Bedbugs can be notorious pests, and they can also be difficult to get rid of. If you are concerned about bed bugs becoming a problem in your home, here are some useful tips to put into practice.
Eliminate Hiding Places
Bedbugs can live for two to three months without feeding, and they can find plenty of hiding spaces in your home to wait until their next meal. Eliminating clutter is one step you can take toward preventing these pests from taking hold in your home. The fewer hiding spaces there are, the less likely you will be to miss warning signs that you have bedbugs in your home.
Take Extra Care With Public Laundry Facilities
Whether you take your clothing to the dry cleaners or you do your laundry at a public laundry facility, it's a good idea to take a few extra precautions when bringing your clothing home. You can place clothing into large self-sealing plastic bags, which can be left in an area of your home that has no carpeting or upholstery. Make sure the bags are sealed tightly, and express any extra air out of the bags before sealing them. This can help prevent the bugs that might have traveled on your clothing from the public facilities from coming into your home.
Cover Your Furnishings
You may already know to place your mattresses and box springs in protective bedbug-proof cases, but you can also take the same step to protect other items in your home. You can purchase plastic covers for sofas, chairs, and loveseats to protect them from a suspected bedbug problem. However, there are more comfortable options you might want to consider, such as sofa encasement covers. These covers typically feature soft fabric that ensure your furnishings are still comfortable even as you work to prevent bedbugs from overcoming your home.
Steam And Vacuum Carpeting
Carpeting can provide the perfect hiding spot for bedbugs, so keeping the carpeted surfaces in your home clean and well-maintained is important. Vacuum regularly, and throw the vacuum bag or the canister contents in the outside trash right away. Purchase a carpet steam cleaner, or rent one from your local hardware store, and do a deep clean of your carpets regularly. As with the vacuum bags, be sure to throw the waste water from your steam cleaning away outside. Taking these items outside to be emptied can prevent stray bedbugs from creeping back into your carpet.
If you suspect you have a bedbug problem, contact a pest control company, like Yuma Pest Termite Systems, to begin treating the problem right away. With diligence and expert help, you can prevent bedbugs from becoming an issue in your home.