How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

6 min readNov 30, 2019

Bed bugs are common around the world. Unfortunately, the rates of bedbug infestation shave seen a dramatic upsurge since the 1980s. The dramatic rise in bed bug infestations is believed to be due to increased travel and immigration from the third-world, as well as the popularity of shopping in thrift stores. In this guide we explain the best ways to get rid of pesky bed bugs in your home.

bed bug front view — This is what a bed bug looks like

Bedbug Bites

People often don’t realize they have a bed bug infestation, blaming the welts and itching to something like mosquitoes. In order to confirm whether it’s bedbug bites, you need to find and identify them.

Their bite will saw through your skin, and bedbugs inject a pain-killing anticoagulant, so you won’t know you’re being attacked. Bed bug bites usually cause swelling with no red spot, however, if many bedbugs attack and feed on a small area, red spots could appear after the swelling goes down. Bed bugs go after exposed skin, usually on your face, neck, and arms while you sleep.

Bed bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide you exhale and by body warmth. They only feed about once a week, but when a bed bug is hungry, it will leave its hiding place in search of blood. It will return to its hiding place after feeding or if it’s exposed to light.

The good news is, while bed bug bites can be painful and annoying, they’re not known to spread disease.

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Bedbugs are easy to identify; about the size and shape of an apple seed. They are wingless, have flat, brown bodies, but after feeding on blood, their bodies will swell and become reddish in color. Bed bugs feed entirely on blood and can survive for a full year between feedings.

Bedbugs could be mistaken for other small insects, such as small cockroaches, carpet beetles or booklice. However, when the temperatures are warm and bedbugs are active, their movement is ant-like, and they have a nasty smell when crushed.

Bed bugs feed entirely on human blood and can survive for a full year between feedings.

Bed bugs in different sizes — Bed bug appearance: from baby bed bug to adult bed bugs

Immature bed bugs will shed their skin five times, requiring a feast of blood each time. Under good conditions, bed bugs can be fully developed adults in as little as a month. Bedbugs can’t fly, but they do scurry very quickly over walls, the floor, and even the ceiling. Female bed bugs will lay hundreds of eggs at a time, and can produce three or more generations every year.

Do you have an bed bug problem? Hiring a pest management professional (PMP) is the best choice for controlling bed bugs.
Our professional exterminators eradicate bed bugs permanently and effectively throughout the United States.
Call us (888) 409–1728 & we will provide a fast bed bug treatment to get rid of your bed bug problem for good.

Signs of an Infestation

If you wake up in the morning with itchy areas that weren’t there when you went to bed, that’s a sign you may have bedbugs. This is particularly true if you’ve slept in a strange bed, or if you’ve bought a used mattress or used bedroom furniture. Other signs that you have bed bugs include:

• Blood stains on your bedding

• Rust-colored spots of bed bug excrement on your bedding and walls

• Bed bug excrement shed skins, or eggshells around where the bedbugs hide

• A nasty, musty smell around bed bug areas

You’re going to have to inspect your bed. Check the seams of your mattress; bedbugs can crawl into the seams. Next, pull the fabric off from the bottom of the box springs and check the gaps in the wood frame underneath.

Bed bug droppings are a sign of infestation

You also need to check everything around the bed, including the inside of your telephone or clock radio, inside any books, around the edges of the carpet, and even inside the electrical outlets. Look inside your closet for any bedbugs hiding in your clothing, or anything stored in the closet. If you are unsure of what to look for, call an exterminator.

Preventing an Infestation in Your Home

Combating the spread of bed bugs requires a few common-sense practices. If you’ve been somewhere with a bed bug infestation, check your shoes before leaving, and change your clothes before you re-enter your home. Put your clothes from the trip into a dryer outside the house. The heat will kill bed bugs.

It’s estimated that 5% of hotel rooms in the developed world are infested, and in under developed countries the number is much higher. When you’re visiting a new place, check the bed before you take your suitcase in, and put the suitcase on a raised stand to prevent any bed bugs from crawling in. You can also put your suitcase in the tub. Hang your clothes up or leave them in the suitcase, and never leave clothes on the floor, where bedbugs can crawl in.

Wash your bedding regularly, and vacuum the carpet, and even your mattress, regularly too. Vacuuming can suck up the bugs, as well as their eggs.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

First of all, remove all of the bedding and wash it in hot water, followed by a hot dryer. Place things that can’t be washed, such as shoes and stuffed animals in a hot dryer for 30 minutes. Also wash the curtains, or put those in the dryer. An hour at a 113 °F or more, kills them.

If you can, take the mattress and bed outside to sit under the hot sun. Bed bugs die with heat and sunlight. Then seal the mattress and box springs with a zippered vinyl, or tightly woven cover to keep bedbugs from both escaping or re-entering. Bedbugs can live for a year without eating, so the cover will starve them out. But you must keep it on for at least a year to ensure all the bed bugs are dead. You’ll also need to get rid of any clutter around the bed where bedbugs can hide.

Finally, you’ll need to call in an exterminator to fumigate your home, and kill any bedbugs that are hiding. Since treating your home with insecticides, especially your bedroom, can be harmful, it’s important that the exterminator use products designed to be used safely in bedrooms.

Avoid treating the mattress and bedding with insecticide; if the infestation is very serious, you may need to buy a new bed, as well as new bedding. Or, an exterminator may be able to do a heat treatment on your bed.