Bed Bug Control
All year round, Bed Bugs can be a serious problem, although they are more active in the summer months.
Here is some information and advice about dealing with a Bed Bug infestation.
In this article
Bed Bug Basics – About Bed Bugs
There is one main bed bug species affecting the UK, Cimex lectularious. Most often found in bedrooms as these insects like to feed at night, however, they can also be found in lounges, particularly in sofas and chairs .
Bed Bugs feed on blood, nothing else, so they have adapted mouth parts that allow them to penetrate human or animal skin, inject anaesthetic , then suck your blood without you feeling anything. Some people react to the bite and show clear evidence in the form of the common visible insect bite marks, others show little evidence of being bitten by Bed Bugs.
The female Bed Bug can lay between 200-500 eggs during her lifetime.
This insect can go into a “dormant” mode for up to 9 months, thereby allowing it to survive long periods without feeding.
Evaluation and preparation for treatment.
Before commencing the treatment it is important to find where the Bed Bugs are hiding / living. New product for 2021, Bugscent Bed Bug lures are extremely attractive, click on link for more info. We now also stock Bed bug rapid test swabs called Trudetx, ideal for guesthouses, hostels and hotels for a 90% accurate reading on whether bed bugs are present or not! click on link for more info.
Strip the bed first and place all bedding in plastic bags, seal and remove from the room. Carefully vacuum the mattress and bed framework.
Check the bed frame and mattress carefully for blood spots paying particular attention to headboard (back and front) The bed frame should be broken down to its smallest components
It would be useful to have a can of Rentokil Insectrol Crawling Insect Killer to hand in case you find live adults, a quick spray will kill these before they have a chance to escape.
If the bed has a divan base, ensure you turn this upside down and carefully check the base, and, if it has drawers, remove the drawers and check those. Also look inside the divan base for any evidence of bed bug activity.
Remove drawers from bedside cabinets and check top and bottom of drawers and also up-end the cabinet in case they are hiding underneath or on the back of the cabinet.
Check behind any wall fixings (lights) or pictures hanging near the bed.
Check behind curtains of any windows near the bed
Hopefully, after the above works, you will know more about your problem and the extent of treatment required.
To protect treated mattresses you can buy special mattress covers that prevent re-infestation of the mattress. These are very effective, click on the mattress image on the right to go to our mattress cover section.
Evaluation and preparation for treatment.
Before commencing the treatment is is important to find where the Bed Bugs are hiding / living. New product for 2021, Bugscent Bed Bug lures are extremely attractive, click on link for more info.
Strip the bed first and place all bedding in plastic bags, seal and remove from the room. Carefully vacuum the mattress and bed framework.
Check the bed frame and mattress carefully for blood spots paying particular attention to headboard (back and front) The bed frame should be broken down to its smallest components
It would be useful to have a can of Rentokil Insectrol Crawling Insect Killer to hand in case you find live adults, a quick spray will kill these before they have a chance to escape.
If the bed has a divan base, ensure you turn this upside down and carefully check the base, and, if it has drawers, remove the drawers and check those. Also look inside the divan base for any evidence of bed bug activity.
Remove drawers from bedside cabinets and check top and bottom of drawers and also up-end the cabinet in case they are hiding underneath or on the back of the cabinet.
Check behind any wall fixings (lights) or pictures hanging near the bed.
Check behind curtains of any windows near the bed
Hopefully, after the above works, you will know more about your problem and the extent of treatment required.
To protect treated mattresses you can buy special mattress covers that prevent re-infestation of the mattress. These are very effective, click on the mattress image on the right to go to our mattress cover section.
Effecting the initial Bed Bug treatment
Having searched carefully you are now ready to tackle the Bed Bug problem. We strongly recommend the use of one of our Bed Bug Packs, which come with everything you need to do the job thoroughly and properly.
FOGGING: Using a fog or smoke insecticide only achieves a quick kill of exposed insects, it is NOT a complete treatment in itself.
Commencing treatment, don mask and gloves. Open all cupboard doors and drawers plus, remove the mattress from the bed frame and stand it on end so that the fog can get to all parts of the mattress. Seal any chimneys so as the fog does not escape during the application. Remove any fish or other animals!
Ensure windows are closed then activate the Insecto power fogger in the centre of the room. To activate, remove safety seal, push down actuator and twist to lock ON. Evacuate the room for two hours. After two hours, open the room door and go straight to the window and open, leave room for a further 10 minutes.
INSECTICIDE APPLICATION:
Physical insecticide application is required for the long term eradication and control of Bed Bug infestation. We recommend Protector C Super water based spray and our non-toxic Desi-Dust, these two products are well proven to control Bed Bugs and many other insects.
With gloves and mask in place you can commence to apply the Protector C Super to the mattress. We suggest a fairly light spray to the total mattress with particular attention to seams and buttons. Be sure to pull back the buttons and seams too as these are very high risk areas for Bed Bugs to hide.
Spray the bedframe also. We recommend you strip down the bed frame as bugs will often be found hiding in frame joints. If you have a tubular frame, check that it is sealed all round as Bugs are know to live inside tubular framework. Use Rentokil Insectrol to spray into any holes in the tubular framework.
On a bed with a divan base, remove any drawers and apply spray both inside and outside of the drawer. Check around the feet as this is an area Bed Bugs like, plus, if the base is the folding kind, open it up and spray inside the fold section as this is another favourite bed bug haunt! Spray the whole of the divan base paying particular attention the the base edges and use Smite inside the framework of the base, this will give long term protection.
Once the bed is finished, spray the floor area where the bed is usually placed, spray the skirting boards at where the bed head meets the wall. If there is evidence of activity on the wall, ie: behind wallpaper joints, spray the wall too with Protector C Super.
Spray bedside cabinets including the undersides of any drawers and the back panel, do the same for any chest of drawers within 1 metre of the bed or further afield if your inspection has revealed activity in the cabinet. The same goes for wardrobes close to the bed.
Check any curtains near the bed and spray those with Protector C Super too if activity is evident. Be sure to check the seams and top hook tape or tabs.
Once the surfaces are dry you can use Smite for applying the dust under skirtings and into any voids where spraying may not have been appropriate. One high risk hiding place around beds is electrical sockets.
The Smite can be safely applied into electrical sockets and will remain there for many years giving long term protection from Bed Bugs. Ideally, when treating power sockets, turn of the ring main that serves the affected socket and test that the socket is dead prior to removing the front and giving a light puff of Desi Dust into the back area of the socket where the cables are contained.
If you bedroom has bare floorboards, you will almost certainly benefit from lifting a board and applying Desi-dust under the floor between joists.
Follow-Up Bed Bug treatments
It is vitally important to carry out follow up Bed Bug treatments, as, even if no further infestation is evident, there will still be eggs that have not hatched. By the time such eggs hatch the chemical strength will have depreciated and may not kill emerging instars. Additionally, some bugs may decide to lay dormant in view of the chemical treatment that they sense, therefore these Bed Bugs could revive themselves several months after your treatment, and in this case, all the liquid applied will have lost its potence. Only the Smite will remain a threat to them.
So, a second treatment should be effected two weeks after the initial treatment and then a further treatment after one month. These three treatments will wipe out most infestations if carried out thoroughly.
You follow-up treatments do not need to include the use of the Desi-Dust unless the original application has been vacuumed away.
Re-treat all the areas that were originally treated. On the third Bed Bug treatment it should not be necessary to strip down the bed frame, as in the first two treatments.
