Bed Bugs – Be Gone! How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In A Mattress
If you’re looking for an excuse to buy a new mattress, bedbugs aren’t it, as we can teach you how to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress.
Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects that leave annoying, itchy welts on those they feast upon. They travel easily and can even reside in clean homes, which makes them hard to get rid of.
“Bed bugs only need blood to survive. We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million-dollar homes to public housing,” Orkin entomologist and director of technical services Dr. Ron Harrison says.
If you have a case of the bed bugs, don’t panic, and don’t think you need to throw away your mattress.
Here’s How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in a Mattress:
1. How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in a Mattress: Isolate The Bed
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To start off, relocate your bed to the room’s center, far from walls and furniture where pesky bed bugs might make their way. Ensure that only the legs of the bed are in contact with the floor. If your box spring rests directly on the floor, consider investing in an inexpensive mattress stand or elevators. Since bed bugs lack the capability to jump or fly, they rely solely on crawling to access your bed. By elevating and isolating your bed, their chances of escaping diminish significantly.
Next, place bed bug traps under all four bed legs. Bed bugs will crawl up the outer edge of the trap and get stuck.
2.) How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in a Mattress: Add Heat
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Heat is the key to exterminating bed bugs effectively. Sustained exposure to a temperature of 113°F will eliminate these pests within 90+ minutes, but if you can raise the heat to 118°F, their demise can be achieved in just 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the eggs present a more formidable challenge, requiring exposure to 118°F for a duration of 90+ minutes.
To begin, focus on your bedding by removing all sheets, pillowcases, comforters, and mattress pads. Completely strip your bed and launder everything at the highest setting available. American dryers typically reach temperatures of 120°F, so it is crucial to run them for a minimum of 90 minutes.
Next, direct your attention to the mattress itself. Since it cannot be washed and dried, steaming is the recommended method. You have the option of hiring a professional, which can be quite pricey, or investing in a home steam cleaner. Ensure that the steam reaches a temperature surpassing 118°F. Take your time during the steaming process to guarantee comprehensive coverage of every inch of the mattress. The standard guideline is to maintain a steam speed of approximately one inch per second, effectively eliminating bed bugs within one inch of the steamer’s reach. To prevent blowing the bed bugs or eggs off the mattress, experts suggest wrapping a piece of cloth around the tip of the steamer.
By adhering to these steps, you can successfully combat bed bugs while maximizing efficacy and minimizing their impact on your living space.
3. How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in a Mattress: Treat the Mattress
Once you have thoroughly steamed and eliminated as many bed bugs as possible from the bed, there is one crucial step remaining: eradicating any surviving bed bugs that managed to endure. For this, you will require diatomaceous earth (DE), renowned as the most popular and effective natural treatment for bed bugs. Composed of fossilized sea creatures known as diatoms, this remarkable substance causes bed bugs to desiccate from the inside out. Additionally, employing a mattress cover is essential, as it allows for the application of DE onto the mattress, effectively capturing any additional bed bugs within.
- Step 1: Ensure mattress is dry after steaming. Put on a face mask, gloves and goggles.
- Step 2: Sprinkle DE dust across your entire mattress, ensuring it’s evenly distributed across the entire surface.
- Step 3: Seal the mattress. Make sure your entire mattress is encased inside the mattress cover, making it impossible for any lingering bed bugs to escape. While the mattress cover should seal, consider putting duct tape across the zipper as an extra precaution.
DE kills bed bugs within 48 hours, but in order to ensure all eggs are killed as well, you should keep your mattress sealed for 4-6 weeks.
Once the process is over and you’ve completely removed all of the bed bugs from your mattress, you should consider cleaning your mattress once more to rid the mattress of DE and any lingering odors.
Have you ever had a bed bug problem, and did you know how to get rid of bedbugs in a mattress? Tell us in the comments!
