Bed bugs are one of the worst pests to have in your home. They sneak into your home, multiply fast, and you can get a major infestation before you know it. They hide in your clothes and linen, and they attack everybody including your pets. Bedbugs crawl in your home without your knowledge and multiply within no time.

The bad news is that bed bugs are good in hiding. Hence, you can keep looking for them all day, and you may not find them. They are brown in colour and about the size of an apple seed when they mature, and they are reddish when they feed. Before you embark on a bedbug removal exercise, make sure that you have bedbugs. You can study the symptoms and see if they are in line with a bedbug infestation’s characteristics.

Bed bugs are one of the worst pests to have in your home. They sneak into your home, multiply fast, and you can get a major infestation before you know it. They hide in your clothes and linen, and they attack everybody including your pets. Bedbugs crawl in your home without your knowledge and multiply within no time.

The bad news is that bed bugs are good in hiding. Hence, you can keep looking for them all day, and you may not find them. They are brown in colour and about the size of an apple seed when they mature, and they are reddish when they feed. Before you embark on a bedbug removal exercise, make sure that you have bedbugs. You can study the symptoms and see if they are in line with a bedbug infestation’s characteristics.

How to know if you have bedbugs

• It is important to be sure if you have bed bugs so that you can remove them correctly. The first sign that you are likely to notice is when they attack you. You will wake up with bedbug bites. They look like little red bumps on your skin that itch so bad. You can also get itchy welts that appear to be in a zigzag pattern.

• You also get a musky odour in the room. Bedbugs have a weird sweet musky smell, which they produce to communicate with each other. If you experience such a smell in your home, hotel room or any other place, beware of heavy infestation.

• If you notice little specs of blood in your clothes and bedding then, you could be having an infestation. These specks of blood are usually results of undigested blood. They also leave small black spots, which come from their fecal matter.

• You can find exoskeletons of their outer shell, which they shed after a while. You are likely to find them under your mattress, under cushions and in your clothes. You can also find whitish eggs in your bedding if you look real close. They are very small hence; you have to be very keen when looking for proof. If you cannot find any evidence yet, you have itchy welts, call a professional to help you find proof and a solution.

If you want to prevent your home from bedbugs completely, you have to be patient and resilient. It will not take you one day to keep them out, but with a routine process, you can eliminate them forever. Here are some tips to help you get rid of bedbugs.

Understand how they work

Bedbugs are crawlers hence they do not fly in your room. You cannot find them in the air like mosquitoes. They crawl in your home via the openings that you have. They can also be introduced to your home via travelling luggage, visitors, or pets.

Once they get access to your home, they like to hide in dark, warm corners, and they come out to feed at night. Check in your mattress seams, creases, folds and tufts. They like to crawl under your bed, chairs, couches, drapery, and curtains. You can also find them between cushions, in drawers, underneath your carpet and area rugs, under loose posters, wallpapers, and paintings. You can even find them in your radio, phone, and clock or behind electrical switch plates. If you start the extermination process start with such places first.

Vacuum your home relentlessly

Vacuuming can be tiresome and energy- consuming but it is necessary when fighting bugs. Make sure that you vacuum your home at list twice a day for a week them once a day for two weeks. This helps to remove any bugs on the surface as well as their eggs. As you go on with vacuuming, do not forget your mattress, draping and other upholstery.

Launder your clothing and linen daily

Start with your dirty clothes and move on to the clean ones in storage. Once you launder your clothes, towels, and linen use a heat dryer to kill the bugs completely. Use plastic bags or airtight containers to store clean clothing and stop further infestation.

Move your furniture

Move your furniture around to expose their hiding spots. You can use a hot air blower as you move your furniture to kill them on sight. Use petroleum jelly at the bottom of your furniture stands so that you make it difficult for them to crawl up to the top.

Cover any unwarranted holes

Have an inspector come over to your home and identify all possible entrances points for them. Tis may include holes and cracks that you may not have seen before. Seal off pipes or vent holes that are uncovered. Make sure that you repair any peeling wallpaper and make it hard for them to hide anywhere in your home.

Inspect what you bring in the house

If you bring in something that you suspect such as antiques, used furniture, travel bags and others, make sure that you inspect them before letting them in your home. Inspect your pets from time to time as well since they can also bring bedbugs to your home.