Infestation

General Infestation Information

Bed bugs do NOT live on their host but near their host. In the beginning of an infestation bed bugs are found around the seams and tufts of the mattress. Later as they multiple, they spread to creaks in the bed frame and then to gaps behind baseboards, pictures, windows and doors.

Finding Where They Hide

All you need to do a bed bug inspection is a flash light and good vision. Once you know what you're looking for, the next step is to begin the search.

Bed bugs infest only a small proportion of residences, but they should be suspected if residents complain of bites that occurred while sleeping. The bedroom and other sleeping areas should be carefully examined for bed bugs and signs of bed bug activity. Folds and creases in the bed linens, and seams and tufts of mattresses and box springs, in particular, may harbor bed bugs or their eggs. They may also be found within pleats of curtains, beneath loose areas of wallpaper near the bed, in corners of desks and dressers, within spaces of wicker furniture, behind cove molding, and in laundry or other items on the floor or around the room. Sometimes, characteristic dark brown or reddish fecal spots of bed bugs are apparent on the bed linens, mattress or walls near the bed. A peculiar coriander-like odor may be detected in some heavily infested residences. Adhesive-based traps used for sampling insects or rodents are not particularly effective for trapping bed bugs.

Preventing Infestations

Be a savvy traveler.

Inspect secondhand items for bed bugs before bringing it into your home.

Avoid curbside or discarded items.

Conduct preventative inspections.

Control and Removal

Clean

Remove clutter to eliminate their shelter

• Useful Links

  • Treatment of Room Furniture
  • Treatment of Mattress and Bed
  • Public Service Announcement

   

  Get rid of anything that bed bugs could hide behind or underneath that you don't need like old newspapers, cardboard boxes, pictures, posters, area rugs, old clothes, old purses and luggage, furniture etc. . .
• Vacuum and/or scrub (DO NOT FORGET TO CLEAN OUT YOUR VACUUM CLEANER RIGHT AFTER YOU ARE DONE)
  Can't throw it out but can move? Then temporarily remove them from your home. However, before you bring them back you will have to either carefully and thoroughly vacuum or scrub every surface to remove bed bugs and their eggs. (Also, you may want to wait a few weeks before bring these items back until you are sure you're gotten rid of them or you will have to clean them all over again.) If it can't be removed even temporarily then carefully and thoroughly vacuum or scrub every surface to remove bed bugs and their eggs.
• Laundry

• Wash your sheets, pillowcases, bed shirt and blankets in hot (140º) water and/or
  dryer first.

• Wash all clothing and cloth articles that might be a hiding place for bed bugs. (Start
  with things stored near the bed and work your way until you've gotten rid of all the
  bed bugs.)
• Too Delicate? If you can NOT get your water or dryer hot enough or if the article
  will be ruined at high temperatures, try using a dry cleaners or use a very cold or hot
  place suggested below.

• Make your bed an island
  • Move your bed away from the wall.

• Make sure nothing from your bed touches the floor.
• If possible purchase plastic covers for your mattress and box spring.

Elimination/Extermination Methods

• Before you begin, explore all your options and decide which elimination methods may work

  Useful Links

  • How to Choose a Pest Control Company
  • National Pest Management Association Inc.
  • EPA's Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety
  • National Pesticide Information Center
  
  for best you and develop a plan.
• If your plan includes pesticides, we encourage you consult with a licensed pest control professional.
• If you decided to use a pest control company they may suggest a pest integration pest management that works best with their products and methods.

Pesticides

• Pick a pesticide that is specifically for bed bugs
• Try to pick the least toxic product
• Follow ALL dilution and application instructions recommended by the manufacturer

Steam

• Steam cleaning can be effective but care needs to be taken because mattresses can quickly
  absorb the heat and moist and not harm the bugs. Therefore, it is important to monitor
  carefully to make sure it worked and you may want check for new bugs in a week or two.
  Also, remember to concentrate on the areas they hide such as the seams, under labels and
  handles and everywhere on the bed frame.

Extreme temperatures

• Bed bugs are very sensitive to heat. So you may want to try putting things in tightly sealed
  plastic bags in a VERY cold place (freezer, outside or outdoor storage area when temperatures are below freezing)
• Hot place (dryer, closed up vehicle that sitting in the hot sun) for several days to kill
  any adult bugs their eggs

Remember: Because they are sensitive to heat even in a hot car they will search for the coolest places, so it is important make sure you limit how much you put in a plastic bag. The cold or the heat must reach the middle or core of the articles being treated or it may not work.

Eliminate hiding places and access points

• Seal Crevices
• Repair peeling wallpaper
• Tighten loose light switches
• Close up gaps around pipes and wires especially those that go to adjoining apartments or
  homes.

Don’t Give-Up too soon!

It takes time to determine if what you're done works because bed bugs live a long time
without food. Also it can be extremely difficult and tiresome to make sure you've gotten all
there hiding places. If after two week you start seeing more bed bugs, you may need to re-
evaluate your plan and start your plan again.

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