Here you’ll find a do it yourself bedbug treatment along with information for locating a trustworthy bed bug exterminator in your area. If you decide to do this yourself, you need to do it right or you can easily make matters worse! Should you decide to hire a pest control company, you need to ask some very important questions BEFORE you hire them or they could make matters worse!
Below is a front view of a bed bug crawling the wall to a bed.
Below is a picture of bedbug bites on a woman after sleeping in a infested room. Notice the linear pattern to the bites which is typical of bed bugs!
and below is an infestation showing fed and unfed bedbugs. Blood shows as black inside the bed bug and denotes a recent feeding. Photo Credit: A.L. Szalanski
Doing it yourself can save money, but it requires a lot of time and patience as bed bugs are most difficult to kill. You’ll have to do the treatments, clean, wait and repeat at least three times and everything needs to be controlled; forget one item and you’ll need to start over! The benefit of going it alone is savings, the downside is frustration and no guarantee it will work.
If a bed bug exterminator doesn’t guarantee their work, that’s a sign you should look elsewhere! At the very least, you should receive some type of extermination plan with a free return visit if the problem is not eliminated. There are situations where the customer unknowingly transports bed bugs back to the successfully treated home which companies need to account for; however, skilled exterminators will educate the customer on how to prevent infestations often eliminating the need for additional treatments.
DIY Bed Bug Treatment
There are a couple of mistakes that homeowners often make when they discover they have an infestation. Most common is spraying insecticide or using a bedbug bomb! Such actions usually cause the bugs to find another hiding place or move to an adjacent room (or apartment!). Foggers and sprays can also be very harmful to children, adults and pets; remember, these insecticides aren’t really meant for use on bedding, linens, carpets, etc. You could be creating a whole new problem worse than a few bedbug bites.
The second most common mistake is to move yourself and cloths into a friends house which only results in your friend needing their own pest control down the road!
Proper actions not only reduce your chances of being bitten but also minimize the spread of bed bugs to other parts of the house. They include:
- When entering premises avoid setting coats, bags, purses etc. on beds, floors and against walls. Check your vehicles before sitting to detect any bed bugs.
- Do regular inspections of all areas bed bugs like to hide. In bedding, in & around bed frames, on stuffed animals (Stuffed toys can be put in the clothes dryer for 40 to 60 minutes) and decorative pillows, inside clothing drawers, around baseboards and inside slots, screw holes, cracks, & crevices in around furniture. Be vigilant in checking these known bed bug hideouts.
- When you become aware of a bed bug infestation, it is time to go through all your belongings & throw away all your clutter. Cluttered conditions can offer the bed bugs a lot of excellent hiding places very near their human blood-meal hosts. Do not forget to throw things out in sealed plastic bags or wrapped in plastic so you are not dropping & spreading the infestation as you discard them. Thoroughly de-clutter and clean all areas (bedding, couches, bed frames etc.) where you have been bitten by bed bugs.
- Do not dispose of furniture or mattresses that have had bed bugs in them by trying to sell them to other people. Although the items might appear to be free of bed bugs, more could be hiding and you would unknowingly spread the bed bug problem to others.
- When removing sheets always carefully roll them off instead of pulling or yanking them off. Pulling causes the removal of any eggs and bed bugs attached to them. Vacuum up any visible bed bugs & eggs. Always put clean white or light colored sheets on bed. Light colors make bed bugs easier to detect.
- Wash all bedding and clothes in the hottest water possible (at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit). Use a hot tumble drier at the hottest setting possible. Research has shown bed bugs can possibly live through the washing but the hot dryer will kill them.
- Try to avoid using diatomaceous earth. Although it is sold as a safe natural product, if you must use it, be very careful to follow all instructions and wear a proper mask. While it is safe enough to eat, it is very bad for the lungs and we have been to so many homes lately that were covered in this dust, their couches, carpets, counters. This is ONLY meant for under baseboards, cracks, crevices, electric outlets etc. where it cannot be stirred up into the air.
- If possible, try to capture 1 or more bed bugs in a vial, pill bottle or in a baggie (taped shut) so you can get a positive identification of bed bugs from your pest control person.
- A good way to tell approximately how many bed bugs are invading your home is by the bites. If you have 50 bites there are approx. 17 bed bugs or 3 bites per bed bug.
Here is a video to help you inspect your hotel room and understand how to determine if you have an infestation or just brought home a few bugs.
These tips should help you reduce your bites & minimize the spread of bugs until you can get a professional bedbug exterminator to treat your home.
Some great resources besides what you’ll find on this site include:
