Dos and Don'ts in Dealing with Bed Bugs at Home

Bed bugs are tiny parasite; however, do not let yourself mistake them for being harmless creatures. Because, no matter their size, they are smart enough to avoid detection and bite you at night, without you knowing.

What Are Bed Bugs?

Cimex lectularius or bed bugs are just 5 mm across—about the size of an apple seed. They can get into your home by hitching a ride in luggage, backpacks, clothes or even purses and travel between rooms in apartments and hotels. They can also come from other infested areas such as second hand furniture that you bring into your home.

The lifespan of a bed bug ranges from 4-6 months. However, under preferable conditions, they can live up to a year or more. They feed mainly on blood meal but can live for months without feeding, while in hiding. They reproduce quickly and can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime.

Although bed bugs are not known to spread diseases, their bites can trigger allergic reactions to some. Many people experience red bumps on the skin after a bed bug bite and excessive scratching can cause damage to the skin, which can result in infections.

Damages & Consequences of Bed Bug Infestation

These pests are thought to have gone for good in the past. In the previous years, we have witnessed a resurgence, with bed bugs being discovered everywhere including in public places such as motels, planes, even buses. In addition to bed bug bites, the risks of bed bug infestations also include the following:

Stains

Some signs of a bed bug infestation include bloodstains and dark spots, which are actually bed bug excrements, on the sheets, mattresses, pillowcases, and walls. These spots bleed through the fabric like a marker and can be laborious to remove.

Unnecessary Costs

Economic damages of bed bugs include the costs to replace the severely infested furniture, address the infestation, and repeated recovery costs in the event of re-infestation.

Sleeplessness & Distress

Knowing about the presence of bed bugs is stressful enough without the itchy bites that can keep you at night. All these can leave you physically and mentally drained in the following days.

Business Interruptions

Bed bug infestations are not only costly to address, but can also cause interruptions which can affect your bottom line. Worse case scenarios may also involve business suspensions or even closure.

Rendering self-help bed bug treatment measures almost ineffective. While professional pest control is necessary to remove bed bugs effectively, it is equally important to complement this service with the proper knowledge on how to prevent a re-infestation. Otherwise, bed bugs would eventually return, maybe even worse than ever before.

Read also: Why are there bed bugs in your home?

What You Should & Shouldn’t Do to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

DO

• Make sure it is a bed bug. Learning the signs of bed bug infestations will help you identify what to look for: live bed bugs, excrement that look like black stains, and dried blood.
• Engage a professional bed bug control service for proper identification, advice and assistance.
• Prepare your home for pest control by reducing clutter and washing items that may be infested.
• Discard severely infested items with bed bugs and wrap them in plastic prior to disposal.
• Post-bed bug treatment; make sure to vacuum your floors and frequently to remove any bed bugs that may have been left behind.
• Install bed bug-proof encasements on your mattress to reduce bed bugs’ potential hiding places. Meanwhile, in case there are bed bugs trapped under the cover, they will eventually die.

DON’T

• Do not panic! Using proper control methods, you can get bed bugs under control. This illustrates the value of engaging the help of bed bug control specialists.
• Do not ignore the infestation either. Responding immediately will increase the success in removing bed bugs by preventing the infestation to spread further.
• Avoid trying to eliminate the pests on your own. While commercial pesticides may help in small infestations, you can never know its extent unless you hire someone to inspect.
• Refrain from using harmful chemicals as well because not only can they be ineffective and cause the bed bugs to disperse, but put you and your family’s health at risks too.
• Prevent giving bed bugs more hiding opportunities with clutter, particularly by storing items under your bed.
• Do not wrap items in black plastic and place them under the sun. Contrary to some DIY tips, this does not guarantee it will get hot enough inside the bag to kill the bed bugs.

Why Engage Professional Bed Bug Control

Have you observed any signs of bed bug infestation in your home?

Engaging professional help will save you from the guesswork involved when trying to remove bed bugs using self-help measures. Not only this can worsen the infestation by allowing it to spread further, but it can also cost more in the long-run than calling for a pest control specialist in the first place.

An inspection by our team at Rentokil Singapore will help you confirm a problem and allow us to provide an effective solution to your bed bug issues.

Because pesticides alone maybe insufficient to remove bed bugs, we implement an integrated pest management (IPM) solution which is a more integrated and adequate approach to pest control. It relies on knowledge of the pest and practical measures like inspection, monitoring, removal of clutter and possible entry points to exclude bed bugs, and pesticides, only when necessary.

Also part of our bed bug control programme are the following control methods:

• Bed bug residual spray treatment: Residual spraying involves the spraying of bedbug-infested areas in your home with active ingredient that can stay effective for up to three weeks, long after they have dried.
• Bed bug steam treatment: A 180°Celsius dry steam is very effective in killing bed bugs in their every life stage—adults, larvae, and eggs—through thermal shock.
• Follow-up inspections, monitoring and recommendations: We also help you identify early warning signs of bed bug infestations and keep them from resurfacing. Like with any other pests, proactive monitoring, early detection, and immediate response is key to avoiding larger problems with bed bugs.

For more information bed bug control service, contact us today at (65) 6347 8138 to learn more.