If you are dealing with a bed bug infestation, chances are you are ready to tear your hair out in frustration. Whether they are in your bed or in your barn, these blood-sucking pests can become health hazards if they are allowed to multiply. At Grange Co-op, we offer a range of bug repellants that can treat this infestation and keep other dangerous pests at bay. Need to learn more about how to get rid of bed bugs? The key is early identification in order to lead to eradication. Follow these steps to eliminate the threat yourself.

Step 1 – Identify the Problem

The first thing you need to do when determining how to get rid of bed bugs is to determine whether the bugs you are seeing are really bed bugs or some other insects. Bed bugs are tiny but they can be seen with the naked eye. If you treat your bed with pesticides that target bed bugs but have a flea problem instead, you will expose yourself unnecessarily to harm.

Both pests are reddish-brown in color. However, fleas have long and narrow bodies as opposed to bed bugs which are flat and oval-shaped. Here are some more tips that can help you distinguish between the two.

Step 2 – Determine the Severity of the Infestation

After you have determined that you are facing a bed bug infestation, determine their location. A recent infestation is usually based around the bed or inside it and a severe one involves other rooms. Here is what you should do to investigate the extent of the infestation:

• Use a bright flashlight or a credit card to inspect the seams of the mattress.
• Turn the nightstand and the box spring upside down as well and inspect the cracks and crevices.
• Take the bed frame and the headboard apart and check for bed bug skin, black fecal spots and molting nymphs. The edges usually harbor all three of these and should be closely examined.

Step 3 – Clean the Bedding

Bed bugs can burrow into bedding and their eggs can be difficult to spot on pure white sheets. Here is what you should do to eradicate their presence on your linens:

• Strip the bed linen and place it in a double plastic bag. This will reduce chances of the bed bugs from spreading.
• Wash the bedding in hot water for at least half an hour.
• Dry at high temperatures for half an hour.
• Ensure the bedding is free of bed bugs by using bed bug repellant. We recommend a natural contact insecticide such as, Diatomaceous Earth.

Step 4 – Monitor

Just because you cleaned the sheets, doesn’t mean you are free of these pests. If your efforts did not take the eggs into account, re-infestation is probable. These usually hatch in a week and should be killed before they grow up and reproduce. To prevent this from happening, repeat the treatment every 7 to 10 days until there is no evidence of bed bugs in your bed or home.

How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs Permanently Post Treatment

Bed bugs spread fast and they may have already infiltrated other rooms in your house. So besides repeating the aforementioned treatment, follow these tips to eliminate the infestation from your home completely:

Vacuum Regularly

While a vacuum cannot eliminate an infestation completely, it can be used to keep the numbers from increasing. Use one on your bed and around your home regularly to suck up as many of these critters as you can. This includes the seams, tufts, zippers and trim of beds as well as that of upholstered furniture. Make sure to discard the vacuum bag in the trash can outside to prevent the bugs from entering your home again.

Steam

Bed bugs and their eggs die if they are exposed to temperatures amounting to 122°F. Steam that is about 212°F can kill them instantly. To prevent the temperature from damaging material, apply the steam slowly around mattresses, sofas, bed frames, edges, corners and other places where bed bugs can be. Just make sure you do not apply steam near electrical outlets. Steaming every few days will kill bed bugs naturally.

Protect your Bed

Throwing out your mattress at the first sign of bed bugs is a waste of a perfectly good mattress. Plus, there is no guarantee that doing so will eliminate the problem. The bugs that are left behind will just migrate to the new mattress you put in and you will be back to square one.

Instead, invest in a box spring encasement and a bedbug-proof mattress. These will encase your mattress and the zipper is tiny enough to prevent nymphs from escaping. This way, no bug can either get in or out.

In Conclusion

Bed bugs can become a huge problem if they are not taken seriously from the beginning. To prevent an infestation, use the aforementioned preventative methods and if one has already set in, use drastic methods if you have to such as calling in professional fumigators.

However, if you are on a budget and prefer a DIY approach, choose from Grange Co-op’s wide range of bed bug repellents to see the last of these blood-sucking pests. We also have several pest control products that can keep pests away from your cattle and barn animals.