Question by doglova:
How do you AVOID bedbugs?!?
I was watching a show about infestations, and a woman had bedbugs really badly. That scared the crap outta me. I hate bugs–hate ’em, hate ’em, hate ’em!! I have never had bedbugs, but is there a way to prevent them? I live in a state with full-on winter, spring, summer and fall. There is a mild forest behind my house and a riverish creek.
Best answer:
Answer by I am woman, hear me roar
Get rid of your bed.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
if u want to prevent it naturally, without the harsh chemical u may try to use citronella oil. I dunno if i spelled it right, but it sounded like that. You may use it as a repellant oil. Or u may spray on the windows and places u want to prevent kinds of pest.
You may also use boiled pandan leaves with alcohol or vinegar to spray on the environment.
Hope this one helps.
I live in a tropical country and im sort of living near mountains! mabuhay Philippines!
Peace, love and positivity i send to all of you!=) God bless u all!
Preventing Bed Bugs From Entering the Home 1.
1
Check for bed bugs before unpacking during a trip away from home. Change rooms or hotels immediately if you see any evidence of bed bugs.
* Pull back the sheets from the mattress and look for bugs along the seams or tiny blood spots on the mattress.
* Look along the edges of the box springs and in the seams of the bedding.
* Inspect the headboard and behind it.
* Examine wood or upholstered furniture, especially along crevices and seams. Bed bugs seem to prefer wood and fabric to plastic and metal.
* Don’t put your baggage on the bed. Use the suitcase holder if provided, or leave your luggage in the bath tub or outside until you have inspected the room.
2
Take care of bed bugs that may have hitched a ride on clothing.
* Separate laundry into plastic bags so the clothes can be placed directly in the washer without bugs escaping. Wash and dry the clothes on the highest setting that the fabric can withstand or take items to the dry cleaners.
* Undress on a hard surface floor rather than on carpet if you suspect bed bugs are on your clothing. Bed bugs do not travel on people like lice do. Wipe off the floor to capture any bed bugs that fall off the clothes.
3
Inspect luggage and other personal items for bed bugs. Vacuum off luggage and items that cannot be washed. Hand wash other items with hot, soapy water. Use a brush to scrub items, especially where bugs and eggs may be hiding in the seams and folds.
4
Take care when bringing used furniture and clothing into your house. Wash clothing immediately. Furniture, however, should be inspected carefully before even bringing it into your home:
* Check the crevices, behind moldings and other embellishments, and any cracks.
* Avoid bringing home used mattresses.
* Wash and dry all soft furnishings, such as curtains, at high temperatures before using.
There are a couple of common ways you can get an infestation:
1) Living in an apartment. Bed bugs often live or crawl in the spaces in between walls as well, and if your neighbors have them, you could as well. That also can make it harder for you to permanently get rid of them, since you’ve got a potential source until your neighbors take care of their own infestation.
2) Travel. Many hotels have infestations. With international travel, this is even more likely. Bed bugs will often crawl into your luggage and get carried back into your home, and all it takes is one to get an infestation started there, too.
3) Clothing. Sometimes they could get into your house by crawling onto your clothes randomly – but this is actually pretty rare.
4) Used furniture or clothing. This is more common – if you buy used clothes or used furniture, sometimes there can be bed bugs in them (they don’t just live in beds, but anywhere near where people sleep). If you bought something used and bring it into your house, that could be where you picked up your own set of bugs.
5) Your occupation. If you regularly go into other people’s houses for some reason, you could easily bring bed bugs back with you that way. If you’re the cable guy, a plumber, or anybody who goes into other people’s houses, you’re at risk.
6) Guests. If someone stays at your house, they could bring them over with them. One big source of this is students coming home for the holidays – the dorm rooms could easily pick up an infestation given how many people are coming in and out all the time from all over.
7) Wild animals. This is a kind of rare way people have gotten them, but sometimes people have had animals get into their house for a short period and bring them in with them. Birds and bats are the most common offenders.
Nearly eradicated for the past half-century in the industrialized world, Bed Bugs are now making a come back.
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