure out where you got them. What have you slept in or on recently that other people also slept in? For me, it was a small ekg machine that I had to wear taped to my chest for a month. It’s called a halter monitor. The doctor ordered one for me from a medical device company and it was supposed to be sanitized. Most likely, the person who had it before me had bed bugs that dropped eggs in between the cracks of the buttons. After wearing it for two weeks, I started getting bites. Since I had seen a TLC show on bed bugs, I knew right away that I had them.
Most people pick up bed bugs while traveling. Have you stayed in a hotel recently? Did you have any guests stay at your house recently? Or, have you picked up any clothes or furniture from a second hand store? If not, did you buy any clothes or furniture from anywhere? Try to pinpoint the most likely source of the bedbugs and start there. Assume that regardless where you got them, if you have bites, the bugs are most likely now living around your bed.
The bugs could be anywhere, but most likely they are living in or very close to your bed.
If you think you picked them up traveling, you will need to put all your clothes from your trip in plastic trash bags to be thoroughly washed and dried. If you hung anything up or put anything away, without washing it, then just bag all your clothes up and wash and dry them for at least 1hour. Put the clean clothes back in new plastic bags and throw the used plastic bags away. Put the old plastic bags into another plastic bag and take them outside. Sanitize all your toiletries, etc you took by wiping them down with Lysol wipes or rinse everything in your sink to get rid of any possible eggs. If you have a steamer, you can steam everything including your luggage. If not, take your luggage outside and hose it down really well or vacuum it. Empty the vacuum bag into a plastic trash bag and take it outside to your trash can.
If you had a purse with you, clean out its contents as above and put it in the dryer for 1 hour. Again, this will kill any bugs and eggs you may have picked up.
It is very difficult to kill bed bug eggs. The steamer will do that. But, you can collect them in a vacuum. Be sure to empty the vacuum bag or container into a plastic trash bag right away. Then, take it out to the trash.
Bedbugs have a tough time climbing on plastic, metal or glass, and they cannot jump. So they can only reach you by crawling.
Don’t throw everything away, but you will have to spend hours and hours cleaning. The sooner you start, the better.
If you picked up any furniture from a 2nd hand store, get rid of it, unless you can salvage the wood or metal parts. But get rid of any cushions or pillows by putting them in plastic bags and taking them outside your house to the trash. In that case, steam them or vacuum them then wipe them down with soap and water.
If you picked up any clothes recently, see the above paragraph about washing and drying all your clothes.
Lastly, if you had guests stay with you recently, you will need to sanitize their room as well as your bedroom, or wherever you have been sleeping.
You will have to attack one room at a time. Start with your bedroom, and your kids’ rooms, if they’ve been bitten. So, you at least have a clean environment to sleep in.
Next, you will want to follow the steps below. If none of these situations apply to you, or if you live in an apartment or townhouse or multi-unit building, go through the steps below.
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