The phrase no renter or homeowner wants to mutter—“I think we have bed bugs.”
While these pesky critters can be quite a nuisance in your life, acting quickly can help you mitigate the problem and prevent the infestation from spreading throughout the home or building.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how to get rid of bed bugs, signs you might have an infestation and how to avoid getting them in the first place.
Before we discuss how to kill bed bugs and get rid of an infestation, it’s important to know a little bit more about these insects, their behaviors and their characteristics. This way, it may be easier to spot an infestation and mitigate any potential issues they might cause.
Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown, wingless insects known to bite humans and other animals at night. These insects are not exclusive to just one area—they are found all over the world, across different climates and geographies.
So, what do bed bugs do? Why are they so bothersome? They feed every few days by puncturing human or animal skin to draw blood, often while the host is sleeping. Interestingly, their saliva contains an anesthetic that prevents pain, allowing them to feed for several minutes while undetected.
Those who end up with an infestation seemingly out of nowhere often wonder, how do bed bugs start?
Bed bugs can be introduced to your space after bringing home something exposed to a bed bug infestation elsewhere. Some common ways this might occur are purchasing secondhand clothes or furniture or returning home from travels.
Additionally, if you live in an apartment complex, they can also spread between individual units.
Bed bugs are drawn to body warmth and odor, as well as carbon dioxide, which helps them know that there is a viable host nearby.
As such, they typically live on or around sleeping areas, where humans spend a good amount of time. This includes mattresses, headboards, bed frames, linens, the carpet beneath a bed near baseboards or inside loose clutter and items in bedrooms.
There’s a common bed bug myth that they only live on mattresses. However, you may find bed bugs throughout the home or in public spaces, lurking underneath wall hangings and bus seats, around door and window seams, between cracks in walls and furniture seams or even behind loose wallpaper.
Can you see bed bugs? What exactly do they look like compared to other insects you might find in the home?
In general, bed bugs are quite small, roughly the size of an apple seed. It’s often hard to spot them, and people may not realize they have mattress bed bugs until they start to notice bite marks on their skin.
When learning how to find bed bugs, you should know that their shape and appearance can change depending on their feeding schedule. When unfed, they are flat and oval-shaped, but they become bloated or balloon-like when fed.
As mentioned above, bed bugs are most often spread when they are unknowingly carried into the home. They can attach to and easily hide in luggage, soft-sided bags or purses, clothing, secondhand furniture or other items that have been exposed to an infestation.
People often think poor hygiene or bad housekeeping causes bed bugs. However, this is simply not the case. Even people with clean and tidy homes or five-star luxury accommodations can become infested. That said, it may be more difficult to identify and eradicate the issue in a cluttered space, where the insects have more hiding places.
Spotting physical bed bugs in your home isn’t the only way to tell that you have an infestation. In fact, it’s common for people to detect the problem after noticing itchy bite marks on their skin.
Another sign of a bed bug infestation is seeing dark, reddish stains on the sheets or mattress, which could be the excrement bed bugs leave behind or blood from getting crushed. Finally, you may notice yellowish skins or shells scattered about, which bed bugs shed and leave behind throughout their life cycle.
When you notice the first signs of an infestation, it’s best to act quickly to keep the bed bugs from spreading throughout your home.
Below, we’ll discuss the best way to get rid of bed bugs in further detail. However, here is a brief overview of the quick-acting bed bug treatments you can use to kill them, including:
The quicker you can respond to a bed bug infestation, the better. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do about bed bugs in a safe and effective manner.
Step 1: Figure Out What’s Infested
Once you suspect you have a bed bug problem, the first thing to do is thoroughly inspect your home to determine which rooms or objects are infested. Start in the area where you first noticed signs of infestation and work your way outward.
Remember, bed bugs are very small and can hide in tight spaces, which makes them hard to detect. Be sure to inspect the corners or cracks in a bed frame, behind the tags of bedding and under the mattress or box spring.
Look for live bed bugs, their droppings, eggs and molted skins to identify where they’re living and which items or rooms need to be treated.
Step 2: Stop the Spread
The next step is to contain the infestation to keep bed bugs from spreading to other parts of the house or apartment.
The easiest way to do so is to vacuum up any bed bugs you see, as well as pass the vacuum over common hiding places like carpets, rugs, furniture cushions and curtains. For tight, hard-to-reach places, you might use the crevice tool on the vacuum or a handheld steamer.
Tidy up any clutter or potential bed bug hiding places, throwing away what you can. Avoid moving items from infested rooms into other areas of the house without first placing them in a sealed bag.
Seal any loose cracks or seams the bugs could use to travel to other areas, like tightening light switch panels or caulking gaps in window and door seals.
Step 3: Kill the Bed Bugs
Wash and dry any linens or clothing items that appear infested at the highest temperatures possible to kill the bugs.
For other items that cannot be washed, put them in a sealed bag and place them outside or in the freezer, leaving them there for at least a few months until they are all dead.
If you’re not able to clean an item safely, you’ll need to dispose of it. Put it in a sealed bag before throwing the item in the trash to keep the infestation from spreading.
You can take things one step further by using an insecticide to kill any bed bugs that remain. Look for products registered with the EPA that are meant to be used on bed bugs for safety and best results.
