Bed bugs can be a frustrating, expensive, and potentially dangerous problem to have. There is so much false information online that many people make simple, but expensive and dangerous mistakes when treating for bed bugs.
Here are the top bed bug mistakes that you could easily avoid:
1. Hiding bed bugs from your friends, family, and landlord
***Bed bugs can affect anyone and aren’t something to be ashamed of. If you get bed bugs, telling your family, friends, neighbors and landlord is essential to making sure the problem doesn’t spread. It also gives you the chance to educate others about how easily bed bugs can be “picked up”. Spread the word and protect yourself and those you care about by being open regarding any bed bug issues that may arise in your household.
2. Sleeping in another room
***Once you find out bed bugs have infested your bedroom, many people will opt to sleep on the couch or in another bedroom to avoid the bugs and potential bites. While this may keep a few bites away, this is actually one of the leading cases that bed bugs spread to multiple rooms in your home. Solve the problem quickly with heat (Call Burnin’ Bugs and have us correctly and safely heat treat your home (716) 499-3817) and use caution when moving to other rooms.
3. Forgetting to do follow-up inspections and treatments
***Once a treatment is complete and you aren’t receiving nightly bed bug bites, you may tend to forget about the problem altogether. By doing this you may be allowing bed bugs to continue to infest your home undetected. Bed bugs eggs take 6-10 days to hatch, which means that your bed bug infestation could re-appear within a few weeks after a treatment. Follow up treatments and inspections are especially important if a chemical treatment was applied. The best way to kill all the bed bugs, even the eggs, is by hiring a professional, like BURNIN’ BUGS, to complete a heat treatment.
4. Bring home used items without proper inspections
***Bringing home bed bugs can be very easy, especially if you recently were traveling or purchased used furniture or clothing. Bed bugs like to hide in upholstered furniture, and not just bedroom furniture. You could bring home bed bugs in chairs, couches, clothing, and even books. Always inspect any used items that come into your home. Remember, Burnin’ Bugs can heat treat any used item BEFORE bringing it into your home!
5. Off-the-shelf pesticides or un-safe heating methods
***There are countless pesticides out there that claim to be effective on bed bugs, but in actuality, they aren’t required to test their product on bed bugs. Likewise, news outlets are full of stories where homeowners burnt down their house while trying to heat the home using space heaters, a home furnace, the oven, etc…. Heat treatments should only be performed using professional-quality heaters that are made to kill bed bugs. So please call us at Burnin’ Bugs so we can help you 🙂 (716) 499-3817.
Courtesy of: Sarah Haynes; Bed Bug Blogger
