Bedbug Inspection

A thorough inspection of the premises to locate bed bugs and their harborage sites is necessary so that cleaning efforts and insecticide treatments can be focused. Inspection efforts should concentrate on the mattress, box springs, and bed frame, as well as crack and crevices that the bed bugs may hide in during the day or when digesting a blood meal. The latter sites include window and door frames, floor cracks, carpet tack boards, baseboards, electrical boxes, furniture, pictures, wall hangings, drapery pleats, loosened wallpaper, cracks in plaster, and ceiling moldings. Determine whether bats are in the attic, or if there are rodents nesting on or near the house. Bats frequently have bat bugs feeding on them while they are sleeping during the day. Bats bugs look very similar to bed bugs and will feed on humans as well as bats.
In hotels, apartments, and other multiple-type dwellings, it is advisable to also inspect adjoining units since bed bugs can travel some distance.

Bed Bug Sanitation

Discarding the mattress is another option, although a new mattress will quickly become infested if bed bugs are still on the premises. Steam cleaning of mattresses is generally not recommended because it is nearly impossible to get enough heat into the middle of the mattress. Also, the excess moisture can lead to problems with mildew, mold and house dust mites, etc. In dealing with an infested sofa, love seat or upholstered chair, disposal may be necessary since it is difficult to get treatment into the deepest crevices of the furniture where the wood frame may provide harborage for bedbugs. In cases where the population of bedbugs is high, treatment of adjacent rooms is necessary. Closets in bedrooms may require treatment and the contents will need to be washed and dried as needed. Repair cracks in plaster and glue down loosened wallpaper to eliminate bed bug harborage sites. Remove and destroy wild animal roosts and nests when possible.

Bed Bug Trapping

Sticky traps or glue boards may be used to capture some stray bed bugs that wander about. However, this is not to be considered a bed bugs treatment. Trapping is probably the least successful method on how to get rid of bed bugs.