An effective way to keep bedbugs that are hiding inside your bed from biting you is to invest in a good-quality covering for your mattress and box spring. The best option is to use a cover with a good seal that zips around your mattress and box spring. This traps the pests until they eventually die.
There are many smells that bed bugs don't like. If you're spraying your luggage, clothing, or bedding, use a scent that you like. Lavender, peppermint, or lemon can do the trick.
Shortlist of bed bug predators are:
Red Imported Fire Ants. Pharaoh Ants. American Cockroaches. Thanatus Flavidus Spiders. House Centipedes.
If there's one thing a bed bug can't stand, it's the smell of Vicks vaporub. Bed bugs are known to hate essential oils, and the strong, menthol scent of vicks makes them sick. Apply Vicks to your hands, feet, neck, and any other exposed area of skin before sleep to prevent bed bugs from biting you.
Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home. Similarly, avoid taking your bedding from the location of the infestation to other rooms of your home.
They can come from other infested areas or from used furniture. They can hitch a ride in luggage, purses, backpacks, or other items placed on soft or upholstered surfaces. They can travel between rooms in multi-unit buildings, such as apartment complexes and hotels.
Bed Bug Feeding
The bugs can bite several times in a night to become full but only feed about once every one or two weeks. People that have only small numbers of the bugs in their homes may not experience new bites every night.
These bites may be from small biting midges, often called “no-see-ums”. They are also known as punkies or sand flies.
As bed bugs feed on warm-blooded creatures, it's only natural that they're attracted to you. Specifically, they're drawn in by your body heat, the carbon dioxide you exhale and other biological signatures. In fact, they're called bed bugs because they're often found on or around bedding.
Because bed bug bites affect everyone differently, some people may have no reaction and will not develop bite marks or any other visible signs of being bitten. Other people may be allergic to the bed bugs and can react adversely to the bites.
Bed bugs are not a sign of a dirty home or poor personal hygiene. Bed bugs are hitchhikers - they travel to new places by hiding in furniture, suitcases, or other objects that get moved around.
Pyrethrins and pyrethroids: These are the most commonly used pesticides for bed bug treatment. Pyrethrins are derived from chrysanthemum flowers, and pyrethroids are the synthetic equivalent.
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.
When bed bugs come to feed, they would much rather do so on bare skin. If you do find bugs crawling around your skin or hair, take a hot shower with liberal use of soaps and shampoos. Wash your clothes, linens, and towels in hot water, and dry them on high heat settings when possible.
Bed bugs are most active between midnight and 3 am. They are rarely active during daylight hours, and only come out when attracted by the warmth and carbon dioxide released from a body at rest.
Ortho Home Defense Max Bed Bug, Flea and Tick Killer - With Ready-to-Use Comfort Wand, Kills Bed Bugs and Bed Bug Eggs, Bed Bug Spray Also Kills Fleas and Ticks, 1 gal. To quickly and effectively kill bed bugs as well as fleas, ticks, and more, this bed bug spray is a great option.
Prevent bed bugs from moving onto furniture by coating the legs of furniture with petroleum jelly (like Vaseline), or by wrapping the legs with double-sided tape.
Bedbugs feed off human or animal blood. They're often found in places like the seams of your mattress or cracks in your bed frame. Bedbugs aren't adapted to live in your hair, but it's possible a bedbug could end up in your hair after biting your scalp. Finding bugs in your hair is much more likely a sign of head lice.
Using heat is the best way to force bedbugs to leave their hideaway. You can use heat to convince the bedbugs that the host is nearby. They will come out and begin looking for food. You can also try washing your clothes on high heat.
Often a single bed bug will produce more than one bite during the night so it is not always a one to one relationship where each bite represents a different bed bug.