Easy Ways to Identify and Get Rid Of Bed Bugs Quickly

Bed bugs are parasite types of insects as they live on human or animal blood. As they come out at night, you may get bitten by them while sleeping. Actually, bed bugs are small in size like apple seeds but get reddish after drinking the blood.

Though they are not transmitting diseases but may cause health issues like skin rashes and different allergic problems. Besides, bed bugs can develop a full generation within 2-4 months which may create a mess in your house. Also, bed bugs are much more harmful to your pets. So, you have to take effective steps to get rid of bed bugs quickly.

Most people think dirty homes are the main cause of bed bugs, which is not true at all. Even if the home is clean, bed bugs can come to your home in different ways.

If you are spending a night at a bed bugs-infested hotel, they may come with your luggage. In fact, the same infestation can happen when someone comes to your home with luggage that includes bed bugs. Besides, bringing up new furniture or beddings may bring bed bugs to your home. Further, your home may get infected if your neighbor has bed bugs.

Bed bugs are small in size, like apple seeds. When they are done with feeding, they come reddish due to the color of the blood. So, it may be difficult to identify bed bugs.

But, if you went to bed normally but got up with itchy areas in your body, it means bed bugs bite you during sleep. Besides, you may find blood stains or rust stains on the bed sheet. Bloodstains are the bleeding of the skin, and the rusty stains are the excrement of these bed bugs. To confirm the signs of bed bugs, you have to check the bedding, books, and old furniture.

Bed bugs can come from any bed bug-infested places you visit. It could be public transportation, a hotel, a neighbor’s house, a friend’s house, and so on. As bed bugs can ride on lots of items like bags, luggage, furniture, beddings, foams, etc., they can easily spread to new places.

Imagine you are spending a night at a bed bugs-infested hotel or someone comes to your home with luggage that includes bed bugs. In both cases, your house can get infested with bed bugs. In fact, bed bugs can come because of using public transportation. Also, if your neighbor has bed bugs, your home can be infested.

Bed bugs get activated at night for feeding and remain hidden during the daytime. According to the researchers, bed bugs usually hide near the blood hosts, such as cracks of bed frames, crevices of beds, under the carpet and wallpaper. These are the common bed bug hiding places, and you can examine these areas for confirmation. As these wingless insects can’t fly, they prefer hiding near the blood hosts.

On top of that, these bed bugs are flat in shape. As a result, they can hide in little spaces such as cracks and space between the mattress and bed. So, whether your room is clean or dirty, bed bugs can hide any small spaces near the blood host.

Bed bugs get propagated by a traumatic insemination process. In this process, males inject the sperm into the hemocoel and fertilize the eggs by traveling around the bed bug’s bloodstream. As soon as the eggs become fertilized, female bugs lay eggs. The most interesting thing is, bed bugs can’t lay more than 1 egg per day, whereas flea bites can lay 20-25 eggs per day. 

When the eggs hatch, it looks like an adult, but these nymphs have to go through 5 steps to become mature adults. Once they mature, they begin mating and reproduce with a new generation. As the whole process takes 8-10 weeks, bed bugs take at least 2-3 months to reproduce in a new generation.

As the bed bugs get activated at night for feeding, they bite humans and animals while sleeping. At first, bug bites are painless, but it feels itchy when you get up. So, bed bug bites may not hamper your sleep but cause health issues like skin rashes and different allergic problems.

Bed bugs have a mouth like straw, and they use it to take blood from humans and animals. They do it for 3 to 8 minutes to take the blood. Once they are done with feeding, they crawl away and remain hidden during the daytime.

Bed bugs hate different types of smell from ingredients like Linalool, vinegar, garlic, etc. Let’s dig into these ingredients.

Linalool

It is a naturally produced scent that is found in multiple plants. In fact, Linalool is a commercial pesticide that works effectively against lots of insects and arachnids, including bed bugs.

Vinegar

Vinegar includes acetic acid that contains a strong scent. This strong scent can harm the nervous system of bed bugs and is effective at repelling them. That is why bed bugs hate vinegar. 

Garlic

Garlic produces allicin which is a strong scent for bed bugs. In fact, allicin is produced while cutting the garlic, and it gets in the air quickly. As this scent is strong for bedbugs, they heat the smell of garlic as well. 

