The purpose of this short easy to follow article is to share a simple, safe, and effective Bed Bug Treatment Plan that truly works for me and will work for you and anybody you care about that is infested with blood sucking Bed Bug colonies. More good news is that it is non-toxic and also effective against other unwanted smaller personal pests that are attracted to or passed onto our beds, like scabies, mites, and lice.
Since being banned, DDT is no longer available because it was potentially killing and harming more things than just bugs. In its absence, there is a real shortage of effective pesticides to kill Bed Bugs.
Using other toxic pesticides is especially discouraged for use on or around beds or baby's nurseries. Use an eco friendly non toxic spray for active nests and anywhere you believe Bed Bugs are located.
This eco living friendly Bed Bug elimination strategy is simple but must be applied diligently to rid them. They hide well, they feed sporadically, Bed Bugs travel between apartments and on luggage, and they have become more resistant to standard dangerous pesticides.
- Carefully inspect living areas on a routine basis, particularly in and around sleeping areas.
- Spray eco living friendly non-toxic Bed Bug elimination enzymes daily for at least three weeks under and around each bed (to break the reproduction cycle).
- Use eco living friendly Bed Bug Proof bedding encasements.
- Be anti-Bed Bud ready when traveling.
Where should you look for Beg Bugs? The short answer is everywhere! The long answer is that they can be found in and around the mattress, box spring, bed frame, head board, foot board, dresser, night stands, clocks, computers, pictures on the wall, baseboard. Look for brown specs on the mattress. This can be dried blood or fecal matter. Also look for dried skins that occur during the Bed Bug molting process.
Of the eco living friendly non toxic sprays that kill bed bugs on contact the best are FDA (g.r.a.s.) which means all contents are "Generally recognized as safe". You must be persistent.
If Bed Bugs are nesting within your bedding, it is a good decision to use eco living friendly mattress, box springs and pillow encasement covers that are laboratory tested for Bed Bugs. Mattresses and box springs can be semi-permanently encased within special eco living friendly Bed Bug proof mattress encasements. Once installed, inspect the encasements to ensure they are undamaged; if any holes or tears are found, seal these completely with permanent tape. Any bugs trapped within these sealed bags will eventually die. Continue to spray encasement surfaces. The easiest and best eco living friendly Bed Bug encasement products can now be found online. Many commercially available bedding covers are not Bed Bug proof.
Rid bed bugs by thoroughly cleaning the infested rooms and then the entire residence. Strip bedding and thoroughly spray a mist of non-toxic eco living friendly solution over every inch of all pillow, mattress, and frame surfaces. Allow to dry. Separate and flip mattress while spraying box springs, on top, sides and bottom.
Continue to spray non-toxic eco living friendly solution daily around base areas of your bed for at least three weeks. Also, spray immediate floor and wall areas daily. Bed Bug colonies can multiply in cracks, crevices, wall outlets (be careful of electric shock!), picture frames, old or used furniture, luggage, etc.
After three weeks, continue spraying bed surfaces when changing bedding. Always use Hot Water setting (preferably with bleach when possible) when laundering sheets and pillowcases. Running heavier blankets and comforters through a HOT dryer cycle without washing (between professional cleanings) is also a very good idea.
Scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush moistened with an eco living friendly solution to dislodge and destroy eggs, and use a powerful vacuum to remove as many bed bugs as possible from cracks and crevices. Dismantling bed frames may expose additional bug hiding sites. Remove drawers from desks and dressers and turn furniture over, if possible, to inspect and clean all hiding spots.
To prevent bed bugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets so they won't contact the floor, and place the frame legs into dishes or cups of mineral oil and add an eco living friendly solution.
Carefully inspect each piece of home furniture. Look for Bed Bugs, eggs and skins. Check the furniture for holes or tears in the fabric. If you find any, the Bed Bugs may be so deep into the furniture that you may never treat them effectively.
Vacuum living areas regularly with a bag type vacuum so you can safely dispose after sealing. Wash all your clothes and sheets in hot water and store them in heavy duty plastic trash bags. Persistence is the key.
Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and cove moldings to further reduce Bed Bug nesting environments. Because Bed Bugs and other pests may spread through cracks and holes in the walls, ceilings and floors, it is wise for apartment/condominium dwellers to seek cooperation with neighbors and management to inspect and encourage treatment of adjoining apartments on the same floor as well as those directly above and below.
Don't panic. Although Bed Bugs can be annoying, they can be battled safely and successfully if you adopt a well-considered strategy using non-toxic eco living friendly enzymes.
Be vigilant.
Whenever you stay at a hotel or motel, peel the sheets back and look at the corners of the mattress. If possible, look behind the head board for signs of the bugs. Don't put your luggage on the bed or leave it on the floor near the bed. Take a safe non toxic eco living friendly Bed Bug spray with you on all your travels. Spray your luggage before you re-pack your clothes.
Eco living friendly safe non toxic enzymes can also be used in bathwater to soak in it if you have a scabies or mite infestation in any areas of your body, it is completely safe but keep it out of your eyes. You can also add it to the washing machine to clean your clothes of many personal pests.
Each Bed Bug needs only one full blood meal to develop to the next developmental stage, and they can readily wait months between feeding opportunities. Under ideal conditions, adult Bed Bugs can survive for more than one year between meals. Thus, infested residences should be aggressively managed to eliminate Bed Bugs in an eco living friendly way.
This information will help you to more effectively identify and safely manage a confirmed or suspected Bed Bug infestation. This article is published to assist homeowners, property managers, and tenants with safe eco living friendly non-toxic methods relevant to the identification and effective elimination of Bed Bugs.