Don't count on bed bugs to go away on their own. In theory, they can. In practice, they don't unless several highly specific circumstances occur. Your best bet is professional bed bugs treatment.
Leaving bed bugs untreated will exacerbate the problem, as infestations do not die out on their own. With a single bed bug laying as many as 200 eggs in a lifetime, an untreated infestation can grow rapidly. The larger the infestation, the more susceptible you are to bed bug bites.
In most situations, even situations where a house is left unoccupied for extended periods of time, we still recommend exterminating bed bugs as quickly as possible to prevent a larger infestation and damage to furniture, and to ensure that they are gone for good.
It typically takes anywhere from 2-4 treatment sessions over a period of 3-6 weeks to completely eliminate bed bugs, depending on the level of infestation and the size of the house. However, each situation is unique.
It can be difficult to eliminate bed bugs, but it's not impossible. Don't throw out all of your things because most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing stuff out is expensive, may spread the bed bugs to other people's homes and could cause more stress.
If you've already gone inside your home, use a steamer to clean the carpets, drapes, linens, and mattress. Wrap your mattress in a bed bug proof cover. Place bedbug interceptors on the feet of your bed for a few nights just to be sure you killed everything.
Without a host, however, they are weaker than fully mature bed bugs, and are more likely to starve to death. In warmer temperatures, a bed bug will still survive a couple of months without a meal. That means that even if you leave your house for a couple of weeks, the bed bugs will still be there when you get back.
Among the popular and most effective DIY home treatments for bed bugs is rubbing alcohol. You can dilute it and place it a spray bottle and simply spray the infested areas. The alcohol will kill bed bugs almost immediately. It also evaporates quickly, leaves no traces or bad smells.
Often a great indicator of how long an infestation has been around is the number of adult bed bugs present. Generally it takes at least seven weeks for a bed bug to grow from an egg to an adult, so there should be no new adults from eggs during that period.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide on Your Body? Bed bugs do not typically hide on the body. They prefer to feed, then move back to their hiding place until they are hungry again. In some cases, they may hide in your clothes or the soles of your shoes.
You may be worried about getting bitten if you have to sleep in a bed with bedbugs. Although eliminating them is the best way to stop the bites, there are steps — from vacuuming and steam cleaning to wearing long-sleeved pajamas — you can take to keep bedbugs from ruining your rest.
Yes! Washing your linens in a hot water wash has proven to be effective in killing bed bugs. Although this may not get rid of your infestation entirely, it will control the bed bug problem.
Q: Do I have to wash and dry all the fabrics in my entire house? A: No. Bed bugs tend to hide as close to the bed as possible, so only launder the fabrics in the immediate area – your bedding, and clothing in dressers near the bed. Hanging clothes in closets can usually be left there, but wash anything on the floor.
Bed bugs are not considered to be dangerous; however, an allergic reaction to several bites may need medical attention.
Bed bugs are not something to be overly scared of, nor is it the end of the world if you find them in your home. True, they are difficult pests to deal with. But they are manageable. It isn't an impossible job to eliminate them from your home, and they don't transmit diseases when they bite.
You may have them for a while, but may not notice them until weeks, or even months later. Bed bug eggs take anywhere from six to 12 days to hatch, and the adult life span can be anywhere from six months to a year. That's why it's important to know these early signs of an infestation.
Light Bed Bug Infestation
Minimal fecal staining (small black stains in areas of travel, feeding, and harborage). Fecal stains will be anywhere the bed bugs hide or travel and can be used to detect hot spots. Minimal cast skins (exuviae are the skins shed during the molting process).
How can bed bugs get into my 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.
A bed bug can bite every night and even up to several times in one night, however, they only feed around one or two weeks. If the bed bug Infestation isn't large, then people may not have to experience bed bug bites every night.
Bed bugs are easy to kill using heat. Their thermal death point is reported to be 114-115° F. Putting infested clothing in a hot dryer is an excellent way of killing bed bugs and their eggs. Heat can also be used to kill bed bugs and their eggs in furniture and carpeting.
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.
Bed bugs live primarily indoors, giving them the heat they need to survive the winter. As long as they have a food source as well as the warmth they need, they'll happily remain active in your home throughout the year. If they don't have a food source, they can go for several months without eating and still survive.