Bed bugs
Signs of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are human parasites. They are crawling insects (cannot fly) but can be spread on clothing, luggage, furniture, books, mattresses and bed-linen etc. This way any household can be invaded by bed bugs.
As their name suggests they are usually found in bedrooms, where they hide close to where people sleep, in cracks and crevices in bed frames, furniture, behind skirting boards and wallpaper.
They are not thought to transmit any serious diseases to humans, but their blood feeding can cause severe irritation. The bites often produce hard white swellings which may distinguish them from the red marks usually associated with flea bites.
How to control an infestation
Once you know you have bed bugs, you need to keep them contained so you can get rid of them. A quick and easy way to trap bed bugs is with your vacuum. Run the vacuum over any possible hiding places daily including youur:
- Bed and mattress
- Skirting boards
- carpets
Once you have vacuumed:
- Seal up the vacuumed contents into a plastic bag and throw it away in your wheelie bin.
- Then thoroughly clean out the vacuum.
- Seal up all your linens and affected clothes including cushions, throws and any other soft furnishings in plastic bags until you can wash them.
- Then put them on the highest possible temperature setting in the washer and dryer. If an item can’t be washed, put it in the dryer for 30 minutes at the highest heat setting for the garment or item.
- Do not remove items to another room as this will spread the infestation.
- Anything that can’t be treated in the washer and dryer, place in a plastic bag. Leave it in the room until the Pest Control Service is fully operational again and a treatment can be booked.
- Do not sleep in another bedroom as this will spread the infestation. Repeat the above steps if necessary.
There are a range of products on the market via the internet for home delivery, which you can use to treat the bedbugs yourself. If you are using such methods yourself you must be careful to follow all the safety instructions.