Step 4: Monitor and Inspect
You may not eradicate all bed bugs from your home on the first try, and this process can take a while to complete.
Be patient and thorough when completing the steps, and continue to monitor your bedroom and living spaces for further signs before assuming they’re completely gone.
Getting rid of bed bugs can be frustrating, especially if the process ends up taking longer than you anticipated. To ensure quick and effective treatment, avoid these common mistakes that can prolong the issue.
Unfortunately, bed bugs won’t simply go away on their own. There’s no such thing as ‘ignorance is bliss’ when it comes to figuring out how to eradicate bed bugs. The longer you ignore the infestation, the harder it is to get rid of.
When you notice initial signs of an infestation, thoroughly inspect the area and common hiding places to look for further evidence of bed bugs. Once confirmed, complete each step listed above to control the problem.
Another potential issue is improper treatment methods that only cause the infestation to spread. One of the most common mistakes is moving infested items from one room to another during cleaning, which may introduce the insects to new, previously infestation-free areas.
It’s also easy to overlook bed bugs and signs of infestation, especially for a smaller outbreak. As a result, the problem may go on longer than it should until it becomes more noticeable.
Don’t just do a quick glance or once-over of the suspected area. Really pay attention to the smaller hiding spaces and take any potential signs of their presence seriously.
Some may assume the only way to get rid of the infestation is to throw away any items exposed to bed bugs. However, this isn’t always the case.
Bedding, linens, clothing and other items that can be thrown in the washer and dryer are often salvageable. Sometimes, an item cannot be easily cleaned, and disposal is the only option. But this isn’t true for every item in an infested home.
The above steps can help you control a bed bug problem on your own. But if you’re unable to get rid of them completely and the infestation becomes severe, you’ll need to contact a professional pest control service to get the job done.
If you’re renting, your landlord may require you to contact a pest control company from the first moment you discover the infestation.
Look for a provider that is experienced in handling bed bugs. They often use specialized equipment, pesticides and techniques that are unknown to you, helping you tackle the issue head-on.
Want to learn how to avoid bed bugs, not just get rid of an infestation? The following tips offer some practical suggestions to keep bed bugs from your mattress and home.
Unnecessary clutter in your bedroom can give bed bugs more hiding spaces and make it easier for them to lurk in your home undetected.
Letting clothes pile up on the floor, not washing your sheets on a regular basis, or leaving other clutter and junk accumulating near and around your bed can create a breeding ground for bed bugs.
It’s best to place unused items in sealed storage bins to keep them protected against potential infestations. Plus, it will make it easier for you to eradicate the issue should you find bed bugs in your home.
Be aware that any time you bring home a thrifted or secondhand item, you could be bringing along some unwanted visitors.
This is especially true for soft-sided items like bags and clothing, as it’s easier for bed bugs to cling to the fabric and be transported into your home.
You can still purchase used items, but make sure to thoroughly inspect them for any signs of bed bugs before bringing them inside.
There are many reasons to clean your bedroom and living spaces regularly, like getting rid of dust mites from your mattress. Preventing a large-scale bed bug infestation is another advantage of regular cleaning.
Vacuum the floors and around moldings and door or window seams at least once a week, and clean out the canister or dispose of the bag immediately.
It’s also a good idea to wash your clothes, linens and other soft fabrics frequently, placing them in a hot dryer if possible, which can help kill any bed bugs that might be lingering on your items.
There are also some helpful bed bug travel tips that will keep you from bringing home an unwanted souvenir from your trip.
Even if you’re staying in luxury or five-star accommodations, be sure to review the bed linens, mattress, bed frame and other hiding spots upon checking in. Again, you’re looking for potential bed bug warning signs like droppings, the yellow skins they shed and leave behind, or the bugs themselves.
It’s also a good idea to keep your luggage on an elevated rack, avoid putting your clothing in the dresser or closet, and keep all bags and purses off the beds.
There are also some bed bug prevention products you can use that will make it harder for pests to take over your sleeping environment.
Consider using mattress or pillow protectors that completely zip up so they remain pest-free and hygienic, even in the event that bed bugs get into your home.
Before you actually spot the insect, some common signs and symptoms of bed bugs include small brown spots on bedding (their excrement), itchy bites on exposed skin, and pale yellow skins that they shed and leave behind. It’s also possible to smell a sweet or musty odor near your bed and mattress.
Bed bugs spread by attaching to soft surfaces like fabrics, clothing, bedding and textiles in one room and being carried to another part of the house. They can also travel on their own by slowly crawling from one room to the next or climbing onto a person and being taken to the next room.
There are home remedies for bed bugs that you can do on your own, like the steps we mentioned in this guide. However, the severity and duration of the infestation may require you to contact a professional, such as if you’re unable to get rid of bed bugs on mattresses after completing the designated treatments.
Getting rid of bed bugs generally takes a few weeks. However, it can take upwards of a few months, depending on the extent of the infestation and how you go about treating it.
Bed bug bites can be irritating and itchy, but they are typically not considered harmful or dangerous. Bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, though some people may experience allergic reactions or have more intense symptoms than others. Any person who experiences severe swelling, itching or other unusual symptoms from bed bug bites should seek medical attention right away.