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A recent study by the National Pest Management Association discovered that the there was an increase in the number of bed bug cities in America by around 10% as compared to the previous decade.

Bed bug infestations which we thought were long over after World War 2 have actually begun to make a comeback in the United States and have become a national problem for our country.

These bed bugs are everywhere: clothing shops, five-star hotels, film theatres and even in schools and daycare centers. Almost 95% of pest control management agencies in the country claim to have faced some kind of bed bug issues at one point or the other.

So how can you find bed bugs and get rid of them?

How to Find Bed Bugs in Your Home: It is much harder to be able to identify a small bed bug infestation as other tiny insects such as carpet beetles can also be mistaken for bed bugs. Bites on your skin are also not a good indicator of bed bugs. The best way to identify a possible bed bug infestation is by looking for these bed bugs signs, learn more here on what to look for:

● Reddish or rust colored stains on your sheets or mattresses

● Tiny dark excrement spots on your bed and bed sheets

● Tiny eggs and eggshells of bed bugs which are roughly 1mm in size as well as exoskeletons that female bed bugs shed

● Live bed bugs

You can check for bed bugs in the following places:

● Around your bed frame and in your bedroom

● Between your sofas, cushions, curtains and chairs

● Check in your electrical appliances

● Check on the heads of the screws

● Check in all the dark and tiny crevices in your home

Here are 6 Tips on How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs:

1. Treat Your Infested Furniture: Bed bugs prefer living in places near to where they can feed. Cupboards, bed frames, box springs and mattresses are all excellent hiding places for bed bugs. This can be particularly painful to you and your family.

  • You can start by cleaning up your home and making it less inhabitable to bed bugs.
  • You can also vacuum your furniture a couple of times to mechanically remove them to ensure that everything is caught and drawn up.
  • Steam is another great way of dealing with bed bugs as the high temperature effectively kills the bed bugs, along with their eggs and hatchlings.
  • Pesticides are a more surefire way of making your furniture and home a pest-free zone but they do present a health hazard to your family and pets as well.
  • Your last option is to simply discard the infested pieces of furniture from your home.

2. Treat Your Infested Laundry and Bedding: Infested bedding and laundry should be washed in the hottest water your fabric can tolerate in laundry detergent and borax without getting damaged. Make sure that all parts of the infested bedding and laundry reach a temperature of at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-20 minutes.

3. Steam, Clean and Wash Your Room: Start by clearing up any clutter you have in your home as it is the perfect place for bed bugs to hide in, which makes the treatment process a bit more difficult. Make sure that you wash all your clothing and bedding that has littered the floor in hot water in your washing machine for at least 20 minutes to kill off the bed bugs.

4. Vacuum Seal the Bed Bugs: Seal your infested furniture in a container or a special vacuum sealed bag and wait till the bed bugs are dead. You can also vacuum and steam all your floors, carpets and cracks and dispose of your vacuum cleaner bag away from your home.

5. Install Interceptors: Install interceptors near or under your bed, couch and other furniture that you rest yourself on. Leave them in their exact positions for 2-4 weeks after which you can check for bed bug activity.

6. Prevent Future Infestations: Check for any newly hatched eggs that you may have missed every few days. Baby bed bugs are known as nymphs and hardly larger than sesame seeds. Try searching for them at night with a magnifying glass, flashlight and a red lens. This red light can’t be detected by the bed bugs which will ensure that they stay in place and don’t scatter when disturbed.

I hope these 6 tips are useful in keeping these blood-sucking insects out of your homes. Call Professional Residential Pest Control Services for a proper inspection and have the infestation treated professionally.

Author Bio: When people find their homes and offices infested with pests, it is not uncommon for them to panic. Raymond Web has taken upon him the task to educate people on pest prevention and control strategies helping them keep their surroundings healthy, safe and pest-free. Being the digital marketing manager for Take Care Termite and Pest Control, in Tracy, CA, he has in-depth understanding of people and their pain points due to pests, which he efficiently uses in his content to educate people and add value to their lives.

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