10 Ways To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
Bed bugs are tiny little blood suckers that feast on blood to survive. As horrific as it sounds, bed bugs are very common globally and a bed bug infestation can turn into a nightmarish experience pretty soon if not taken care of. Once infested, the best and the safest thing to do is to make sure you get rid of them completely to avoid further hassle and health risks.
Bed bugs are tiny brown little creatures like fleas which mostly feed during night and stay well hidden in and around your bed during the day time. Because of their size and fast movement, it is very difficult to catch or kill bed bugs easily. They usually hide themselves anywhere and everywhere including mattresses, head boards, cracks and crevices in furniture and walls etc. These tiny nuisances reproduce quickly and survive for prolonged time periods if not properly and methodically killed for good. Let’s discuss a few ways to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress completely.
1.) Pest Management To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
Once you have realized that your home has an active bed bug infestation, it is advisable to act fast and not ignore it. Once you have targeted the affected areas, you can go through an extensive process of stripping down your bed, sanitizing it properly and using chemicals and other pesticides to kill these bugs. An integrated pest management such as this can be done by yourself, but it needs intricate work or find and kill which is best left to professionals, as to completely get rid of them you have to make sure you have killed every last one of them.
2.) Heating to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress
Bed bugs are susceptible to die at extreme temperatures. Although freezing your mattress or as a matter of fact anything big doesn’t seem like a very plausible idea, exposing your mattress to enough heat will do the trick. There are different ways as to how this can be done. You can wrap your mattress completely in a thick sealed plastic sheet and leave your mattress exposed to direct sunlight for a few days. If you are residing in colder regions where the sunlight isn’t quite heating things up, you can use steam which is also very effective. Many laundries nowadays have bed bug services which are noted for their techniques of preventing an infestation and getting rid of an already lurking bed bug problem. Top it off with non-toxic bed bug sprays such as diatomaceous earth, then seal it in plastic and leave alone. You can try clean later to get rid of the smell and discomfort.
3.) Steam To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
One of the easiest ways to get rid of bed bugs on a mattress is to expose them to a lot of steam thoroughly and patiently. Steam is easily accessible whether you buy a steam generating machine from your local hardware store or use electric kettles or anything similar fitted with tubes to channel the steam pointing wherever you want, either way, it works fine. Ensure that you point the steam source all over including every tiny cracks and crevice to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress.
4.) Vacuuming To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
You can also vacuum clean your mattress completely to remove all bed bugs. But make sure you cover every seam, crevice, edges and tufts of the mattress thoroughly. Any vacuum will work well as long as it has a good suction feature. If your vacuum is a little limp, perhaps it’s worth investing in a new one from somewhere like Vacuumshop. This means you can clean your mattress with ease and use it for the rest of your home too. After vacuuming remove the filter and seal it in a trash bag. This is crucial so as to not let anyone of those tiny bugs out. Once vacuumed and sealed, discard the bag properly. HEPA filters in vacuum cleaners are particularly very beneficial for this purpose.
5.) Repair works To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
If you have open cracks, holes and stitches in your mattress or if you have a bed head board which has even the tiniest holes and crevices almost negligible to naked eyes, they need immediate attention. Once you clean out these areas with steam, pesticides or otherwise, make sure you fill up every last one of these tiny holes and cracks in and around your bed and mattress.
6.) Insecticides To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
Mattresses are tricky places for bed bugs to hide. They can find corners and crevices which are impossible to see with your eyes, and will keep coming back for more blood! Most commonly available aerosol sprays do nothing more than scatter these tiny bugs all over the place (no, bug sprays don’t kill bed bugs). Pyrethroids or other similar kinds of residual insecticides are used in such cases as spot treatment after fixating on the bug infested areas. Insecticides are not always completely efficient and might need repetition of the process after a week or two.
7.) Discarding To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
When bed bug infestation turns nightmarish and every usual options of killing them seems like a colossal effort considering it’s a mattress we are talking about, the next best option is to discard the infected items but only after proper inspection of where else it has spread to. Bed bugs spread easily to nearby furniture, wall cracks, and can even find a resting spot behind loose wallpapers. Also while discarding infected items, you should ensure you don’t just leave it out in the open for others to face the wrath of bed bugs. Take necessary actions to discard them systematically without posing a threat to others.
8.) Silica Gel To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
Silica gel crystals are easily available and are also effective if you are planning to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress. Crush these crystals and spread all over your bed, mattress covering as much space as you can. These grinded crystals of silica gel stick to bugs strongly and don’t shake off easily. Gradually the bugs dehydrate and die. This process is effective for killing of newly hatched eggs to, by repeating the process once every few days for a couple of times. Special precaution should be taken as silica gel is harmful and involves health risks if inhaled.
9.) Tea-tree oil To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
Tea tree oils are said to be very fruitful when it comes to killing bed bugs on mattress. Mix equal amount of tea-tree oil with water and spray thoroughly all over your mattress and ensure you vacuum and wash them properly before use.
10.) Professional Help To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
The last resort but also the most advisable one of the lot is to seek professional help. Bed bugs are tricky and need intricate sanitizing and treatment procedures which are better left to professionals. There are a huge range of professional services out there and picking the right one can be critical to the quality of service and the correct service you choose. Pest control services are a good place to start. A friend recommended termite control los angeles and from what he told me he couldn’t of been more grateful to them. They provided a comprehensive service and would come back if the treatment of their mattress did not last as long as advertise, free of charge. He tells me the service so quick and easy as well. Didn’t take longer then 30 minutes.
If all else fails, a new bed might be required and I cannot recommend Revival Beds more. They are always so approachable and accommodating.
