MATTRESS 101: BED HYGIENE - HOW TO GET RID OF NASTY BED BUGS

All that glitters is not gold - bed bugs included. If you aren’t familiar with this bug, consider yourself lucky. They absolutely love nothing more than to infest your mattress - typically by coming home in your luggage. The most frequent sources of bed bugs are in fact related to travelling or bringing home items that have been previously owned by someone else. 

If you, too, have come across bed bugs in your sanctuary, we can assure you that the situation is controllable. And if you have yet to confront these creepy crawlers in your home we're doing our best to keep you prepared - sometimes they hit you when you least expect it... Read on to get your home bed bug free!

(Image via Pinterest)

Reduce any clutter

Firstly you’ll want to begin by removing all your personal items, things like plush toys, blankets, electronics, etc) and anything you don’t permanently keep in your bedroom. It is best to put everything in plastic bags to ensure the bugs aren’t transferred around to other areas of the house. Next, you’ll need to throw all your garments and linens in the wash as insecticide cannot kill bed bugs on clothes and sheets. They’ll need to be laundered in water at 48 degrees minimum. However if for some reason you do not have the option to wash the clothing, putting them in a hot dryer for several minutes may also help to kill the bugs. Next, it is best to take apart your bed frame to reach any areas the bed bugs may be hiding when cleaning. Shine a light through the fabric (if your bed frame is upholstered) to get a good look at whether or not bugs are hiding beneath the fabrics. You may want to consider a mattress protector as bed bugs cannot exit or enter them.

Remove your drawers

Drawers are a typical place that bed bugs like to hide in, so remove all the drawers from your desk, and pull your furniture away from the wall to make them easier to clean and to inspect any areas in which the bed bugs may be hiding.

Clean

Now it’s time to clean. Make sure to scrub any contaminated surfaces with a very firm and coarse brush to remove any eggs that are stuck there. Proceed to vacuum the room thoroughly, vacuum any little crevice as bed bugs can and will hide absolutely anywhere. As well as vacuuming these little crevices encourages a greater penetration of the insecticide. It is usual for bed bugs to grip as tightly as possible the surfaces they are on, so ensure you vacuum scraping the vacuum over the infested areas to reach the bed bugs and pull them off the surfaces they are clinging to. Spray your liquid insecticide and bug sprays on all possibly infested areas.

Caulk and Seal

Caulk and seal any holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and lastly, fill cracks around baseboards and moulding to further reduce potential areas of infestation.