Bed bugs are a kind of parasitic insects that have lived by our side for thousands of years. But that doesn’t mean, that they are great neighbors – bed bug bites don’t transport serious illnesses, but may be a cause of skin rash, allergic symptoms and even lead to psychological problems. That’s why you need to know are there any of these parasites in your house and how to get rid of bed bugs fast.
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1. How to identify bed bugs
There are a lot of different kinds of home parasites, so you need to be able to recognize them from their appearance. Bed bugs are reddish-brown flat hexapod the size of an apple seed in their “hungry” state. There are a few bed bugs symptoms, by which you can identify their presence:
1.1. Where they live
You can see them or products of their vital functions in your bed sheets, clothes, within the furniture or even inside electric sockets.
1.2. How they smell
You can also find the bugs by the smell of rotten raspberries – there are even trained dogs, which are able to find them by it!
1.3. How they feed
You are the only food the insects need – all they feed on is blood. Usually they identify the presence of human by the CO2 concentration around us. It’s difficult to identify them by their bites – they are simple red dots on our body, mainly around your ankles.
2. Why did you get bed bugs
If you’re sure, that you have these nasty parasites, but you’re still wondering, why and how you have gotten them, don’t worry – it may be not your fault. There are literally hundreds of ways, how a bed bug may have gotten into your house, and only one of them can spawn tens and hundreds more. You can get them from work, gym or your friend’s house on your luggage, clothes or even hair!
3. Can you kill the bed bugs once and for all?
When the bugs are indoors, it is very difficult to control them. One female individual is able to produce up to 500 eggs at once! So, even if you know how to eradicate bed bugs, it won’t guarantee, that they won’t appear in your house any time soon. There are methods of bed bug control, that will help you to lower the chance of future infestation, but we will talk about them later.
4. How to kill bed bugs
The most effective and safe method of killing any parasite at all is to call a specialist. Pest control specialists are usually well-trained to find the infested areas, isolate them and destroy the whole population without any risks, including your or your family’s poisoning and any “survivors” of the poison treatment.
But, if you’re lucky to find the bugs on the early stages of their expansion, or if you’re sure, that they are limited to one area in your house, you may be able to cope with this problem by yourself. With the first sights of the infestation you will need to:
4.1. Clean up and make the rearrangement
Swiping away all the bugs and eggs from the places they live is the first step in destroying their population. You surely won’t be able to pick them all out at once, as they usually move very fast, especially in presence of threat. Rearrangement of the furniture will help you to “confuse” the insects and will make them leave their hiding places.
4.2. Check the common hiding spots
There are a number of places in your house that insects really like. They are usually dark, warm and wet places, and you should check them all. Pay the special attention to the insides of your furniture, under the wallpaper, your mattress and bed sheets. Recently, more and more often they occupy the electric sockets, so try to carefully disassemble the nearest one to your bed.
4.3. Treat the room with the agent of your choice
To be sure about the death of all the parasites, you should use some means that will hit an area of infestation as a whole. There are a lot of different substances, including the home remedies to get rid of the bed bugs. If the area you treat is used for sleep or dining (places, where people are the most vulnerable at), be very careful at using the poisonous materials. Clean up after this again, to get rid of all the bodies left behind.
5. Most effective bed bug spray
The bed bugs are a very annoying threat, that’s why there are a lot of chemicals that help to get rid of them. Most of them are from the family of pesticides. Pesticides of different biological activity are often used against a lot of kinds of parasites, from bugs to even plants. So, the main task is to choose the pesticides with the right biological activity.
There are a lot of products, named “Bed Bug Killer”, but from different manufacturers with different formulas. Most of them are “green” and safe, but each of them has their benefits. For example, Killer Green’s one is odorless, Eco Difference’s – all-natural and Harris’s has the longest residual effect. Instead of spray, you can use the Rambo powder, which also has an effect on tick and lice.
To be sure, you should use a couple of different methods, but be sure to use proper protection and be careful with your surroundings after the process.
6. Homemade bed bug spray
If you want to know, how to get rid of bed bugs naturally, then this part is for you. You can actually make a homemade bed bug spray in a number of ways; here are a few of them.
- 1:1 vinegar and water solution proves to be an effective weapon against bedbugs, especially if you’ll spray it directly on them.
- Tea tree oil solution (30-40 drops on a liter) and lavender oil solution (50-60 drops on a liter) seem to have a strong effect on the parasites. They often avoid the areas, carefully sprinkled with these remedies
- Diatomaceous earth (soil, that consists of powder, made out of aquatic organisms) dehydrates the bugs and can be set up as a kind of bed bug traps
7. Bed bug control
One of the hardest things after coping with bed bug infestation is to keep the bugs from coming back. There is a number of options to prevent the parasites from appearing again (or even appearing for the first time):
- Regularly check your beds and mattresses
- Buy a special case for your mattress
- Check your luggage and clothes, especially after long trips
- Be sure to carefully check every used item you buy
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