While a licensed pest control operator will likely perform these tasks more effectively, safely, and legally, they can be expensive, especially for an entire home.

If you want to do it yourself, these steps to get rid of bed bugs will help:

Start by finding the bed bugs. Sometimes it’s easier said than done; their flat shape allows them to fit into barely noticeable crevices the width of a credit card.

Instead of ineffective widespread spraying, arm yourself with a bright flashlight and aim at their nests. Look for adults, young, and eggs, keeping in mind that individual eggs are sometimes scattered throughout the house.

Disassemble the bed frames and place the components on their edges. Look for the insects and the molten light brown skins of the nymphs. Remove the gauze cloth under the box spring to inspect and treat because they are most likely inside your mattress. Check under the fabric stapled to the frame at the box springs.

Holes or tears in the mattress gauze or fabric likely mean bed bugs and eggs are inside. Because there are restrictions on treating mattresses with insecticides, pest control companies recommend that infested bedding be disposed of. But even if you do that, you need to get rid of the bed bugs that are already in your home, otherwise your new mattress will become infested as well.

The cracks and crevices of bed frames, attached side rails and supports, headboards and footboards should be closely examined, especially if the frame is made of wood. Bed bugs prefer cloth, wood, and paper over metal or plastic.

If you can’t afford to replace the bed, vacuum it thoroughly. Brushing also helps. Try treating your bed with a portable steam machine. It helps but will not kill the bugs and eggs hiding inside the box spring or mattress.

Apply insecticide to the mattress, box springs, and bedding components without spraying the surface of the mattress, sheets, blankets, or clothing.

After spraying and dusting, cover your mattress with one and the box spring with another sealable cover. If you just cover the mattress and box spring with plastic, bed bugs will chew through it. The fabric is probably more comfortable and secure. Allergy supply companies sell zippered covers for dust mite prevention.

Keeping mattress covers sealed for a year or 18 months ensures that you destroy the insect’s life cycle. Inspect bag regularly for damage; if you find holes or tears, seal them with permanent tape and any trapped insects will eventually die.

Only apply bug spray to a mattress if the product label specifically mentions it, and very few do. If you find one, apply it as a light spray to the entire mattress, opening up seams, tufts, and folds so the chemical can penetrate these hiding places. Allow to dry completely before using. Never sleep directly on a treated mattress without bedding and do not treat the mattresses of babies or sick people.

To prevent bed bugs from climbing into the bed, move the bed frame away from the wall, tuck the sheets and blankets so they do not touch the floor, and place the bed legs in saucers with mineral oil or water with a water drop. dishwashing liquid

Remove and inspect headboards secured to walls, as this is one of the first places insects go. They also hide among the things stored under the bed.

Empty out nightstands and dressers, remove drawers, examine them inside and out, then turn them around to inspect underneath, looking for cracks, corners, and nooks.

Check upholstered chairs and sofas, carefully inspecting seams, tufting, skirting, and crevices under cushions, especially when used for sleeping.

Bed bugs like to climb up to hide in pictures, rugs, drapery folds, loose wallpaper, cracks in plaster, and ceiling-to-wall seams.

Other common places to find bed bugs:

– Electric boxes
– Cracks in the floor
– Cracks in wood trim
– Wallpaper seams
– Under the loose wallpaper near the bed.
– Inside radios, telephones, clocks, televisions and smoke detectors. When open, place smaller appliances in a bag or on duct tape so bugs don’t jump out and hide.
– Under the tack board of wall-to-wall carpeting, especially behind beds and furniture.
– Between clothes stored in closets
– In laundry
– Inside wicker furniture
– Second-hand beds, bedding and furniture; newer mattresses offer fewer hiding places.

Because infested bedding, drapes, pajamas, clothing, and stuffed toys cannot be treated with insecticide, they should be bagged and washed in hot water, a minimum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and dried on hot , or discard. When they are completely dry and very hot, dry them for another 20 minutes in the dryer and not naturally on the clothesline.

