Bed bug decontamination is the treatment process by which any unwanted guests are killed. This includes eggs, larvae and the adult insect. Before you can begin your decontamination with the bugs, you must first remove the clutter in your home or office that might contain their hiding places or suitcases in which they travel and live. Kill them all! You wake up in the middle of the night to the sensation that something is crawling on your face. Or maybe it’s just me. No, okay, well, either way, we’re both going to be a little grossed out by what I’m about to tell you: there might be a bug living in your bed! Wait a second. What did I just say? Yeah, that’s right. A bed bug infestation can happen as early as three months after your purchase of a new and previously unused mattress set. Are you disgusted? Because I am and that makes two of us.

Bed Bug Decontamination

Bed bugs cannot be eliminated by a single treatment and may require a combination of treatments.

Bed bugs can be very difficult to treat because of their ability to hide in hard-to-reach places and reproduce quickly. An integrated pest management (IPM) strategy is the best approach for infestations. This includes:

• vacuuming up bed bugs, eggs and droppings,
• spraying the mattress with a residual insecticide,
• sealing cracks and crevices where bed bugs like to hide,
• cleaning up clutter around the house that can harbor bed bugs, such as old electronics or cardboard boxes containing clothing items stored away for years.

Do not move anything out of an infested room.

If it’s not a valuable item, you can throw it away.

If you have questions about whether an item is valuable, bring it to our office and we’ll tell you whether or not to keep it.

For example, if your grandmother gave you a vase full of glass flowers and she passed away last year then yes it’s probably worth keeping around. If she gave you a plastic fake plant for your birthday when she was alive and well but now she’s dead then no don’t keep that because eventually someone will want to throw it out anyway.

Carefully vacuum the room paying special attention to cracks in the bed frame and floor.

With the help of a crevice tool or extension hose, vacuum all cracks and crevices in the bed frame. Be sure to empty the vacuum contents outside of your home to prevent spreading the bugs further. Vacuuming is essential for reducing bed bug populations, but it is less effective than heat treatment or insecticide sprays when used alone.

Use interceptors under the legs of furniture in areas that are heavily infested.

Interceptors are plastic cups, jars or other containers that you place under the legs of your bed or other furniture. They serve as a trap for bed bugs. When you find bed bugs in your home, place a cup at the base of each leg of beds and other pieces of furniture to trap them there. For example, if you have a sofa with four legs and an armchair with three legs, set up one interceptor under each leg (six total).

To make an interceptor:

• Use either yogurt cups or large plastic cups with lids
• Place a dab of petroleum jelly on the rim where it meets the bottom so that it creates an airtight seal when put on top of furniture legs (this also helps prevent spills from occurring)
• Tape down all four corners so that they remain secure overnight

Take your bed apart (includes disassembling headboard, if possible) and clean, disinfect and dry all components.

Now that you have cleaned your bed frame and mattress, it is time to disassemble the headboard. If you don’t want to disassemble the headboard, you can skip this step.

To disassemble the headboard:

• Remove any screws on the back of your headboard with a screwdriver or drill (if applicable).
• Carefully pull apart pieces of wood until they come loose and remove them from the frame of your bed frame or platform bed frame (if applicable).

Wash all sheets, pillow cases, blankets, mattress pads, etc. with hot water and detergent at the highest temperatures possible.

Wash all sheets, pillow cases, blankets, mattress pads, etc. with hot water and detergent at the highest temperatures possible.

When washing bedding in a washing machine:

• Don’t use bleach! Bleach is harmful to humans and animals and can make you sick. It will not kill bed bugs or their eggs either!
• Use a detergent that can kill bed bugs (e.g., hot water temperature above 120 F).

If available, use heat steamers to kill bugs and eggs that can hide inside cushions on furniture, inside toys or behind wall hangings.

Heat steamers can be used to kill bed bugs and eggs that may be hidden inside furniture, toys or wall hangings. To use a heat steamer, place the item in question into a plastic bag and seal it. Heat the steamer up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 45 minutes. If you don’t have access to a heat steamer, you can use your oven as well. Place items in an airtight container and put them into the oven at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Make sure your clothing isn’t touching any of these items when using this method because it could catch fire if left on its own long enough!

Seal smaller items in plastic bags and place them in a freezer (-10°C / 14°F) for a week to kill bugs. Discard plastic bags upon thawing to prevent re-infestation.

• Seal smaller items in plastic bags and place them in a freezer (-10°C / 14°F) for a week to kill bugs. Discard the plastic bags upon thawing to prevent re-infestation.
• Use heat treatment to kill bed bugs from larger furniture, clothing, drapes and upholstered furniture by placing them for at least 30 minutes at temperatures greater than 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit). Note that this method does not work on hard surfaces such as floors or walls; you’ll need to repeat this process after removing each item from your freezer.
• You can also use steam cleaning machines or dry cleaning services to treat bed bug infestations on fabric-covered items like clothes, pillows and mattresses (beds only).

A thorough cleaning program is an essential part of bed bug control

A thorough cleaning program is an essential part of bed bug control. Bed bugs can live for months without feeding, so they can easily survive even in a clean home. However, regular cleaning helps reduce clutter where bed bugs may hide and makes it easier to find them (and their eggs) if you do find one or two.

Regular vacuuming also helps reduce the number of bed bug hiding places around your home.