Having Bedbugs in your home is like sleeping with the enemy.
How do you know if your home is bedbug-infested?
If you have experienced any of these bedbug indicators, then there is a good chance that they are living in your home.
1. Unexplained Skin Irritation
While their bites are painless, bedbug saliva can sometimes cause an allergic reaction, severe itching, and swollen red welts on the skin. Depending on the person’s sensitivity to the bites, the size of these welts will vary. Welts often appear close together in groups.
2. Brown Sugar-Like Matter and Dark Red Spots on Sheets and Clothing
Brown, grainy, sugar-like substances may be dried blood remains and fecal matter, while dark red spots on sheets and clothing may be digested blood stains from bed bug feedings.
3. Dried Exoskeleton Remains
Bedbug nymphs will shed their skins after each feeding. These small, dark skins will vary in size, and may be less than ½ millimeter to about 4 ½ millimeters in length.
Did you know bedbugs are as ancient as the Egyptian tombs?
These bloodsucking nocturnal pests are more than 3,500 years old and have endured centuries by adapting to human habitats and exploiting the warmth of our dwellings.
How do bedbugs get into your home?
Bedbugs don’t usually have direct access to your house unless you brought them there in the first place.
They enter your home by coming with luggage and furniture items, such as carpets, lamps, tables, and chairs. Once they enter your place, they can roam to various areas, like the windows, pipes, gutters, wiring, and the cracks in your walls.
These pests prefer company, so they stay in spaces where humans frequently stay.
Where do they hide?
Bedbugs love to hide in dark places. They prefer to stay on surfaces made out of wood, fabric, and paper—close to where humans sleep. They also often hide in the folds and seams of couches, mattresses, bed frames, and box springs, under loose carpets and rugs, and in the cracks and creases of luggage and furniture.
These bugs are good at finding the best hiding spots.
What are the health risks of bedbugs?
Though bedbugs are not known to carry disease, they belong to a group of blood-sucking ectoparasites that also include head lice and body lice.
These pests can have negative effects on one’s mental and physical health. Some people experience mild to severe allergic reactions to bedbug bites. They can also affect the mental health of people living in infested homes who experience anxiety and insomnia.
Prevention is the better cure
It is much easier to stop a bedbug infestation before it starts. Here are some tips that can help you prevent bedbugs from invading your home.
Inspect second-hand clothing and furniture
There are exciting deals on pre-loved and used items but having bedbugs in them dampens the excitement.
Before you bring these items into your home, inspect them carefully. Look for any signs of bedbug infestation. Closely look out for adult bedbugs, eggs, and nymphs that may be hiding in creases, folds, cracks, seams, loose areas, and tears. You shouldn’t miss out on signs like brown sugar-like matter or dark red spots. If you find these, you’ve brought home bedbugs!
How to wash clothing with bedbugs
Dealing with bedbugs on clothing requires a careful approach to eliminate and prevent their spread. Here are three steps to wash clothing with bedbugs:
1. Isolate and Segregate
Begin by isolating the infested clothing items. Do not mix them with the uncontaminated laundry to prevent the spread of bedbugs. Place the infested items in a sealed plastic bag immediately after discovering the issue. This helps contain the bedbugs and prevents them from spreading to other areas.
2. High-Heat Wash and Dry
Bedbugs are sensitive to high temperatures so set your washing machine to the hottest water setting that is safe for the fabric, and use a high-heat drying cycle. Bedbugs and their eggs are generally killed at temperatures above 120°F (49°C). Ensure that the entire load, especially the center, reaches this temperature for a sustained period.
3. Inspect Again
After washing and drying, carefully inspect the clothing for any remaining bedbugs or eggs. If any bedbugs are still present, repeat the washing process.
Consider vacuuming the area around the laundry machines and any nearby storage or furniture to remove any potential bedbugs that may have fallen or crawled away. Always follow the care instructions on your clothing labels to avoid damaging fabrics during the high-heat washing and drying process.
4. Always Vacuum Suitcases
After returning from a trip or when buying used luggage, make it a habit to clean out your suitcases immediately by vacuuming them. Always empty the vacuum bag outside your home.
5. Keep Your Home Clean and Clutter-Free
Keep up with the general cleaning and maintenance of your home. Wash all beddings and clothing regularly, to clean out potential hiding and nesting places. An unkept home is a happy home for bedbugs and other crawling pests.
Piles of clothes, boxes, shoes, toys, and other items on surfaces like floors, inside closets, or under beds should always be put away when not needed. Messy piles of stuff are ideal places for the bedbugs to hide.
6. Inspect Furnishings and Beddings Regularly
Open dressers, cabinets, and closets. Look for any crevices where bedbugs can hide in. Inspect your audio and video equipment. Search behind framed paintings and pictures on the wall.
Turn your bed over regularly. Mattresses, bed frames, and box springs are hiding places for these pests. Using bedbug-resistant mattress covers and applying anti-bug products can help as well.
Clean as you search and disrupt their peace. Bugs hate clean!
Get rid of them once and for all
Do-it-yourself bedbug control may work with a lot of patience. However, bedbugs are considered difficult to control because of the following reasons:
- They are often difficult to see in small numbers.
- They easily detect and can resist low-quality and common insecticides.
- They can be easily re-introduced through household items brought into the home.
- There are few products available to control an infestation.
What can you do when bedbug infestation is already present in your home?
A heightened concern of people who currently have bedbugs in their homes is an important part of the control.
Immediate action is the crucial step, like seeking the help of TOPBEST, a trusted name in pest control in the Philippines, that provides service with Malasakit.
With no bedbugs to bother you, you can enjoy a restful sleep every night. It’s your ultimate luxury.
What’s precious to you, TOPBEST protects from pests.