Have you ever experienced waking up with little red patches on your skin in the morning? It worsens when you recall that you slept poorly that night.
Chances are you have tiny tenants in your precious haven who have been living off your body. These minute bugs are practically found in areas where people tend to gather. Places like offices, schools, public transportation, homes, and even your favorite sofa could be hosting one such pest.
Knowing how these insects get into certain places could help you find ways and means to get rid of them. If you’re wondering how they’d ever get into your home in the first place, here are facts that you could find helpful.
Bed bugs are good at hitchhiking. They could quickly get into your bag, and shoes, or stick to your pants just right after you probably sat down in public transportation. When you arrive home and sit on your sofa to savor that moment of rest, these bugs creep into crevices and in those little cracks where they can hide and rest while waiting for the opportunity to get their meal from their warm-blooded host.
While they don’t transmit certain diseases, their bites could get itchy, and scratching them could lead to infection.
As such, you might want to take these extra tips to keep these nocturnal insects from depriving you of your precious time of rest.
Determine Which Areas Are Most Likely Infested And How Far The Infestation Has Gone
Identifying the extent of the area affected would allow you to see possible strategies you can employ to eradicate their presence.
Vacuum The Things And Areas Which Are Most Likely Their Favourite Hangouts
Are you Going On A Trip? Follow this step so that when you return, you haven’t brought back unwelcomed guests.
Make Sure You Keep Soiled Clothes In The Laundry Room
If there are bed bugs in the clothes you just used, make sure they won’t get into your bed. Put your dirty clothes in a basket away from the bed.
Don’t Buy Second-Hand Mattresses
Second-hand ones are most likely prone to infestations of these insects. If you’re unfortunate enough to buy one, getting rid of the bugs will be a challenge that you cannot overcome overnight.
Check The Areas Where Your Warm-Blooded Furry Friends Rest
The favorite meals of bed bugs always come from their warm-blooded hosts, so never miss out on cleaning your favorite spaces.
For Prevention, Keep Large Plastic Trash Bags, Handy, When You’re Travelling
This way, these creatures won’t get the chance to stick to your suitcase.
Choose The Safest Chemicals When Shopping For Pesticides
Keep ones that are known to be the “lesser evil.” This is if you want to have something that you can use right away when there’s a need. Rubbing alcohol may also be an effective solution to kill bed bugs.
Make Use Of Plastic Wraps
Contrary to the use of large trash bags, which are suggested for prevention, this one is recommended to put them away. This procedure might take some time to complete because you will have to wrap the infested mattress to starve the bugs and allow them to die slowly. It would take you a couple of weeks to get rid of them.
Go The Natural Way
If you are health conscious and have apprehensions about using pesticides, you can use diatomaceous earth. This white powdery substance would dehydrate these insects and cut their food supply. Another one is the use of essential oils. This would not only kill them in certain instances; it would also keep them from coming back into your mattress in the same way that repellents would.
Tea tree oil is another natural solution you could use for bed bug control, but it acts as more of a deterrent than an elimination method. You can create a diluted tea tree oil spray by mixing ten drops of essential oil with water in a medium-sized bottle, then spray the solution on areas you want to discourage the bed bugs from entering, such as the foot of the bed and the clothing cabinets.
Use Steam
This is a straightforward procedure for getting rid of bed bugs. When areas of the air bed are hit by steam, the steam will reach a certain depth through the mattress, allowing you to get through those that you cannot see.
Make Sure You Don’t Just Get Rid Of These Insects But Also Kill Them
After you get rid of these insects, make sure to follow through by exterminating the remaining eggs. This would prevent re-infestation.
Do Regular Checks And Cleaning
Regularly check your home and air bed to spot the possible presence of bed bugs. You can do this by periodically cleaning every nook and cranny of your home, including your air bed. Here are some more tips on how to keep your bed clean.
A more practical way of getting rid of bed bugs is to buy an air mattress that does not attract these pests into your home. OutbaxCamping always has one for you. Log onto outbaxcamping.com.au and look at the best options available. If you’re planning to purchase an air mattress that would not compromise your safety, think only of OutbaxCamping!