Bed Bug Control: 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Dealing With Bed Bugs

According to a PestWorld.org study, 99.6% of pest control companies in the United States have treated bed bugs in the past year. No matter where you live, there’s always a remote possibility that your home could become infested by bed bugs. Should you find yourself in such a situation, there are a few major mistakes that you’ll need to avoid in order to address and resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

Failing to Report to Landlord

First and foremost, if you live in a shared residential building (such as a condominium or apartment building), it’s imperative that you let your landlord or building manager know about the infestation right away. After all, it’s possible that your bed bug infestation came from a neighboring unit, so it will be impossible to get rid of the problem without treating the other affected units. Not to mention, if you’re leasing, there’s a chance that your landlord could even be responsible for paying for the pest control services.

Attempting DIY Treatment

One of the worst things you can do upon discovering bed bugs in your residence is thinking you can handle it yourself. While it’s true that there are plenty of store-bought bed bug treatments available, these are generally designed not to eliminate an infestation, but to make it more manageable and prevent it from spreading until a professional pest control company is able to come out. By all means, if you need to wait a few days before a pest control company is available to come to your home, utilize a DIY treatment option in the meantime. But don’t expect it to eliminate the need for a professional.

Sleeping in a Different Location

Finally, as counter intuitive as it may seem, you’ll want to continue sleeping in the same place until the bed bug infestation is resolved. Many people make the mistake of moving to a different bed in an effort to avoid bug bites overnight, but the fact remains that bed bugs can and will find you wherever you sleep; as such, you’re better off staying in the same bed and keeping the infestation from spreading. To reduce your risk of bites, put a mattress cover over affected mattresses, which will trap the bed bugs in place.

Dealing with bed bugs is never a pleasant experience, but you can avoid making things worse by being careful not to make these all-too-common mistakes.