subject: Preventing Bed Bugs [print this page] Bed bugs are a big menace, and whats worse is that there are hardly any repellents available that are effective in the long run. The only way to prevent them is by doing all you can to avoid them.
1. The basic prevention technique is to avoid buying used pieces of mattresses, sofa sets, cushions, etc that have fabric and are known to nest bed bugs.
2. If you are wearing hand me down clothes, make sure that before you wear them or even place them with your other clothes, you separate them, carry them in a separate bag and wash them with hot water or get them dry-cleaned.
3. If you are purchasing bedding and furniture items with fabric or cushions from garage sales or thrift shops, it is strongly recommended that you first inspect them for bed bugs before bringing them into your home. For once you bring them in, you are risking the spread of infection onto other furniture pieces which becomes tougher to control and manage.
4. Avoid cluttering your home with excessive furniture. The more you clutter it the more difficult it is to keep it clean and avoid infestation.
5. Take all the necessary precautions when you are travelling and living in unknown hotel rooms.
6. Also check all your baggage to make sure you havent brought back any infestations through your clothes.
7. There are barely any home remedies that have statistically proven to be effective to get rid of these bugs. It is recommended that you simple hire professional exterminators to help you rid of the problem. Even though it may seem like an expensive proposition, it is definitely more practical in the long run.
8. We strongly recommend against using pesticide sprays in your furnishing and bedding. Whether or not it is effective, it is sure to impact the health you and your family in a negative way.
9. A smarter thing to do is to encase the bed mattresses and furniture cushions with the help of covers that are typically used in case of users with dust mite allergies.
10. If you are sure that your furnishings have been infected with bed bugs, you need to start vacuuming your furniture on an extremely high suction setting.
11. You can also give heat and steam treatments on this furniture. Professional pest control and furniture maintenance companies will be able to help you with the same.
12. Put the furniture out in the sun for a couple of days or simply remove the mattresses and cushions to be put out in the sun if space is a constraint.
Getting rid of bed bugs can feel like a very cumbersome task. But if you take care of it soon enough, you can prevent spreading and worsening the situation for yourself and those who live in your home.
