Since Charlotte was ranked as the buggiest city in the US, it only makes sense that there would be a need to understand bed bugs. More specifically, how to know when you have an infestation. And then what to do about it.
When people think of bed bugs, they imagine that they come from dirty houses or from people that don’t take care of things. The reality is that they can be found even in four star hotels in NYC just as easily as in Charlotte.
In this article, I will go over just what it means to have bed bugs and what you can do to get rid of them.
Yes, they bite
Unfortunately, bed bugs are not little harmless critters that you just would rather not have around even though they don’t do anything. The reality is that they do actually bite. And those bites may not be noticed at first, but eventually they will itch.
In fact, many times they will be mistaken for mosquito bites. If you don’t see any other sign of infestation, then you probably think they are from a mosquito. According to Pest Control Atlanta, you’ll often see these bites in clusters unlike mosquito bites. And if you are sleeping under the covers then you may wonder how you got bitten in certain areas to begin with.
Which means you need to look for other signs that you have bed bugs.
Check for other signs
If you are being bitten on an area that is protected by your blankets and can’t be from mosquitos, then you should be seeing little drops of blood on your sheets. You may also see some rust colored small streaks that are from the bed bug excrement on your sheets. If you see it under the sheets, then you may have them living in your mattress.
Bed bugs also smell. If they are living in a cluster in a certain area, then bed bug exterminators in brooklyn may detect a musty odor when you are near it. Usually, they will live near the bed since this is their place to find nourishment. If your mattress smells musty but it hasn’t gotten wet then this may be because they are living there.
Time to get rid of them
Now that you have seen the signs, it means you have a problem. You have to do what you can to get rid of them which is a process. Your best bet is to hire a pest control company, but this can be expensive.
If you want to do it yourself, then you’ll need to buckle down and get to work.
The first thing to do is to isolate the bed. This is where they do their work so you have to get rid of every single one of them. Take all of the linen off and put it into a plastic bag to avoid the risk of spreading the bugs to other areas.
Wash the linen at the highest temperature and then dry it at the highest temperature that you can. It should dry for at least 30 minutes to make sure that the bugs are dead. Also, make sure to put the bag that held the linens into another bag and throw it away.
Pillows also need to be washed and anything else that was on the bed at any time. If your child’s bed has bed bugs then any stuffed animal or toy that could have been infected also needs to be washed thoroughly.
Now your box spring and mattress need to be dealt with. They will both need to be encased so the bed bugs starve and also run out of air to breath. There are special encasement sheets for just this purpose that can be left on the bed so you can still sleep on it without getting bitten by the bigs. Also, if you decide to get a new mattress, then this sheet can keep the bed bugs out so you don’t have the new mattress get infested either. You may think they’re gone but it only takes two to reinfest your room again.
Lastly, put some traps at the base of the legs of the beds. This will keep any remaining bugs from getting back into bed with you so you don’t have to deal with them anymore. If they can’t bite, then they can’t live and will eventually die off.
This is a process so be prepared for this to take some time before they are truly gone.