Preventing Bed Bugs
Bed Bug Mattress Cover - Do They Work in Preventing Bed Bugs?
Author: Eddie Saunders
Recent reports suggests that the problem of bed bugs has steadily been increasing each year and it's not surprising either as world travel continues to be on the rise. While many associate this problem with cheap hotels or shady inns, five star hotels and expensive homes can also become infested. If you expect to do a lot of traveling, then making use of a bed bug mattress cover can help keep these insects at bay.
The way it works is that the cover essentially encases the entire mattress so as not to allow any of these critters from going in or out. These tiny insects almost always attack late at night so if they are nesting in the mattress you are about to sleep in, do not be surprised to see bites on your body when you wake up. Being prepared will help to prevent this from occurring.
When searching for a bed bug mattress cover, be sure the one you choose will fit on the bed you intend to put it on. In addition, the zippers should also function properly in deterring insects from getting out. You may also want to consider a cover that is of tightly woven fabric instead of plastic just for added comfort. Eventually, any bugs trapped in will die due to lack of oxygen and food.
While these covers are extremely effective when you travel or stay over at a friend's place, if there is an infestation problem in your house then you may need to take a more aggressive approach. The purpose of these covers is not necessarily to prevent an infestation problem but to protect you when traveling.
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February 8, 2012
5:55 pm
Choose any mattress you are comfortable with!
Any mattress can be free of bed bugs and other critters. Immediately buy a zippered mattress protector that is specifically for deterring bugs, mites, dust. Usually marketed for people with allergies, you can even get them at Target. They can run from $24 and up, we got ours at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $39.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3942904 – this one is waterproof, too – personal preference.
http://www.allergyasthmatech.com/BeddingProtectors.asp
Go to Target.com and search “allergy mattress” without the quotes – you’ll get a fabulous selection!
On to Bed Bugs – do a Google search and find many excellent sites with information about bed bugs, how to get rid of them and how to prevent them!
Good luck and Sweet Dreams – congrats on getting a new bed!
February 8, 2012
5:55 pm
Since bed bugs hide in small crevices, they can travel with luggage, furniture, clothing, boxes, ect. This is how they move between hotels, homes and apartments. Used furniture, particularly bed frames and mattresses, are of greatest risk of harboring bed bugs and their eggs. They may be present in vacant apartments hiding in cracks and crevices since they may survive months without a blood meal. Bed bugs may travel between nearby apartments through voids in walls and holes though which wires and pipes pass. In a few cases, bats and/or birds may introduce and maintain bed bugs and their close relatives (bat bugs and bird bugs). All nests that harbor birds and bats should be removed.
Step I : Pre-treatment Procedures
Reduce clutter to inspection easier.
If you dismantle the bed frames, you may expose additional bedbug hiding sites.
Remove drawers from desks and dressers and turn furniture over, if possible, to inspect and clean all hiding spots.
Stand up the box spring and shine a flashlight through the gauze fabric to expose bed bugs.If the fabric is torn ( possible hiding place), remove fabric to prepare for spraying.
Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and moldings to further reduce harborages.
Since infested garments and bed linen can’t be treated with insecticide they will need to be laundered in hot water (120°F minimum). If washing is not available, sometimes heating the garments or bed linen for several minutes in a clothes dryer may work.
Thoroughly clean the infested rooms .Scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs.
Vacuum in area of bed bug harborages with an vacuum attachment. Vacuum along baseboards, nearby furniture, bed stands, rails, headboards, footboards,bed seams, tufts, buttons, edges of the bedding as well as the edges of the carpets(particularly along the tack strips) are key areas to vacuum. A good vacuum cleaning job may remove particles from cracks and crevices to encourage greater insecticide penetration.
Discard vacuum cleaner bag in a sealed plastic bag when finished.
