If You Think You're Infected.
Maybe you have woken up with red spots on you. Maybe you have even seen a bedbug in your house. Here is how to tell if you are infected, and what you need to do.
If you suspect there are bed bugs where you sleep, don't begin sleeping in another bed, or on the sofa. Do not go to stay with someone else. The bugs may follow you to your guest room or sofa, and then it will be much harder to get rid of them.
They may hitch a ride to your relative's home, and you can cause them to become infested. Also, staying outside of your home means the bugs may become dormant.
Research indicated that bed bugs can survive without feeding for up to 18 months. When you come back, they can begin biting you again. So staying in your home during treatment, and sleeping in your usual bed, is the way to kill bed bugs.
Isolate your bed while you are waiting for a Pest Control Operator (PCO) to treat your home.
Call Sleep Again Pest Control immediately.
So save any bed bugs you find. Do not part with these– you may need to show them to our specialists. To pick them up, use clear packing tape and tape it to an index card. Do not assume you will see lots of them, some people do not.
Do rule out other possible conditions, like folliculitis, scabies, and bites from other insects, such as fleas. Suspected bed bug bites sometimes turn out to be one of these other conditions. Doctors cannot diagnose bed bug bites with any certainty. They may or may not be helpful depending on the amount of experience they have had with bed bugs. Be warned, though, that many of us are told by doctors that we do not have bed bugs, and later find they are wrong.
Many of them have never seen bed bug bites, or have seen only some patients with them. Bed bug bites can range from large welts to small red bumps, to scabby pimple-type bumps.
Do not assume you are the only one being bitten. Remember that some people do not react to bed bug bites at all. Bed bug bites are an allergic reaction, and reactions vary from nothing to serious allergic reactions.
Do not start throwing your bed and other furniture out. Once your home has been treated with our Hot Air Purification Process, you may then ask our specialists if throwing the furniture out is a good idea. And he or she can help you do it safely, so as not to spread the bugs around your home or building, and so that others do not pick up infested items.
Do not start buying a load of chemicals and treating yourself. Remember, pesticides have different qualities (repellents, contact killers, residual killers, growth regulators, etc.) Bed bugs are probably the most complicated pests you have ever encountered at home. If you start spraying pesticides, you may disperse the bugs. You may spread them around your home. Call Sleep Again Pest Control today!
Do not, absolutely do not release a fogger or bug bomb. Do not allow your landlord to do so. Do not allow a so-called exterminator to do so. Bug bombs / foggers do not work for bed bugs, and in fact, will spread them. Your problem will be magnified.
Do not start bagging everything you own. With the exception of washed and dried clothing (according to specific instructions below and in the FAQs), do not seal up everything you own in bags. Following our advice is crucial, since we know what we will be using on your problem. If you decide to bag things, you may be sealing away bed bugs– and this is only a way of dealing with the problem if you put these items in storage for 18 months, unopened. Instead, our specialists will vigorously fight your problem, and bed bugs will be eliminated using our Eco-Friendly- Hot Air Purification Process.
Do start dealing with your clothing and linens. Though you should not simply seal your possessions in bags (as above), it is probably a good idea to start working on clothing and bedding, since we will tell you to do this, and it takes time. You should take clothing and other items, wash them in a machine on hot, dry them on hot for 1-2 hours. Remember, driers vary as to their strength and how long they take with what size of load. My personal method is that items should at least be dried on hot for 20 minutes after they appear to be fully dry and very hot. If you want to be cautious, go for two hours on hot. Dry cleaning is okay too. Keep in mind that pillows, comforters, down coats, and other thick items may take longer. Here's the key: after washing and drying, bag items in sealed, airtight bags, and do not remove them until your home has been treated.
Do not assume bed bugs are only in your bed. While bed frames and mattresses and headboards are the most likely location for bed bugs, they can and do often hide out in sofas and other soft furniture, electrical sockets (behind plates), light fixtures, baseboards, floor crevices, and other crevices in the bedroom and living room. Bed bugs are occasionally found in kitchens and bathrooms. This should not make you panic: most cases, especially smaller ones, are quite concentrated, usually 10-20 feet from where people sleep (or where they sit for extended periods). Realize that many people with bed bugs have infested sofas, computer chairs, and so on. Do not believe that bed bugs only bite at night. They prefer a sleeping, stationary host who is fast asleep. But if they are hungry, they will take what they can get. You can be bitten while in a chair, awake.
