*Ring, ring* Your morning alarm sounds, and you start to roll out of bed. As you walk to your bathroom to freshen up, you feel a strong itching sensation all over your chest and forearms. You walk up to the mirror above your sink only to spot your worst nightmare: bed bug bites. These bites not only reveal your skin’s irritation to aggressive pests, but they remind you that you must now take steps to clear your home of an infestation.
Here are some tips to keep in mind once you discover a bed bug infestation on your South Florida residential property:
Try to find the infestation’s source
If you have woken up to bed bug bites all over your upper body, there is a high chance the infestation is coming from your mattress. These pests tend to feed at night, causing bites to be visible during morning hours. A bed bug infestation can be uncovered due to brown spots found on your bedding or mattress. These brown spots signal feeding has taken place.
Don’t scratch
During a nighttime bed bug feeding, the bed bug will bite any area of skin that is exposed. Although bites are more likely to be found on forearms and legs, check your entire body for itchy, red spots. More importantly, do not scratch any of these bites. Scratching a bed bug bite will lead to scarring, bleeding or infection.
Clear what you can at home
The more furniture, household items, clothing, or accessories you have exposed throughout your room, the more opportunities there are for bed bugs to nestle and hide. Plus, once bed bugs are discovered somewhere in your home, excess clutter will make the cleansing process difficult. Do not give bed bugs the chance to move into your home. Clear out your clutter by making use of plastic storage bins, recycling, or throwing out trash.
Once clutter is removed from the area, focus on deep cleaning. More specifically, vacuum ALL rugs and large furniture. You can use the crevice tool to get into detailed spots where a rug may meet walls. After vacuuming your floor and furniture, consider investing in vacuum-sealed storage bags to stow away any seasonal clothing, cloth items, or travel essentials. These will ensure bed bugs do not find their way into your belongings.
Call the professionals
Tackling a bed bug infestation is no small feat. Call a team of licensed pest control professionals to eliminate the bed bug problem plaguing your home. For more details on bed bugs and how to rid your property of an infestation, contact our team of experts at Manning Pest Control.
