Bed bugs are tiny little creatures that are almost impossible to spot with the human eye. They are bloodsucking bugs that rapidly reproduce, with a single female bed bug laying around 500 eggs across her lifespan.
Despite being minuscule, bed bugs can cause huge problems when they ingest your home. They are difficult to spot so you may end up sleeping in a bed full of bloodsucking pests without even realizing it. The next morning, you are left with lots of itchy red bites.
In some cases, you will be able to get rid of bed bugs by yourself using some home remedies. However, if they have propagated too much, a bed bug control team is necessary to fully eliminate the tiny creatures and any unhatched eggs.
Where Are Bed Bug Infestations the Most Common?
Bed bugs like to be in places where lots of people live so that they can always get a meal when they’re hungry.
The most common areas of bed bug infestation are:
- Mattresses
- Blankets
- Bed frames
- Piles of bedding or washing
- Underneath carpets
The pesky creepy crawlies can travel up to four meters every minute so they can easily travel from one place to another in your home before you can catch them. This problem can be even worse when you’ve got a small bedroom as the bugs can reach every corner of the room before you can eliminate them.
How to Identify Bed Bugs in Your Home
Spotting bed bugs can be tough but terrible are some tell-tale signs that give away their presence in your home, such as:
- The appearance of red, itchy spots on your skin from bed bug bites
- Clusters of bites in one area of your body
- Small blood spots on your bedsheets from where you’ve been bitten during the night
- Small dark spots on your bedsheet or mattress where the bed bugs have left their feces
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs from Your Home
When the infestation isn’t widespread, you might easily be able to get rid of the bed bugs. Some simple things that you can do are:
- Vacuum the bedsheets and surrounding areas thoroughly. Focus on reaching the areas where they are most likely to hide, such as in small cracks and dark corners. When you’ve finished vacuuming, don’t forget to empty the bag and dispose of the vacuum contents quickly to prevent the bed bugs from crawling out.
- Change your bedsheets and wash the current sheets at a high temperature to kill any bed bugs.
- Tidy around your bedroom. Bed bugs tend to hide in hard-to-reach areas of your room. When your bedroom is cluttered full of things, it makes them harder to spot and more difficult to eliminate.
- Freeze your bedding and clothing to kill any bed bugs with below-zero temperatures. Leave your sheets and clothes in the freezer for a day or two before letting them thaw out and washing them.
- Fill in any cracks and holes in and around your walls where bed bugs love to hide. This makes it harder for them to sneakily hide in your home.