Dry cleaning works too, but tell the dry cleaner that they are infested, or before taking the items to them, place them in a clothes dryer on a moderate temperature that will be below 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

The same with toys, shoes, backpacks and non-washable items; heat in a clothes dryer for 20 minutes. Or wrap them in black plastic bags and expose them to direct sunlight for at least a few days.

After washing, drying, and dry cleaning, store items in sealed, airtight bags until next use.

Bed bugs also die when exposed to freezing temperatures for at least two weeks. So if you have the space, you can put a few items in the freezer. Raising or lowering the thermostat is not enough.

General cleanliness is key, so start by deep cleaning infested and adjoining rooms. Vacuum accumulated dirt and debris. Remove eggs by scrubbing infested surfaces with a stiff brush and reduce clutter to limit where they can hide.

With powerful suction to get bed bugs out of cracks and crevices, vacuum along baseboards, around bed frames, headboards, footboards, mattress seams, tufts, buttons, bedding edges, edges carpet, especially along tack strips to remove insects and eggs. When you’re done, dispose of the vacuum bag by sealing it in a trash bag.

Steam clean carpets to kill insects and eggs that may have been lost by vacuuming. However, steam cleaning does not work for mattresses; it can lead to mold, mildew and dust mites.

Treat your home with a product that is labeled for bed bug control and must have long lasting residual effects, or they will return.

Read the label carefully and apply only if you fully understand the instructions. DO NOT apply any insecticide or pesticide to mattresses or surfaces that are in direct contact with a person unless the label specifically says so. Some products contain chemicals that are not safe for people and pets.

Products for the treatment of insects are usually of three types:

1. Insecticidal powders

Please contain finely ground glass or silica powder and make insects dry. Apply only to cracks, crevices, wall voids, attics, and voids, such as a tubular bed frame; these are places where bed bugs hide. Do not spread dust on rugs or under rugs where people or animals walk.

2. Contact insecticides

They contain one or more pyrethroids that knock down and kill insects shortly after contact. It should be applied as a spot treatment to cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide.

3. Insect growth regulators

These affect the reproductive cycle of insects and reduce populations. They don’t kill quickly, so they often supplement other insecticides as part of the overall bed bug treatment plan.

Products available to consumers with the ingredients pyrethrin, resmethrin (0.3% spray), and allethrin are effective. Others even more powerful can only be used by professionals.

Protect all food and eating utensils from insecticides. After ten days, apply a second treatment to kill the hatching nymphs. And after another ten days, a third treatment.

Changes to make in your home

Caulk and seal all holes. Fill all the cracks and crevices in the walls, around the baseboards and trim. Repair cracks in the plaster and glue down any loose wallpaper.

For your protection, remove bird and bat nests or roosts in and on the house, and seal all openings in the screens.

As a home remedy, you can try sprinkling boric acid powder in their nests but not directly on your mattress.

Inorganic materials, such as diatomaceous earth, also known as silica dioxide or silicone dioxide, and silica airgel can kill them, but are unlikely to solve the entire problem. Try spreading this non-toxic powder, which you buy at food and supply stores, around the perimeter of your room and when bed bugs cross the powder, they will cover themselves in it, dehydrate and die. Also insert into cracks and crevices.

Adhesive-based baits and traps do not work for bed bugs. Neither are foggers, bug bombs, or total-release aerosol insecticides; they actually spread the bed bugs and make extermination more difficult.

Natural remedies like undiluted tea tree oil may provide limited relief, but are unlikely to get rid of a bed bug infestation.

Some home remedies include applying bleach that kills on contact and spraying hot steam from a high powered steam cleaner into the cracks for three seconds at a time.

But bed bugs are persistent and resilient insects. They can withstand heat up to 100 degree temperatures, a short period in the freezer, multiple pest control treatments, and can live for a year without eating. If you want to get rid of them completely, you have to aggressively persist until they no longer bite you and there are no more signs of habitation.