Bed bug bites come with multiple symptoms like red spots, itching, and burning sensations. As bug bites excrete anesthetic before biting, the bite becomes painless. Besides, bug bite is much similar compared to other insect bites. As a result, it is difficult to understand the symptoms of bed bug bites.

These symptoms will be recognizable after a couple of days. Because bug bites create rough lines and can result in continuous itching. Sometimes, bug bites may cause allergic reactions, and the red spot becomes darker. But, never scratch these spots as excessive scratching may cause bleeding.

As bed bugs don’t have wings and they crawl to move, they take time to spread. But, they can ride on your clothes, luggage, and furniture. For example, if you are spending a night at a bed bugs-infested hotel, they may come with your luggage. So, they can infest a new area quicker than their moving speed.

On top of that, bringing up new furniture or beddings may bring bed bugs to your home. Also, these bed bugs can move through ceilings and pipes. As a result, your home can get infected if your neighbor has bed bugs.

There are multiple treatments like vacuuming, steaming, freezing, heat treatment, etc. you can go for to get rid of bed bugs. Let’s have a look at the details of these treatments.

Vacuuming

Vacuum is the most effective treatment to capture bed bugs. But, you have to follow some steps. First, you need a strong suction setting. Strong settings will help to capture bugs in the cracks of the bed frame. Next, vacuum on these areas where they are denser.

Once you’re done with a higher density area, go for slower settings to vacuum the soft areas like mattresses and under the carpet. Finally, keep sure you vacuum the areas completely as one female has the ability to infest the whole house. 

Steaming

Streaming works great as bed bugs can’t tolerate high heat. But, you have to buy a commercial-level streamer for 100% results. Besides, keep the temperature above 160° because bed bugs can survive below the temperature. 

One thing you have to keep in mind, above 190° can damage the fabrics of bed sheets. So, it is better to keep the temperature between the ranges.

Freezing

Freezing is another quick way to get rid of bed bugs. You can freeze multiple things like books, clothes, shoes, pictures, wallpaper, etc. Before freezing, wrap these things with plastic and make sure the temperature is below 0 degrees. 

Remember one thing, don’t put electronic items in the freezer. Freezing may destroy bed bugs, but it will harm electronic circuits.

Heat Treatments

With the help of heat treatment, you can get rid of bed bugs in a single day. In this treatment, you have to put all your infected things in the heating chamber. Then, set up the lethal temperature and heat up for a couple of minutes. This treatment can completely kill all stages of bed bugs.

You can spray good-quality aerosols or insecticides on your bed to get rid of bed bugs. As the bed is not suitable for liquid treatment like a boric acid solution, it is better to use sprays for the bed. 

Most of the spray you may find in the market is not good enough for killing bed bugs. So, you need to use a good quality spray so that you can kill bed bugs effectively. Besides, if you have an allergic issue, be sure this spray is not allergic.

It completely depends on the treatment you are using. If you use quick treatments like heat treatment or vacuum cleaner, you can get rid of bed bugs in a couple of hours. Also, you can go for different liquid treatments to get rid of bed bugs quickly. 

On the other hand, if you’re using time-consuming treatments like steaming or freezing, it may take 2-3 days to provide 100% results. Using a high-quality spray can also give you fast and effective results.

For preventing reinfestation, you have to take some steps like using plastic boxes instead of cardboard, keep the floor clean, and ensure 100% dis-infestation. As bed bugs can hide easily on cardboard and bed cracks, you have to clean them to prevent reinfestation. 

If you want to prevent spreading, you have to clean the infested room properly. Because bed bugs can easily spread through clothes, bags, and furniture.

No, it is not wise to throw out a mattress as it can spread bed bug infestation. It is better to strip the bed lines and wash out the mattress with hot water. Otherwise, call a pest control professional for treatments.

Most people think throwing an infested mattress or furniture may help to get rid of bed bugs. But, these things can spread infestation quickly, and this way is not so effective.

As bed bugs can spread quickly through clothes, bags, furniture, shoes, etc., your room needs to be treated properly to avoid infestation. Bed bugs can’t travel much with crawling, which results in slow spreading. But, bed bugs can travel through different mediums, which may cause faster infestation.

It is better to examine your rooms as your neighbor gets infested. Then, use different treatments to avoid spreading into others rooms and get rid of bed bugs quickly and effectively.