Finding bedbugs in your home can be an incredibly unpleasant and stressful experience. These small parasitic insects feed on human and animal blood while we sleep, leaving behind itchy welts. Getting rid of a bedbug infestation completely often requires extensive chemical treatments from local pest control professionals. However, you can take proactive steps to help keep these annoying pests out of your home in the first place. Follow this advice to make your home an unwelcoming environment for bedbugs.

Inspect Secondhand Furniture Thoroughly

Bedbugs easily travel to new homes by hiding in used furniture, especially upholstered pieces and wood items. Carefully check over any secondhand furniture, mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and decorative pieces before bringing them inside your house. Look in the seams, crevices, screw holes, and under padding. Use a flashlight to illuminate hidden spots. If you discover signs of bedbugs, do not bring the item into your home under any circumstances. Either choose something else or have local pest control treat the furniture first.

Vacuum and Reduce Clutter Frequently

Bedbugs like dark, isolated, cluttered areas to hide during the daytime when humans are active. Reduce their favorite hiding spots by frequently vacuuming your carpets, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and other fabric items. Use the crevice tool and carefully vacuum inside furniture seams and folds. Make sure to immediately empty the vacuum contents outside into a sealed trash bag after each use. Eliminating clutter like piles of newspapers, magazines, clothes, and stuffed animals takes away bedbug shelter. Bedbugs can be stubborn, highlighting the importance of hiring a local pest control company to deal with these pests.

Inspect After Traveling

Bedbugs often stow away in luggage and clothing after staying in an infested hotel room, a friend's home, or a dorm room. Thoroughly inspect your bags and laundry, looking in seams and pockets for signs of bedbugs. If you suspect you picked up hitchhikers, immediately wash your clothes on the hottest setting or dry them using high heat. Keep luggage outside or in the garage until you inspect everything. Calling local pest control to do a thorough inspection after traveling can give you peace of mind.

Install Door Sweeps

Installing door sweeps under all exterior entry doors creates a tight seal that keeps unwanted pests from crawling inside. Sweeps made from brushed fibers or vinyl fit snugly against the door's bottom edge when closed. This flexible barrier conforms to uneven openings and prevents bugs from squeezing through gaps. Caulking cracks around windows and adding fine mesh screens provide additional home fortification against invading insects. Upgrade to dual-pane windows for even more impenetrable protection.

Use Protective Bedbug Covers

Specially designed bedbug encasements and mattress covers create a secure barrier that traps any bugs already inside while keeping new ones out. Features like contoured seams, moisture-proof membranes, and tightly woven microfibers prevent the insects from creating escape holes. Zippers often have additional Velcro flaps over them as another deterrent. Leaving encasements on your mattress and box spring for at least one full year can eventually starve trapped bedbugs. Thoroughly cleaning the area first improves effectiveness. Replace standard decorative bed skirts with vinyl versions that do not have cloth overlap.

Take Action at the First Signs

Catching bedbug problems early makes eliminating them much easier for local pest control companies. Look for the insects, whitish shed exoskeletons, light brown fecal stains, and specks of blood from bites. You can find these on bedding, furniture, the floor, and along walls. A musty sweet odor may be present. Tiny blood spots on bedding or itchy welts on exposed skin overnight also indicate infestation. According to the EPA, bed bug eggs are small, measuring just one millimeter. Contact professional pest control immediately for an inspection and treatment plan if you suspect bedbugs. Follow all preparation instructions to facilitate complete home penetration of pesticides into infested cracks and crevices.

Dealing with a bedbug situation quickly using local pest control gives you the best chance of getting rid of the insects before they spread further. Implement some of these proactive prevention methods too for discouraging future occurrences. With vigilance, the odds of bedbugs invading your home significantly decrease. If you have bed bugs in your home, we can help you get rid of them. Call Northeast Pest Control Inc today and let's put together a treatment plan for you.