Bed bugs are just not found in beds. You can find bed bugs in other areas of the home not just the bed.
If a home is heavily infested, bed bugs can be found in many different areas. The bedroom is the most common place to find bed bugs, but there is a bevy of other sites in the home they can hide, including:
• Edges of carpeting
• In cracks of wooden flooring
• In between furniture cushions
• In drawer joints
• Behind wallpaper and wall hangings
• In or behind clocks
• In window treatments
• In woodwork joints
• In screwheads
Bed bugs like to live in areas where humans like to rest or sleep. Their narrow bodies and ability to survive for months and sometimes up to a year without feeding make them excellent hiders. They have the potential to hide in mattresses and furniture for months before they’re seen. This is why it’s a good idea to be on the lookout for bed bugs and inspect bedding and furniture regularly.
Keep in mind that even the cleanest homes can have bed bugs. Vacuuming often will help pick up any bed bugs that may have hitched a ride into your home. If you use a bagless vacuum, cleaning the dust container and filters in hot water will get rid of bed bugs, larvae, and eggs. Sealing crevices and cracks in walls, woodwork, around outlets, floorboards, windows, and doors will discourage any bed bugs from traveling within the walls of your home.
Dirty laundry can also attract bed bugs. Worn clothing and slept-on sheets hold our sweat, oils, and scent—which can also draw in bed bugs. Dirty laundry serves a dual purpose for smelling like a meal and providing a hiding place for bed bugs. If there is no human host near, bed bugs like to live in dirty laundry until they can feed on human blood.
This is an excellent motivator to clean up all the piles and baskets of laundry and wash clothes and bedding on a regular basis. If you use a shared laundry facility, transport your clothing in sealed plastic bags. If you have an active infestation at home, be sure to dispose of the original bag and use a new one to transport the clean items home. When removing items from the dryer, put them directly into the bag and fold them at home. Washing clothing and bedding in hot water and drying them on the highest dryer setting will help kill bed bugs, larvae, and eggs. Eliminating clutter in the home will reduce the potential hiding places for bed bugs.
If you discover bed bugs in your home contact us to schedule an inspection at 202-709-7490.
