Now What Bed Bugs | CE Solution

I HAVE BED BUGS, NOW WHAT?

KEY POINTS

Bed Bugs are difficult if not impossible to treat on your own. Often times it is best handled by a professional.
Physical methods such as vacuuming or hot laundering can be helpful.
Vacuums that are used to remove Bed Bugs can become infested.
Beds do not have to be thrown out, they can be saved by using an appropriate mattress & box spring encasement.
Sleeping in a different room or vacating the structure is not a solution and can make the problem more difficult to eliminate.

1. Contact A Professional - Complete elimination requires highly trained and licensed individuals, knowledgeable in Bed Bug biology, behavior, and the proper use of pesticides.

2. Remove Bed Bugs - Just because you have Bed Bugs does not mean that you have to wait for a professional to kill them. You can simply crush them with a rag (although this may stain surfaces), or remove them with a vacuum.

3. Eliminate Clutter - Clutter is a Bed Bug's best friend and a pest management professional's worst enemy, providing an infinite number of areas for them to hide and creating areas that cannot be effectively treated.

4. Don't Store Items Under The Bed - Related to #3, items stored under the bed give Bed Bugs additional undisturbed areas to hide, protected from any chemical treatment.

5. Launder Items Regularly - Heat is deadly to Bed Bugs. Putting items in the dryer for 15 minutes on medium heat setting will normally kill Bed Bugs. Linens should be laundered regularly (preferably weekly) in hot water and dried in the hot cycle of your dryer.

6. Install Mattress & Box Spring Encasements - There are many types available to the consumer; however, most of them have not been designed specifically for use with Bed Bugs. Rather, most are designed to either protect the bed from becoming stained or to provide relief for people with allergies to dust mites.

7. Do Not Change Where You Sleep - Some people believe that they can avoid Bed Bugs by sleeping in a different area of their home. Once people identify that their bed is infested, they will often begin sleeping in a different bedroom or on the sofa.

8. Do Not Immediately Throw Items Away - For many people, the immediate reaction to a Bed Bug infestation is to throw the infested items away. This is unnecessary and could possibly make the problem worse.