Caulk cracks and crevices in the building exterior and also repair or screen openings to exclude birds, bats, and rodents that can serve as alternate hosts for bed bugs.
mattress or size of infestation. If there are holes or tears in the gauze fabric or fabric of the mattress, bed bugs and eggs may be inside, as well as outside. There are restrictions on how beds can be treated with insecticides.
After the mattress is vacuumed , scrubbed and treated with either an approved concentrated insecticide or dust, it can be enclosed in a zippered mattress encasements such as that used for house dust mites. These zippered mattress covers , available at bedding and allergy supply stores deny bed bugs access to other hiding areas. It would be helpful to encase not only the mattress, but the box spring as well. It is important to treat the zipper area as well when you follow the spraying and dusting procedures. Any bed bugs remaining on the mattress or box springs will be trapped inside the encasement. Leave the cover in place for a year or so since bed bugs can live for a long time without a blood meal.
More on this website where I copied and pasted info for you on: http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/how_to_get_rid_of_bed_bugs.htm
February 8, 2012
5:55 pm
The ONLY real way since u r moving is to not take any of that furniture with u start from scratch including your clothes. If its Possible money wise purchase all New belongings cover new beds in bedbug covers u can buy on the net. Throw all of the old stuff out important things like family heirloom’s and paperwork must be put in closed containers time kills them they starve to death. Check out a company called EcoSmart they have all natural bedbug killer.
February 8, 2012
5:55 pm
There isn’t anything that repel Bed Bugs. If they are gone at this point that is good. Hopefully your building is being treated and they will get rid of the problem. Please do not use a fogger as they only make the problem worse by driving the bed bugs deeper in the walls making them more difficult to treat.
February 8, 2012
5:55 pm
Not a chance. It’s doubtful if Riddex can get rid of any but the least significant of household pests. Honestly, if they worked, practically every household in Florida would have one (I don’t know anyone who has wasted their money on it).
Bedbugs are a hideous and difficult problem to overcome. And outbreaks are becoming more common recently.
One of my family members had them in a newly purchased condo (left behind by the previous owner). They were so disturbed and bitten that they bought a house and rented the condo.
To prevent bedbugs, be very aware that the infestation happens in some of the nicest places. 4 and 5 star hotels and resorts have had bedbug problems.
If you stay in a hotel, fumigate your travel items before bringing them into your home. The same thing applies to rental cars. When in doubt, use precautions. If you have a bedbug infestation, there’s lots of information online, use as many extermination methods as necessary.
December 27, 2007
7:17 pm
Wat mattress are best (ikea) for preventing bed bugs my current one is full of them?
ok guys i cannot afford a tempur pedic wat about some ikea type mattres or is a foam mattress ok too
April 21, 2009
9:51 pm
i was wondering can riddex prevent bed bugs?
I was wondering if riddex can get rid of mice roachs and ants can it prevent from getting bed bugs too?
September 4, 2009
5:43 pm
How do i prevent Bed bugs?
How come the bed bugs in my apartment are only in my master bedroom and living room? In between the master bedroom and the living room is the other bedroom and that bedroom has no bed bugs at all. They’ve gone all the way from the MB to the living room but left the room in between? How is that possible?
Also how do i get rid of them while I’m moving in 5 weeks. I don’t want to bring them to the new house and i don’t want them in the future so how do i prevent them forever?
February 3, 2010
3:59 pm
How can I prevent bed bugs from spreading to my new apartment?
I moved into an apartment, and they didn’t tell me but they have bed bugs. I’ve been getting bit every night so i’m planning on moving out. I just want to make sure no bed bugs follow me to the new apartment and lay eggs. Any tips on what i can do or how i can make sure any bed bugs don’t move with me?
May 18, 2010
8:39 pm
How to prevent bed bugs from getting on me?
I was wondering if they make some thing I can spray on myself that is safe that will repel bed bugs. I know there are some in my apartment complex and my place has been treated for them. I’m gladly able to say they are gone, but I don’t want them back.