Bed Bug Treatments

Bed bugs are small, wingless animals that feed on the blood of humans and other mammals. These parasitic creatures are crafty and hard to eradicate, but it IS possible to defeat the bed bug with a little know-how.

Considerations

Before you can treat a bed bug infestation, you must first confirm that this is truly what you have. This may sound obvious, but the bites of bed bugs look very similar to those left by mosquitoes or fleas, and confusion between the insects is common.
As such, it's better to identify a bed bug infestation by finding the creatures themselves. To do so, first search the bed and other sleeping areas thoroughly. Look for the tiny, blackish bugs in bed linen creases, mattress cracks, box springs, curtain pleats, and anywhere else it would be easy for a small creature to hide. Additionally, bed bugs often leave dark brown or red fecal matter in their wake, and you might see this on bed linens or walls. Search for live, crawling bugs to ensure that the infestation is active.
After you've confirmed that bed bugs have indeed invaded your space, it's time to take action against them.

Self Eradication

To start, thoroughly clean the infested room AND other rooms in which people sleep in the home. Remove all unnecessary clutter from the room and pull furniture away from walls, when possible. Both of these actions will make it hard for bed bugs to find a safe hiding place.
Then, use a powerful vacuum to suck bed bugs and their eggs from crevices. Remove all bed linens and wash them in very hot water. Bed linens that cannot be washed should be put into a hot dryer at a high temperature. If linens cannot withstand this treatment, either, it is wise to dispose of them and buy new bedding.
Go the extra mile by encasing your mattress, box spring and pillows in special allergen bags. Fill in any holes or cracks in your home with caulk to ensure that bugs won't return.

Professional Eradication

While a thorough cleaning is an excellent step toward eradicating bed bugs, it is often necessary to also use pesticides to ensure that bugs really do hit the road for good. You might want to hire a licensed exterminator in your area to do this.
Should you choose to apply pesticide on your own, however, you will need to make a choice between several options:
1) Insecticidal dusts, like boric acid, cause the bugs' outer coats to dry out very quickly, in turn killing them. Most formulations of this nature are applied in cracks and crevices of the infested area.
2) Contact insecticides, like Suspend, kill bed bugs immediately after they come into contact with them. Although this method is the fastest, it can also be the most difficult, because bed bugs simply learn to avoid the offending product.
3) Insect growth regulators, like Gentrol, make it difficult for bed bugs to reproduce. While this method can stop an infestation from spreading, it does not usually kill bugs already in existence. For this reason, IGRs are often used in conjunction with another type of pesticide.

Effects

If you do dispose of bed linens or bedroom furniture, make sure that you encase them in garbage bags and label them clearly as being infected. This helps to ensure that bed bugs do not spread to your neighbors!
Additionally, remember that you can take bed bugs with you. If you choose to stay away from home during the bed bug eradication, it is entirely possible that your insect infestation will follow you to your hotel or friend's home. To avoid this fate, leave all linens and wash pajamas, slippers and other clothing in very hot water.

Warning

Insecticides are poisonous and can cause death. Therefore, it is vital to thoroughly read all instructions and to follow them to the letter. Store these products in their original containers out of the reach of children and pets.

Resources

• Identify Bed Bugs