How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

By Tim Gorman

While bed bugs are not the scourge of the earth that old wives' tales make them out to be, they are certainly unpleasant visitors to have at times and probably one of the last creatures on earth that anybody would like to share their bed with, but how do you get rid of bed bugs?

Unfortunately, simple cleaning methods will not do the trick alone. While a clean home is certainly a happy home bed bugs do not care; either way, your home and bed (or couch) is heaven to them and they are having a feast at your expense. Luckily, there are some ways to get rid of bed bugs, so you can feel more at ease in your own home and stop itching so much. After all, don't you deserve to be happy and comfortable in your humble abode? So let's learn how to kill bed bugs.

How do you get rid of bed bugs? The most tried and true method is extreme heat. If you live in the high desert, you have a greater advantage to getting rid of bugs than many others but bed bugs do not tend to last long in such a climate anyway. As a species, they cannot survive temperatures over 113 degrees Fahrenheit so extreme heat is the only reliable method of getting rid of the bed bug problem. For this reason, steam cleaning is a method that you can use on your own or hire an exterminator to do so if you can afford it.

Getting rid of bed bugs is a great deal harder to do than it is to actually pick the parasites up; in order for the cleaning to be thorough everything in the affected area (preferably the entire home) must be stripped down to its barest so that the bed bugs are exposed, as they tend to hide out in small cracks and crevices. This includes caulking small spaces, removing light plates, taking the cushions off of couches and stripping down mattresses; in essence everything must be as bare as it could possibly be to prevent bed bugs from having the opportunity to hide out and escape the mass killing that is soon to befall all of their little friends.

After the steam cleaning has been done, the problem is no longer how to get rid of bed bugs but how to keep them gone; look for the marks on the sheets that indicate actual "bed" bed bugs when you travel, and request a room change if necessary. Keep yoru luggage away from furniture so that they have less of an opportunity to hitchhike a ride back to your home, and be wary of your accommodations at all times.

From the Motel 6 to the Ritz, from your mother-in-law's house to your own home, bed bugs are a problem in all types of environments. It doesn't take a filthy mess to make a good home for bed bugs; as a matter of fact the only thing that bed bugs need to survive in this world is YOU.

Need help detecting and getting rid of bed bugs? Visit howtopreventbedbugs.com, a popular website that provides tips, advice, articles on bed bugs and resources on how to properly kill bed bugs quickly and easily so you can reclaim your bed and get a good night's sleep.

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