Bed bugs can remain undetected and lay eggs in walls and crevices, box springs, cabinets, suitcases, carpets, books, baseboards, clothing and behind picture frames. Comforters are also inviting to bed bug populations.
Place Items in Plastic Containers or Plastic Bags
Bed bugs do not like to climb or stay on smooth plastic materials. Placing small items in plastic containers or in sealed heavy-duty plastic bags will prevent bed bugs from infesting the items.
Bedbugs are attracted to heat, so an electric blanket won't ward them off, unfortunately, and it's not hot enough to kill them.
Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed. Dark spots (about this size: •), which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would. Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger. Live bed bugs.
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.
Comforters are also inviting to bed bug populations. To control bed bugs on a comforter, put it in your dryer on high heat. This helps by killing eggs, nymphs and adults.
Although raw, unprocessed feathers can contain modest levels of dust-mite allergen, feather-processing techniques that involve washing and drying remove all detectable dust-mite allergen.
Blood Orange Oil
This essential oil is proven to be one of the most effective solutions when bed bugs are the matter as it can kill the pest successfully.
Heat is non-toxic, and can kill all bed bug life stages including bed bug eggs. However, heat treatment of any kind (except your home clothes dryer) is still relatively expensive and has no residual (long lasting) activity. The lack of residual activity means that bed bugs can re-infest again the day after treatment.
DO NOT move yourself or your furniture from room to room. Bed bugs will not go away if you sleep in another room. Instead, they will follow you and create new colonies wherever you move.
Studies have shown that bed bugs, including their eggs, will die when exposed to temperatures of 113°F (45°C) or higher for an extended period. Most washing machines have settings that allow you to choose hot water, which typically ranges between 130°F to 140°F (54°C to 60°C).
Diatomaceous Earth. DE or Diatomaceous Earth made using fossilized algae is found effective in repelling not just bed bugs, but cockroaches, and ants too. Its odor is something that all these pests hate and so you can easily repel them using this powder.
Pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides that act like pyrethrins. Both compounds are lethal to bed bugs and can flush bed bugs out of their hiding places and kill them.
Some bed bug products are like additives for regular laundry detergents. They promise additional success rate, but actually, any laundry detergent can handle the same task. If possible, also use a dryer set for at least 30 minutes.
Essential oils. While essential oils like tea tree, lavender, and peppermint are popularly recommended for DIY bed bug treatments due to their strong scents and supposed insect-repellent properties, there is not much scientific evidence to support their effectiveness in eradicating bed bug infestations.
So, what is the main cause of bed bugs? Travel is widely recognized as the most common source of bed bug infestations. Often unbeknownst to the traveler, bed bugs will hitchhike on people, clothing, luggage, or other personal belongings and be accidentally transported to other properties.
Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: These are among the most common insecticides used against bed bugs. Pyrethrins, derived from chrysanthemum flowers, kill bed bugs on contact, while synthetic pyrethroids provide longer-lasting effects.
While some people believe that the strong smell of VapoRub might repel bed bugs, there is no reliable data to support this claim.
If bed bugs have one weakness, it's that they're intolerant of extremely high or low temperatures. Washing clothes and bedding at the highest possible setting followed by drying for at least 30 minutes at high heat should do the trick. You can also freeze clothing or other objects you suspect of being infested.
As the tests show, down and feathers are not on the house dust mite's menu. This leads to the conclusion: it is the humans that the mites feed on – not the down and feathers. Interestingly, research showed that house dust mites are too large to penetrate into the tickings which encase down- and feather-filled bedding.
Bed bugs love to cuddle up inside pillows. Even if you have a spotless living space, it's possible to unknowingly pick up a few hitchhikers while traveling and carry them home. All of a sudden, you now have a serious bed bug problem, infesting furniture, mattresses, and even pillows, where you lay your very own head.