Bed bugs are small little insects without wings that normally feed on human blood, but they can survive for several months without feeding and that’s the matter of concern. They usually hide under your bed, sofa in the living area and everywhere in your house where they get easy access to human. Apart from their ability to survive for longer period of time without feeding themselves, they have the ability spread very fast from one infested place to another.
Usually it is hard to identify from where they came in to your house, but once you a bed bug, you can be rest assured there are many more because fully matured female bedbugs can lay up to 5 eggs per day. Can you imagine how fast they can multiply in your house and infest?
Usually active when it’s dark, they can bite you and give you sleepless night. Bed bug problems in India have decreased over a period of time, but reports of bed bugs infestation are still coming everyday from major cities in India.
Problems and issues caused by bed bugs
A friend of mine called me last week to enquire about local agencies in Kolkata who can help him get rid of bed bugs. While discussing he was less concerned about the major issues and more concerned about the social embarrassment he had to face due to bed bugs.
Let me cut it short, bed bugs usually don’t transmit any disease but it can give you sleepless nights; that’s the major problem you may have to deal with if your house is infested with bedbugs. But apart from that there are many indirect issues like social embarrassment it causes, stress because you won’t be able to sleep well and obviously itching, skin infection and red spots on your skin.
Remedies to solve bed bugs problems
Bedbugs are bound to happen in apartments and flats because people residing in those apartments have to travel a lot. Bed bugs infestation is common at public places like Library, Movie Theater, Train, hospital etc. Bed bugs are usually so small in size that it can hide in your clothes when you use a public chair and travel till your house and then multiply faster.
But you can deal with bed bugs by availing services of professional pest control agencies for bedbugs treatments. There are professional agencies in India who offer several packages for bed bugs and other pest removal services and you can book one of their packages or go for annual pest removal packages as well.
But all of us may not have the liberty to spend money for bed bugs removal and may like to try themselves before calling an expert. I had bed bugs at my house and it was like hell. I decided to act on it and did lots of research on how to solve bed bugs problem.
I am sharing some of the most effective remedies to solve bed bugs problem in your house. But before we start, let me just tell you that tips and ideas to solve bed bugs problems that we are discussing here worked for me, but it mainly depends on the level of bed bugs infestation at your place.
Investigate the bed bugs infestation
Like all other pest problems, you need to investigate about the level of infestation and also the places where bedbugs may be hiding. Generally as the name suggests you can find bed bugs in your bedrooms, but bedbugs may be hiding underneath sofas, divans etc. In simple words you will find them in places where you sleep because they hide themselves at places where they can hide safely and get access to human for feeding themselves. The sooner you spot them the easier it will be to solve bed bugs problem. When you realize about bedbugs by the time they have fully infested, you will find it’s really hard to get rid of them and most likely you may need professional helps for bed bugs removal.
Cleaning your beddings, mattress and box springs
Vacuum the beddings, mattresses, and wash them in hot water and dry for half an hour. Then clean your vacuum bag outside your home. You can go for bedbug proof encasements for your mattresses and box springs. These encasements are actually sacks made up of fabric. These encasements are capable of trapping even the smallest bedbugs inside it.
Isolation of infested furniture
You can use bed-bug interceptors and attach them in the base of the beds or furniture’s that are infested. The bed-bug interceptors are basically a special platform that has sticky materials in it which prevents bed bugs from climbing to the bed.
Treat all the rooms
Whenever the infestation becomes severe and spreads to all the rooms, now it becomes high time to go for the help of professional pest Control Company. But if you still insist on sticking into DIY techniques then start with all the cracks and crevices around windows, outlets, blinds, wall clocks, under edges of carpets, or other void areas which can be potential hideouts for these bed bugs. Even a small recessed screw whole is enough to accommodate a dozen of bed-bugs. Just make sure that you do not over look any hiding places behind which these bugs are sneaking.
Treating furniture’s
Examine your beds, bed frames, cupboards, dressers, chairs etc. following the above procedures and techniques. A single piece of infected furniture and play a spoil sport and make you whole effort goes in vain. The furniture’s should be thoroughly checked, drawers and cushion should be removed, to remove all of them you need to closely inspect every nook and corner. You should discard old and low value furniture’s which are infested with bed bugs as they are not worth the effort and it is better if you throw them out. Do not reintroduce any furniture or similar items to the treated room until they have been thoroughly cleaned, inspected or treated.
Bed Bugs spray for bed bugs removal
There are many types of sprays and chemicals out there that you can buy from a chemists shop and use to resolve bedbugs’ issues and get rid of them from your place. I have not used any spray, but if you decide to use one, just make sure to read the instruction on how to apply and then use it carefully.
Here’s what does not work in bed bugs issues
Replacing beddings are not only expensive but also prone to bring new bedbugs from outside instead of getting rid from the current ones. They generally quickly re-infect the new mattress, box springs or beds you bring in order to get rid of them, making your whole effort go in vain. You should rather spend that money on hiring a professional pest control service
Remember the bed bugs are after your blood, they are not interested on anything else. So if you think you can get rid of the changing the place where you sleep (i.e. may be another bed in some other room), then I am sorry to say you are absolutely wrong. They will eventually follow wherever you go. You will end up making the infestation more severe and have bed bugs in multiple rooms.
Caution: Always read the manual and safety directions properly before applying any kind of pesticides. As these pesticides can even harm your kids and pets if proper caution is not maintained. If proper directions are not followed, it might result in poor and ineffective pest control and can even harm your family members.
Conclusion
Bed bugs can cause discomfort and irritations with their presence as their main motive is to bite us. So it is very important to curb the problem quickly and if the infestation goes beyond your control then you should seek professional helps from a locally available pest management company in your city. Pest control agencies are usually available across all of the major towns and cities in India and you can find one here as well.
