Pest Facts Forum

[rescuejt]

Jeff from Responsible Services Pest Control writes:

We now get this questions daily, usually you know you are being bitten by something while in bed or on furniture.

First, I usually will ask a series of questions because we need to identify where they came from. We need to know this in order to insure that you don’t re-infest your home once we eliminate the infestation.

1. Have you had family or friends stay with you recently?
2. Have you taken a trip recently and stayed in a hotel or with someone? (Usually within the last 6-12 weeks.
3. Do you work in a position where you are in contact with the public or are in there homes frequently?
4. Do you work in a shift position where you share a desk or position with other personnel?

What you can do if you work in a at risk position is to do what we do after treating properties for bedbugs. Upon arriving home remove your clothing and place it into a dryer on medium high to high heat for approximately 20 minutes.(It has to reach 120 degrees to kill any live bugs and their eggs.)

Our Bedbug page: http://responsibleservices.com/Pest_Library/bedbug.html

When you start inspecting the furniture there are key hiding locations for each piece of furniture.

Beds: 1. Remove the comforter and sheets checking for activity, typically they like to hide around edges and sewn seams.
2. Check around the roping sewn around the edges of the mattress and in the seam of the pillow top if i has one.
3. Remove the mattress from the bed and remove the bed skirt from the box springs. Check the bed skirt and the seams for bedbugs, eggs and nymphs.
4. Inspect the box springs top first and work your way down lifting it out of the frame. Check the bottom where the cheese cloth is especially where it is stapled to the mattress.
5. Inspect the bed frame and headboard paying special attention to where the frame locks into the headboard and footboard. The slots tend to be a common place for them to hide. Bedbugs love wooden surfaces especially slots and joints with gaps to hide in.