How to Prevent & Treat a Bedbug Infestation in Your Home
Has your house been invaded by bedbugs? Here are effective ways to get rid of these pesky creatures
Bedbugs are one of the most notorious insects that can infest homes. They feed exclusively on blood; they can cause allergic reactions, itching and insomnia, which can adversely affect our health and well-being. Hence, it is advisable to use preventive methods that can limit the entry of bedbugs into one’s home. However, if there is a bedbug infestation, you must immediately locate the source of the bedbugs and take quick action to eliminate them, because they multiply and spread rapidly.
Here is a comprehensive guide to control and tackle bedbugs within your home. Keep in mind, it is very important to break the bedbug life-cycle and monitor them for a specific period of time so that they are completely eliminated from one’s home.
Here is a comprehensive guide to control and tackle bedbugs within your home. Keep in mind, it is very important to break the bedbug life-cycle and monitor them for a specific period of time so that they are completely eliminated from one’s home.
How to prevent a bedbug infestation?
- Reduce the clutter within your home – especially within drawers. These areas are perfect hiding spots for bedbugs.
- Avoid purchasing second-hand furniture as it may be infested by bedbugs, which may go undetected by the naked eye.
- Encase your mattress with a bedbug-proof breathable mattress protector. Select a light-coloured casement (a tough, close-woven cotton fabric) so that it will be easier to see the bedbugs if there are any.
- Make it a point to inspect your bed every time you change the sheets. Note that upholstered headboards and mattresses are common places that harbour bedbugs.
- Vacuum-clean your sofas, mattresses, carpets, upholstered furniture, headboard and wall panelling regularly, as these are places where the bedbugs hide.
- Maintain a small gap between the walls and the furniture of your bedroom and living room. Bedbugs have the tendency to crawl onto the walls, then the ceiling and cross into other areas of the home.
- Make it a point to seal all the cracks that may be present in the walls or wooden floors. Also, one must rectify peeling wallpaper immediately.
How do bedbugs make their way into your home?
Here are the most common ways in which bedbugs can make entry into your home:
Here are the most common ways in which bedbugs can make entry into your home:
- Hotels, guest houses and other types of accommodation are usually bedbug magnets because of hygiene issues and multiple visitors from all around using this space. If you happen to stay in any such accommodation, bedbugs can easily hide inside your luggage, travel with you and crawl out when you reach your home.
- The purchase of second-hand furniture, such as sofas and mattresses, that maybe infested by bedbugs is an active way to transfer bedbugs to a home.
- Note that bedbugs are very tiny in size and can easily pass through cracks or crevices that maybe present in the wall. This can be a serious problem if your home shares a common wall with a neighbouring apartment or bungalow that is heavily infested with bedbugs.
What are the signs of a bedbug infestation?
- Noticing live bedbugs on your mattress or any other area of your home is a sure-shot way to detect a bedbug infestation.
- One might have itchy spots and notice bedbug bites on the exposed areas of the body after waking up in the morning. Note that bedbugs are nocturnal; they are attracted by warmth and carbon dioxide and tend to bite and feed on the sleeping host.
- There maybe reddish stains on the bedcover which may be caused due to bedbugs getting crushed.
- Check out for tiny eggs, which are around 1 mm in size, and for fragments of pale-yellow skin shed by bedbugs on your mattress.
- Bedbugs release a musty odour, which may be detected if one is sensitive to smell.
How to eradicate and control the spread of bedbugs with market-based products?
- Buy organic bedbug sprays that are eco-friendly, low in toxicity and hence safer with kids around. Spray them in areas that are infected by bedbugs.
- Apply a layer of diatomaceous earth powder on the infested area; this powder is free of chemicals. Diatomaceous earth causes the bedbugs to dry out. After a few days, vacuum up the powder. Dust the area again with the diatomaceous earth. Repeat the cycle all over again for about two weeks so as to break the life cycle of bedbugs, larvae and eggs. Wear a mask when you use diatomaceous earth as it is harmful to the lungs if inhaled.
- Baking powder can also be applied onto the infested areas; it dries up the bedbugs and finally kills them. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the baking powder after a few days and repeat the process several times till you get rid of all the bedbugs.
- If the infestation is very high then professional treatment by a pest control agency will be required to eradicate bedbugs. Remember, most pesticides and insecticides are hazardous as they contain toxic chemicals, hence opt for pest-control treatment with herbal chemicals that are odourless, ecologically friendly and non-toxic. This will require one or two sessions. Make sure to keep children and older people away whenever pest control treatment is going on.
What home remedies can be adopted to control the infestation?
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Tell us:
How have you tackled a bedbug infestation within your home?Share in Comments below.
- One can control the bedbug infestation by using a dry steam cleaner on the infected areas. The high heat produced by steam is effective in killing bedbugs and their eggs. Avoid using wet steam as it may leave everything soaking wet, which may give rise to mould and mildew
- Bedbugs hate the smell of essential oils like lavender, mint, tea-tree, rosemary and citronella. Consider creating a spray with few drops of essential oil and half a cup of water and spray in the affected areas. One can also rub some essential oil on the bed-frame or add few drops while washing linen in the washing machine. Their smell will keep bedbugs away.
- Use fresh or dried eucalyptus, lavender, mint and rosemary around your house. Create small sachets of these herbs and keep or hang them in areas like wardrobes and drawers. Their smell will keep bedbugs away.
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Tell us:
How have you tackled a bedbug infestation within your home?Share in Comments below.