Question by beth m:
How can I get rid of bedbugs?
A few months ago, my family and I started getting bitten at nighttime. We couldn’t figure out why until we saw on the news that bedbugs were coming back. After doing an inspection, we determined that it in fact was bedbugs. We’ve used bug sprays, professional insecticides, thrown out box springs, covered our mattresses, washed everything in hot water, steam cleaned, vacuumed constantly, etc. Nothing seems to be working, but there is no way that we would be able to afford to pay an exterminator or move. We currently rent our home, and I’m actually afraid to tell our landlord. We have no idea how we got them, but it is driving us all crazy. What can I do?
Best answer:
Answer by barbara m
I’ve been going through this for awhile now myself. I’ve also done all the things you mentioned. I’m having success, but it takes quite a while. You have to cover both the top mattress and box springs with the zippered vinyl covers, and leave them on permanently. Also use zippered vinyl pillow covers. Check your bed frames, they will hide in the joints of metal and in the holes of wooden ones. Spray the frames well. They can also hide in electrical outlets and under nightstands, so spray the bottoms and legs of those, and around the baseboards. Don’t use bedskirts because they hide in the creases. Keep an eye out for any small holes or tears in the mattress covers and tape them up well, as well as where the zipper closes, as they can get out there too. It takes quite a while to get rid of them, I’m still fighting them but it’s gotten much better. Keep doing what you’re doing and you should start seeing better results. Make sure you’re throwing out the vacuum bag everytime you vacuum, in a tightly closed trash bag, in an outside trash can or they will escape from your vacuum. I also steam clean once a week. Good luck, I hope it starts getting better for you soon.
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bedbugger.com this is an amazing site with lots of help and tips
I had bed bugs for a while too and tried everything… eventually I just gave up and threw out my mattress. It was a spring mattress (apparently bed bugs have a LOT of places to hide in spring mattresses).
After some reading, I found out that bed bugs rarely live in foam, so I decided to go for a memory foam mattress and found http://www.novosbed.com. I’ve had the mattress for about 8 months and have had no problems with bed bugs at all, and I’ve slept way better than I ever have on a spring.
I highly recommend memory foam, especially from Novosbed 🙂
Good luck!