11 Tips to Keep Your House Bed Bug Free

11 Tips to Keep Your House Bed Bug Free

An infestation of bed bugs in your Scottsdale home can be costly in time, money, and peace of mind. Here are our ten tips to keep your house bed bug free:

1. Vacuum. There are a number of reasons to vacuum your home including get rid of dust, pollen, and bed bugs. Use an edging tool to get the corners of floors, especially carpeted areas, and behind furniture. Once a month strip and wash bedding and vacuum the bed and frame.
2. Clean all fabrics. These pests love nothing more than to make a home of your bedding and other fabrics like clothing and draperies. Wash fabrics and dry on high heat. Bedbugs don’t survive high heat. Don’t pack the dryer; allow all of the fabric to get to a lethal temperature for your unwanted Scottsdale houseguests.
3. Get rid of clutter. Bed bugs love to hide and piles of unused items are a perfect place for hide and seek.
4. Seal your home. Cracks and crevices are the perfect entry point for bed bugs and other pests. Caulk and seal cracks in ceilings, baseboards, outlet covers, and piping to make it harder (or impossible) for the bugs to get into your Scottsdale home.
5. Leave them at the hotel. One of the most common ways for bed bugs to enter your home is from a suitcase you brought home from an infested hotel room. To prevent this, check your hotel room for bed bugs and brown spots especially in and around the bed, headboard, and bed frame. If you wake up with bites, notify the hotel staff and get a new room. When you get home, unpack your suitcase outside, wash and dry clothes at a high temperature and call Budget Brothers Termite & Pest Elimination.
6. Check your pets. While bed bugs prefer humans to animals, they can bite your dog or cat causing red dots, the same that you see on human skin. If you suspect your pet is bed bug host, give the pet a bath and wash and dry all of their bedding in hot temperatures.
7. Know where to look. Bedbugs leave dark reddish or brown spots in their path especially in cracks and crevices in and around your bed, floorboards, and piles of clutter. Cleaning and getting rid of clutter will give them less places to hide and give you more opportunity to find them.
8. Buy new. When it comes to beds, furniture, blankets, and sheets, we recommend buying them new rather than from a consignment store. If you do choose to buy used, immediately wash and dry items in hot temperatures or steam to kill bed bugs and prevent them from infesting your Scottsdale home.
9. Cover up. We recommend getting a mattress encasement especially if you’ve had a previous bed bug infestation.
10. Pay attention. Your place of work can experience bed bug infestations. If you’re not careful, it’s possible to bring them home with you. Pay careful attention if there is an infestation and be sure to avoid affected areas until the coast is clear.
11. Ask for help. Because they reproduce quickly, it is important to call Budget Brothers Termite & Pest Elimination at 602-253-2495 to stop the bed bugs in their tracks.

Bed bug infestations are not a do it yourself activity. Treating bed bugs requires specialized training to identify the infestation sources and apply proper treatments. Contact Budget Brothers Termite & Pest elimination or give us a call at 602-253-2495.