Think You Have “Bed Bites”? Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite!

Do you have little red itchy welts sometimes referred to as “bed bites“? You know what they say, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” and they say this for a good reason. While bed bugs aren’t known to carry any major diseases, they are beyond bothersome causing allergic reaction and severe itching. Keep in mind that one bed bite alone isn’t cause for alarm. Usually, the bed bug bites show up in clusters. So how do you know if you have them and what do you do to get rid of bed bugs?

Bed bugs are small critters that like to get in the binding of mattresses, cracks and crevices of floorboards, molding, drawers, and they love your suitcase when you travel to hotels. They are quite small so you probably will only be able to see them after they have fed on you and are engorged with your blood. They leave blood and feces trails too so you might see “dirt specs” which can be a clue you could have bed bugs. Unfortunately, they can get almost anywhere and so the treatment has to be very extensive.

What to Do When You Get a Bed Bite from Bed Bugs…

The bad news is that it takes a full on attack to get rid of bed bugs. It can be quite expensive to hire an exterminator but the good news is that you can do it on your own with the right bed bug equipment.

First you have to get the mattress and any bedding out of the house. You can put the bedding in the wash but make sure it dries on high at least 20 minutes. Treat the mattress (check out this site for details) and then cover it with an mattress encasement specifically designed for bed bugs and avoiding bed bites.

Then you need get clothes out of the room and wash all of those too. Things like CD cases, books, and electronics will need to be treated too. Fortunately, they make powders and sprays for these types of objects.

Bed Bugs in Hotels

If you travel a lot, you should definitely look into investing in a heating device that treats your entire luggage when you bring it home. As someone who has a daughter that was a hotel inspector for a major chain in the US, I highly recommend this. In fact, she often used the large plastic Hefty bags to seal her luggage while she was not using it in her hotel room.

Once you have treated the entire room, carpet, molding, crevices around electrical outlets, picture frames, then you bring back in the mattress and clothes. Set out traps under your mattress legs and around the room just in case you missed any.

Hopefully this helps you to avoid any bed bites in the future. Bed bugs can be a horrible experience, but you CAN get it taken care of by being thorough and staying on top of it. Good luck!