10 Tips to Help You Deal With Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are not only found in bedrooms and in homes, but can also be found in public places. In the Chicago Tribune, an article talked about this same topic. Bed bugs were spotted at a state government building. The bed bugs were discovered in the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The contaminated area was treated. But how did the bed bugs get to this area? According to the article, the bugs were traced to a worker who brought the contamination from home. Bed bugs are travelers. They are usually find in homes, however they can be find in public places like hotels and in this case in public government buildings. Bed Bugs go where they can feed from a human. So how can you deal with bed bugs if you find yourself with a bed bug problem? The United States Environmental Company offers several tips when you deal with these traveling critters:

1. Make sure you really have bed bugs, not fleas or ticks or other insects.

2. Don’t panic. Eliminating bed bugs is difficult, but it is not impossible. Don’t throw out all of your belongings; most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing out belongings could actually spread the infestation.

3. Don’t immediately reach for the spray can. Be comprehensive in your approach. Integrated pest management techniques may reduce bed bug populations and limit pesticide exposure to you and your family.If pesticide treatment is needed, call a professional.

4. Reduce the number of hiding places. A cluttered home provides more places for bed bugs to hide and makes locating and treating for them more difficult. If bed bugs are in your mattress, using a mattress/box spring encasements makes it more difficult them to get to you while you sleep.

5. Frequently wash and heat-dry bed linens, bed spreads, and clothing that touches the floor to reduce bed bug populations. Bed bugs and their eggs can hide in laundry.

6. Do-it-yourself freezing is not usually reliable for bed bug control. While freezing can effectively kill bed bugs, temperatures must remain extremely low for an extended period of time. Home freezers typically are not cold enough to kill bed bugs.

7. High temperatures can kill bed bugs. Raising the indoor temperature with the thermostat or space heaters won’t get rid of them though. Space heaters must always be used with care, as they have the potential to cause fires and serious burns.

8. Don’t pass your bed bugs on to others. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers.

9. Reduce populations to reduce bites. Thorough vacuuming reduces populations. Carefully vacuum rugs, floors and furniture. Change the bag after each use so the bed bugs can’t escape.

10. Turn to the professionals, if needed.

If you even encounter bed bugs in your home, Alliance Environmental technicians are highly-trained in using heat treatment for pest control. Heat treatment is an effective, safe, and environmentally friendly alternative to fumigation that can be used for entire structures, confined areas or localized spot treatments. By applying the appropriate amount of heat evenly throughout a structure and for the proper amount of time, we are able to kill dust mites, bed bugs and their eggs wherever they are hiding in a single treatment.