How to Check a New Pillow for Bedbugs
The mere thought of bedbugs is enough to make most people shiver in disgust. These small insects can invade your home bedding and mattresses, crawling out to feed on you as you sleep. Bedbugs are extremely hardy and resistant to many insecticides. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Examine all new pillows before you take them inside your home. Once bedbugs get inside, they scatter and start breeding, making the extermination process much more difficult.
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Roll up your sleeves to prevent adult bedbugs from crawling up and hitching a ride. Put on rubber gloves. Look closely at both the front and back of the pillow. Adult bedbugs are rice-sized, dark-brown or black bugs. Eggs are light tan or white.
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Run your fingers along the seams of the pillow, lifting the threads to spot bugs hiding under the edge. Look for live bugs or dark, pin-head sized spots of bug excrement indicative of infestation.
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Pour rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle, and spray the front, back and seams of the pillow thoroughly. Lay the pillow in the sun to dry, and repeat the spraying as necessary.
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Tips & Warnings
If you brought the pillows inside before inspecting them, toss them into the clothes dryer. Turn up the heat as high as it will go, and leave the pillows in for two full cycles. The high heat kills eggs, larvae and adult bedbugs.
