Can you ever get rid of bedbugs

When it comes to getting rid of bedbugs, one of the most common questions homeowners ask is: “Can bed bugs be completely eliminated?” The short answer is yes. However, it’s usually more complicated than that as there are several factors to bear in mind before you’re absolutely sure that the bedbugs are gone.

Can Bed Bugs Be Completely Eliminated?

In this post, we’ll address the issue of getting rid of bedbugs as well as the factors that determine whether or not you’re able to completely eliminate them.

The Size of The Original Infestation

It goes without saying that the larger an infestation, the more difficult it is to deal with. As bed bugs grow in number, they continue spreading from their original hiding places, which increases the number of locations that have to be treated, further complicating the treatment process. As such, the complete control of a larger infestation may require multiple treatments.

The Type of Treatment

There are several recommended treatments for dealing with bed bug infestations. Some treatment methods are more effective than others, so it’s important to choose the right one. For instance, if heat treatment such as thermal remediation is used to control an infestation, chances are that one treatment will be enough, but if bed bugs were reintroduced or some areas weren’t treated completely, retreatment may be necessary. In the case of an insecticide treatment, complete control of an infestation likely requires more than one application of insecticides.

The Thoroughness of Treatment

Bedbug infestations are complicated, which can make effective control a major challenge. If a treatment process doesn’t cover all the areas that have been infested, which can spread to various rooms in the house, then successfully controlling the infestation will require repeat treatments. This will increase the time between the beginning of the treatment process and when your home can be considered completely free of bugs.

The Type of Home

Unfortunately, living in multi-family housing can make it harder to deal with an infestation as there are high chances of a bedbug infestation. If you live in multi-family housing and suspect a bedbug infestation, you need to speak to the property manager/owner as soon as possible. During the inspection and treatment process, you want to make sure common areas (mailroom, lounges, laundry room, etc.), as well as adjacent units, are inspected for bed bugs as you may not be the only victim in the unit.

Monitoring

Monitoring is an essential part of checking whether you’ve dealt with an infestation completely. As you assess whether or not the infestation is completely under control, be sure to periodically check for live bed bugs or bites. It’s advisable to install mattress encasements on all mattresses and box springs in your home. Doing so helps to protect your furniture from infestations and makes it easier to inspect the bed for signs of an infestation.

Bedroom is considered the place to unwind; rest and spend “me-time” catching up with entertainment and lifestyle activities such as online retail. Spending so much time in this cosy space, there is something unwanted spotted: few tiny red dots and light colour skin peels.

Internet tends to be the “go-to” answers for everything. I learned that the signs of bed bug infestation includes red to brownish fecal spots (that is made up of digested blood) and presence of empty shells (or eggs) left on the bed. And here the sequence of events that eventually turns my bedroom into a room of nightmare.

Here are a series of actions I have done in in hope to get rid of bed bugs quickly.

How do we identify bed bugs in our homes?

An adult bed bug has an oval-shaped body that measures 5 to 7 millimetres in length (the size of an apple seed). They are usually reddish in colour and often turn brown if they have fed recently. Being so small, they are experts at hiding and it is often difficult to spot them. Nonetheless, you can look for them in seams, piping, zippers and tags on mattresses, pillows and cushions. You should also inspect your luggage and clothes if you have travelled recently as bed bugs are known to latch onto these items in order to spread from one location to another.

You may also like: Essential guide to home pest control

Quick methods you can use to get rid of bed bugs

Vacuum the entire bedroom including the rugs or bathmats

So I diligently ensure my bedroom is spic and span and vacuum away any possible bugs that is lurking around. It felt assuring that no traces of dirt, physical bugs or even food source for pests to strive is found. Yes, I learned through research, removing any food source can help to get rid of pests. Yet, can I get rid of bed bugs on my own by vacuuming alone?

Change the bed sheets to remove blood stains and skins

Obsession with cleanliness and diligent housekeeping continues as I learned through various articles that maintaining good housekeeping habit can help keep any pest infestation under control. I then change my bed sheets and have them washed and even wipe the headboards and skirting to ensure its sparkling clean. Yet, can I get rid of bed bugs on my own just by changing the bed sheets?

Steam clean the curtain drapes, upholstery and rugs

I learned that bed bugs tend to hide among curtain drapes and even furniture such as sofa and rugs. As bed bugs are tiny and flat, its’ good to steam clean my home to ensure they are totally eradicated from my home. It costs quite hefty, but for the assurance in complete removal, I decided to invest in home steam cleaning. Yet, can I get rid of bed bugs on my own steam cleaning all these?

Deter bed bugs with off the shelve sachets repellent

After 1 day of spring cleaning, the bedroom seems to be free from pest base on the bed bug control method I have used. As I heard from many voices that bed bug infestation can cause some health risks, I decided to take extra steps in deterring bed bugs by purchasing bed bug sachets from the D.I.Y. stores and place them strategically at different parts of the bedroom to target at bed bugs hot spots.

Use Off-the-shelve sprays to remove bed bugs

 After the 2nd day, I seem to see some traces of bed bugs crawling around and there are minimal blood stains on the bed. Thinking it was manageable size to control, I resort to purchasing off-the-shelve insecticide spray to get rid of the bed bugs by spraying directly onto it. But the consequences were that the entire room smells of the insecticide and it disrupted my sleep.

Again, the question of whether can I get rid of bed bugs on my own using D.I.Y. bed bug spray?

Engage professional help and advice to end the stress

 As bed bugs were still multiplying rapidly and worse of all spreading from rooms to rooms, I realised these continuous efforts of changing bed sheets or carrying out the housekeeping regime daily is taking a toll on me. Throwing away the bed sheets and getting repeated steam cleaning was amounting to a big investment sums. None of these methods actually work. Here is some learning through engaging professional help.

1. Bed bugs can hide really well and unless detected by professional expertise. We tend to miss out these bugs at tight corners, gaps and crevices.
2. They are classified as cross-infestation pests. They can travel to another room and we should not just focus on the affected room.
3. Deterring methods only force bugs to move somewhere else, but it does not remove the bugs for good.
4. A proper bed bug control solution is designed with treatments carrying out at 3-week interval to disrupt their reproduction process
5. Heat treatment is used to eliminate the eggs while residual spray is used to kill the adult bed bugs

Why bed bugs are not easy to get rid of?

Bed Bugs are tiny and flat and tend to escape from our eyes unless detected by professional pest control companies. As they travel and move from various part of the home, they can spread and escalate as they reproduce. They can latch on items and stick close to warmth, and blind spots within edges and cracks is another bed bug elimination challenge to consider as well. Finally, DIY bed bug remedies may not work as bed bug control utilises specific active ingredient and dilatation rate to control bed bug infestation effectively.

Read also: How do bed bugs reproduce and how to stop them

Seek expert advice and support to relieve pest stress

If you think that you can get rid of bed bugs on your own, you should think twice.  I recommend speaking to your preferred pest control company to get professional advice and housekeeping tips on managing a bed bug infestation.

To find out more about the bed bug control treatments and solutions available, call Rentokil at (65) 6347 8138.

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