How to find bed bugs at home

After living bed bug free for almost 60 years, the United States citizens are now suffering from a bed bug wave. Bed Bug influxes have increased by more than 500% in the last few years; especially in New York, the current position is very critical.

Bed bugs are actually blood-thirsty insects which can be of size of a pin-head to size of the picture on the penny. They generally come out in night to consume blood from human body.

Bed bugs generally make many red colored bites on the body although; mostly people don’t face any major health problems through their bites. Generally these bites convert into itchy-rashes only and some don’t have any reaction at all. But in some severe cases, bed bugs may cause anaphylactic shock and asthma.

How to find these Bugs at Home?

To cope up with bed bugs, it’s important to first find these as they will not meet you while you walk in your house! You will have to find them from the places where these are hidden. Let’s discuss in detail about how to find bed bugs at home:

• Find out the places where they might hide themselves. As they are nocturnal, it’s easy to find them at night. You can use your magnifying glass and flashlight to see them. Bed bugs usually like hiding in dark places. Areas which you might never think for searching are the ones where you have to search them first. For an example, the box spring is their most preferred hiding place. So you should lift it up and search for bed bugs. You can even cut the box to search them. Bed bugs just love box springs and wooden frames.
• Take apart the bed. Things to search for are bugs themselves and molted and light-brown skins of nymphs. Dark spots of desiccated bed bug usually exist along with mattress or everywhere bugs have inhabited.
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  At times, the gauze fabric which underlies box spring needs to be removed to check for bed bugs and then possible treatment should be applied. Successful treatment of box springs and mattresses isn’t easy so infested components have to be abandoned completely. Crevices and cracks in bed frames need to be examined, particularly if frames are wooden. Bed bugs have attraction of wood and fabric, they don’t like metal or plastic. Headboards hanged on walls should be separated and examined. In places like motels and hotels, area behind headboard is usually the first place of establishment for bugs. Bed bugs can also hide themselves between items stored in beds.
• Empty your dressers and nightstands and observe them in and out, then empty them to examine woodwork underneath. At times, bugs may hide in corners, recesses and cracks.
• Check upholstered sofas and chairs, particularly skirts, seams, crevices and tufts and under cushions. Sofas are the main bed bug hotspots if you use it for sleeping.
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  Check all your furniture like the desks, nightstand, at back of pictures situated on wall. Take all the pictures off from the wall and test back of them.
• Check other regular places also like under or along the edge of wall carpeting particularly, behind furniture and beds, cracks in wooden molding, behind wall-mounts, ceiling-wall junctures; picture frames, under loose wallpaper, inside phones, clocks, smoke detectors and televisions, switch outlets and plates and between clothing stored. The test is to locate all the places where bugs as well as their eggs may exist. Bed bugs have a tendency to come together in definite areas, but it’s frequent to find one or more eggs spread here and there. Perseverance and bright flashlight are provisions for success. Inspectors at times also bring in “flushing agent” (pyrethrum-based) in crevices to assist exposing where the bugs may be hidden. A comprehensive treatment in hotel, apartment or home may take a number of hours or even some days.
• If you locate bed bugs, remain composed and call the professional. Although your first intuition will be to offhand the furniture which you believe may be infected to evade spreading of bed bugs, please avoid that intuition. Commonly usually lift up the discarded furniture and throw away them to stop spreading bugs further. But let the professional do their work, don’t do anything yourself.

How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

• Follow the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) approach which involves numerous tactics like sanitation, preventive measures and chemicals applied in targeted sites.
• Use services of any specialized pest control firm. Experienced companies distinguish between how to work and where to search for bed bugs. Owners and occupants need to help professionals in various ways. Affording admittance for checkup and treatment is necessary, and surfeit clutter should be isolated. In a number of cases, infested box springs or mattresses need to be removed. Bed bugs can scatter all over a building so it’s very important to examine adjoining rooms in the apartments.
• Spray Rubbing Alcohol on bed bugs. It will kill them instantly. Use rubbing alcohol with dish brush to destroy visible eggs. Then call the exterminator.
• Discard infested garments and bedding, as these things can’t be taken care of by insecticides. Smaller items which can’t be washed can be de-infested through heating. Bedbugs also surrender against cold temperatures lower than freezing point; however the chilling period needs to be continued for a minimum of two weeks.
• Vacuum the entire house to eliminate bugs and their eggs from carpet, mattresses, walls etc. Pay special attention to carpet, edges, and seams, of box springs and mattresses, and the outside edge of wall carpets. Then, dispose vacuum contents in sealed waste bag. Carpet steam cleaning can also be useful in killing eggs and bugs which the vacuum may have neglected.
• Patch up the plaster cracks and glue down slackened wallpaper to remove bed bug sites. Destroy the bird nests and wild animal roosts if possible.
  Prevention from bed bugs
• Avoid purchasing second-hand bedding, beds, and furniture. Such items must be closely examined prior purchasing for home.
• Observe headboards and beds for bed bugs during travelling, and lift up luggage off floor.
• Be watchful. Railroad cars, trucks, storage facilities, and warehouses can be infested from bed bugs very often. Familiarity with bed bugs can help in avoiding infestation, or in any case, quick earlier involvement by the professional.