The Do’s And Don’ts Of Finding Bed Bugs In Your Home

You just found bed bug’s in your home… What’s next? Well, here are some tips on how to deal with bed bugs.

An up close image of a bed bug infestation on a box spring

First of all, we’re sorry you’ve made this discovery. We know how unsettling it is to uncover a bed bug issue in your home. Please know, that if you take the right steps, bed bugs can be eradicated!

Let’s start with all the things that you should NOT do!

– Don’t avoid the problem! You do not want to ignore bed bugs. They can take over quickly if they are left unchecked. The difference between a month long infestation and a 6 month long infestation might surprise you!

– Don’t use bed bug sprays that can be purchased in stores! While these sprays will kill the bed bugs on contact, these aerosol treatments will not solve your issue. These sprays are a repellent to bed bugs. I know…. that sounds perfect! But the reason you want to avoid using a repellent is that bed bugs will simply disperse throughout your home, further spreading the infestation. This means that when you do hire a professional to help you, even their treatment will take longer than usual.

– Don’t sleep in different rooms! When bed bugs lose their food source (aka you) they will do what they need to to find a new source. This means they will travel to the new sleeping location and spread your infestation.

– Avoid throwing away or moving furniture around the house. This can also accidentally spread the infestation. You also don’t need to throw everything away. Wait for your technician to treat your furniture and if they recommend an item be thrown away, at that point you can but most furniture can be saved!

These are the things that you SHOULD be doing!

-First thing’s first, give us a call at 604-639-5268! We can guide you through your own unique situation and set you up for treatment as soon as possible. We service the entire Greater Vancouver Area.

– Start doing your laundry. This is the biggest thing you can do to help. Launder anything that was on the ground/in a dresser or nightstand beside the bed or on the bed itself. You want to wash your clothes and linens on the hottest setting they can handle and then put them through the hot setting on the dryer. You can also run your pillows through a heat cycle in the dryer to avoid having to wash them in the machine. When you are done washing your clothes, we recommend keeping them in sealed bags until you’ve had your treatment.

– Avoid spreading the infestation to others. You can do this by making sure to wear freshly washed clothes out of the house. If someone comes to visit you, they should bring a fresh set of clothes and a plastic bag with them. When the visit is over they can change into their fresh clothes and put the old ones into the plastic bag to be laundered as soon as possible.

-We don’t like Band-Aid solutions at The X-Terminators. So, if you live in a multi unit building, neighbours should be made aware of the situation. Both for their safety and in case the issue is stemming from another unit in the building. If the infestation is present in another unit, their unit will need to be treated as well to permanently eradicate the issue.