7 Easy Ways To Protect Your Home From Bed Bugs

Have you ever woken up with a cluster or line of small red itchy bumps on your skin? Guess what? Bed bugs have bitten you. So, how to protect your home from bed bugs?

Like any other pests, they can hide anywhere as long as the place is safe and temperate. The climate in Utah may have been favorable for these critters all along. These bloodsuckers love to nest in the cracks, crevices, or gaps of your headboard or mattress without you knowing. As long as their nest is near their food supply, which is the blood from humans or animals, they are all good.

How to Protect your Home from Bed Bugs?

The big query is: how do you secure yourself, your family, and your home from these nasty creepy crawlies? In this blog article, let’s tackle ways to defend against bed bug infestation. 

#1 Check the early signs

It is essential to develop your and your family’s knowledge about the signs of bed bug infestation, including the bites, features, and habitat. 

One of the telltale signs of bed bugs invasion is the welts on your skin which you do not have when you go to sleep. Bed bugs are primarily nocturnal bugs, and they feed on blood during the night when the people or animals are asleep. Your sleep may also be interrupted by the teeny-weeny bite of the bugs, which can wake you several times at night. 

Another noticeable sign is the bloodstain on your bed sheets, blankets, or pillowcases. There may be brown or rust-colored spots in the droppings, eggshells, and exoskeletons of the bed bugs in areas where they are likely to conceal themselves. They also release a musty smell from the glands of their body to communicate with fellow bed bugs.

#2 Use protective covers

Bed bugs prefer living in places that are as narrow as where a business can slide inside. Hence, to prevent them from scurrying to these ideal hiding and nesting spots, protective covers on mattresses and box springs will do the trick. Not just any covers. Safe covers safeguard the mattress and box spring from any pesky invaders and wear and tear. These kinds of special encasements will also make it difficult for bed bugs to reach you while you are sleeping. 

#3 Eliminate clutter

When was the most recent time you scanned and eliminated the clutter in your home? If you have heaps of papers, clothes, or any belongings you have not used or touched for over six months, it is time to cut them back. Any clutter is as good as a hiding spot for many pests, including bed bugs. If you get rid of your clutter, bed bugs have nowhere to hide or nest in your home. 

Any belongings that you no longer need can be disposed of, donated, or recycled. It is up to you as long as you have reduced the number of hiding areas to shelter pests. Otherwise, you may opt to organize and store your possessions in air-tight or vacuum-sealed bags. 

#4 Vacuum regularly

Cleanliness proves to be a homeowner’s best friend. Vacuum the bed frames, carpets, floors, headboards, mattresses, rugs, upholstered furniture, under the beds and around their legs, or every nook and cranny where bed bugs are likely to hide. In doing so, it will help you reduce the population, especially if done frequently. 

If you suspect bed bugs in a specific area around the house and vacuum it, make sure to change the vacuum bag immediately, so the bed bugs have no way to escape. Put it inside a tightly sealed bag and dispose of it in a bin outside of your house. This way, you can ensure that they will no longer bug your home. 

#5 Wash thoroughly and regularly

Wash the bedsheets, bedspreads, blankets, covers, and any clothing that has frequently come into contact with the walls and floors. Heat-dry them if the washing label says so. Bed bugs lay eggs aside from the population they already have. Washing helps you reduce their numbers.

Another tip is to clean the baskets, containers, and hampers in the laundry area when you do the laundry to prevent them from sneaking.  

#6 Inspect meticulously

Whatever you bring inside your home, check it first. Check thoroughly the boxes, furniture, packages, and parcels that get inside your home. One way bed bugs can invade a home is by stowing them inside. They are excellent hitchhikers as long as they can hide between the gaps of a box or package. And once they successfully infiltrate your home, the infestation begins. So be sure to scrutinize them first, store them, and dispose of them properly.

In the same way, whatever bed, couch, or furniture you bring outside of your home, it is better if you dismantle, slash, or destroy them. Although these things can be reused or recycled, if you have a pest infestation, chances are you may pass it onto them.  

#7 Seek the help of the professionals, if necessary

It is excellent to enlist a professional exterminator if you do not have the time or skill to deal with a bed bug infestation. Professional exterminators have a state license to conduct pest control in Utah. They are experienced, knowledgeable, and responsible for getting rid of the troublesome bed bugs in a safe and eco-friendly way. Let them protect your home from bed bugs!