Dec 14, 2023 | Bed Bugs
How to Prevent Bed Bugs
1. Wash and dry bedding and clothing regularly at the highest temperatures possible: 120 degrees or more is best.
2. Vacuum floors regularly. Use the brush tool of your vacuum to clean your mattress. Use the crevice tool to vacuum baseboards and crevices in mattresses.
3. Use mattress protectors.
4. Don't buy used furniture.
5. Check your bed for signs of bed bugs from time to time. Catching bed bugs early makes bed bug treatments easier and allows you to get rid of them faster.
6. Store laundered items inside large, sealed Ziploc bags, air-tight containers, or large trash bags. The best place to keep your bagged items is on cold tile floors of bathrooms and kitchens. The more you can clear away from a bed, couch, or chair, and keep off of the floor, the better.
7. Always keep personal belongings, such as your purse, bag, book bag, briefcase, or coat, on your lap whenever possible. Avoid putting these items on the floor, chair, or a coat rack.
8. When traveling, ask the hotel receptionist what their bed bug history is before making your travel selections. Before bringing your luggage in the room, check for signs of bed bugs. The headboard is the first place to check for dark fecal spotting, along with picture frames above the bed, night stands, and of course, beds and chairs. Be wary of any peeled wall paper at the top of the walls, and check for dark spotting from fecal matter.
If you suspect a place may have bed bugs, leave purses and bags in your vehicle before entering to inspect. If you discover them during a visit, change your clothes and place them in a sealed Ziploc bag before leaving so that you do not bring any bed bugs or their eggs into your vehicle. After arriving home, wash and dry your clothing immediately. Check any items or bags that you did bring in for signs of bed bugs. Treat these items if necessary, by washing and drying them, spraying or dusting them with a residual product, or having them fumigated.
2. Vacuum floors regularly. Use the brush tool of your vacuum to clean your mattress. Use the crevice tool to vacuum baseboards and crevices in mattresses.
3. Use mattress protectors.
4. Don't buy used furniture.
5. Check your bed for signs of bed bugs from time to time. Catching bed bugs early makes bed bug treatments easier and allows you to get rid of them faster.
6. Store laundered items inside large, sealed Ziploc bags, air-tight containers, or large trash bags. The best place to keep your bagged items is on cold tile floors of bathrooms and kitchens. The more you can clear away from a bed, couch, or chair, and keep off of the floor, the better.
7. Always keep personal belongings, such as your purse, bag, book bag, briefcase, or coat, on your lap whenever possible. Avoid putting these items on the floor, chair, or a coat rack.
8. When traveling, ask the hotel receptionist what their bed bug history is before making your travel selections. Before bringing your luggage in the room, check for signs of bed bugs. The headboard is the first place to check for dark fecal spotting, along with picture frames above the bed, night stands, and of course, beds and chairs. Be wary of any peeled wall paper at the top of the walls, and check for dark spotting from fecal matter.
If you suspect a place may have bed bugs, leave purses and bags in your vehicle before entering to inspect. If you discover them during a visit, change your clothes and place them in a sealed Ziploc bag before leaving so that you do not bring any bed bugs or their eggs into your vehicle. After arriving home, wash and dry your clothing immediately. Check any items or bags that you did bring in for signs of bed bugs. Treat these items if necessary, by washing and drying them, spraying or dusting them with a residual product, or having them fumigated.