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The thought of bed bugs on your mattress can creep out many of us. It not only makes you feel vulnerable but can also pose serious health issues.
These small, brown bugs can cause a lot of damage, not just to your mattress, but to your health as well.
They feed on human blood and can be found anywhere, including in mattresses, sheets, and furniture. They can also cause allergic reactions and in some individuals can trigger asthma.
So if you’re thinking of getting a new mattress, be sure to check the infestation of bed bugs and chiggers in your room and get rid of them.
Always keep your room clean, start by making sure you clean the mattress and bed frame every week.
In this article, I will be discussing the reasons why bed bugs are such a problem, what you can do to prevent them, and how to clean them.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small, brown, flat, wingless insects that feed on blood. They are about the size of an apple seed and can grow to about 5 mm in length.
Bed bugs do not fly and are usually most active at night, hiding in cracks and crevices and coming out to feed. If disturbed, bed bugs can release a foul-smelling secretion from their abdomen.
Bed bugs can live for up to a year without a blood meal.
How do bed bugs travel?
Bed bugs can travel a lot by hitchhiking on people, pets, or luggage.
They can be transported from one place to the next through used furniture, clothes, or luggage.
Bed bugs can live in nearby households or stay dormant and re-emerge at a later time.
Where Bed Bugs Hide?
Bed bugs like to hide in dark, undisturbed places. They hide in cracks and crevices like in your box spring, wallpaper, bed frame, and headboard, as well as in free-standing furniture, boxes, and clothes.
Bed bugs have hiding spots in packaging or other items you may bring home from vacation.
Bed bugs can also be transported from place to place in the mattress seams, bed frames, and in used furniture and clothing.
So keep this in mind if you are sharing your bedding or furniture with others.
When Bed Bugs Bite
Bedbugs mainly feed on humans during the night. They like to sit on you and pierce your skin with their needle-like teeth until they have taken enough blood. They then suck the blood in and move on to the next spot.
They will often do this several times during the night. The bites can cause an allergic reaction which will cause a lot of itching. However, for the person who is allergic to bed bug bites, the bites can be a lot more painful.
The bites can be seen on your body but you will rarely feel them.
A bed bug bite is round and looks like a small red bump. The bite is painless most of the time but it can cause a lot of itching.
Infestation: Signs of Bed Bugs on a Mattress
If you suspect that you have a bed bug infestation, there are a number of signs to look out for.
The most common sign of a bed bug problem is blood. Bed bugs like to feed on human blood. This means that they will generally feed while you are sleeping.
If you have bed bugs, it is likely that they will feed while you are in your sleeping area. To confirm this, look for blood stains on your sheets or on your bed.
It often looks like small red spots or lines on your mattress pad. If you are starting to suspect that you might have bed bugs then it is time to do a little more investigating.
Look in your bed for any signs of bed bugs. These signs can include, but are not limited to, dark spots, shed skins, eggs, live bed bugs, chewed-up spots, presence of powder and feces.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like on a Mattress?
The bed bugs are usually found between the seams of the mattress and on the top. Bedbugs have flat, oval-shaped bodies which are about 1/4 of an inch long. The legs are brown and the top layer of their bodies is tan.
They do not really look like insects and they are very soft to the touch. When you feel them, you might feel a faint itching.
Pictures of Bed Bugs on a Mattress
Bedbug Extermination: How to get rid of bed bugs in mattresses
If you are having trouble getting rid of bed bugs, it is recommended that you contact an exterminator. Professional exterminators often use methods that they can use to help you get bed bugs off of your mattress.
The best way to get rid of bed bugs is by using chemical treatments. These treatments are usually done by exterminators in hotels and can be informative for homeowners.
Chemical Treatments
Chemical treatments can be sprayed on or can be poured into the mattresses. A popular treatment for bed bugs is to use Bedlam spray. This is an aerosol that when sprayed will kill bed bugs.
Another chemical used is Permethrin. This is a synthetic insecticide that can be sprayed onto the surface of a mattress. Additionally, it can also be injected into it via a syringe. This treatment will need to be left undisturbed for 4-6 weeks.
Heat Treatments
Heat treatments are another method of getting rid of bed bugs. This can be achieved through a hot steam machine. The hot steam machine can heat the area to 120°C. Bed bugs are very sensitive to heat. The heat will penetrate into the mattress and kill the bed bugs. This method is normally used after a chemical treatment.
Spray Beds
If the area to be treated is small, this may be the treatment that you use. Bedlam spray can be sprayed onto the surface of beds. When dried, the bed bugs will spray each other with his blood and die. The smell of the spray may irritate some people but it is an odor that goes away fairly quickly.
Spray the bed covers
Bed covers can be sprayed directly with Permethrin. This method is normally used when a chemical treatment has been carried out.
Vacuum Treatments
Vacuum treatments can be used to get rid of bed bugs in a room. Entomologists believe that bed bugs are too small for vacuum treatment. Scrub the affected area so that they loosen up from the surface. They will be sucked up into the vacuum and dragged out. This method is normally used after a chemical treatment has been carried out.
Natural Methods
Natural methods may be used to get rid of bed bugs. One of the methods is by leaving the mattresses outside in the sun. The heat from the sunlight will kill the bed bugs.
It may not occur to you but hotels are a magnet for bed bugs. If you are staying in a bed bug-infested hotel then it is likely that you have brought some bed bugs home with you.
The best way of getting rid of bed bugs in your house is by using an environmentally friendly method. Clothes, shoes, cushions, pillows, and even linen are potential breeding grounds for bed bugs. Make sure that all clothes are washed in the hottest setting possible and that linen is dry-cleaned.
Get rid of dirty wallpapers and repair all cracks on the wall so that they don’t use them again for hiding.
Do Bed Bug Mattress Covers Work?
The fear of bed bugs, particularly during the months of winter, keeps many people from investing in bed bug prevention measures. While bed bugs are often prevalent in hotels, they don’t have a predilection for beds. This means that if you invest in a good bed bug mattress cover, you can protect a bed in your home from bed bugs.
The question is,
Do bed bug mattress covers work?
There are a number of products on the market that claim to be good bed bug mattress covers.
Before you invest in one, it is important to compare your options. There are a wide variety of such covers on the market and not all of them are going to be created equal.
Bed bugs are creatures that live on mattresses. This means that the covers are key to protecting a bed from bed bugs. This means that your cover needs to be well made and be able to cover your entire mattress.
Mattresses can be very tricky to measure. The trick to measuring your mattress size is to make sure that there are no extra layers underneath the mattress cover.
Most mattress covers are made from a durable material that is designed to last. This means that the risk of bed bugs entering the cover and having the ability to gain access to your bed is reduced.
There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind.
However, since the cover is made from a fabric, it has some limitations. A mattress cover needs to be durable yet breathable. Otherwise, you will sleep hot at the night.
Some covers are treated with chemicals that are designed to prevent bed bugs from penetrating the cover. But these chemicals can be toxic to humans and animals.
You should regularly check the mattress covers for bed bugs. If a cover does contain traces of bed bugs, it means that it has failed.
In addition to buying a good mattress cover, you should invest in a good mattress protector. A mattress protector is a piece of bedding that can be folded and placed under your mattress. It is designed to be breathable and is designed to prevent bed bugs from penetrating your mattress.
In addition to purchasing a good mattress cover, mattress protector, and on regular basis vacuuming your mattress, there are a number of things that you can do to prevent bed bugs from entering your home.
