There have been some stories in the news recently stating that making your bed first thing in the morning can cause bed bugs. The story states that allowing the bed to air for an hour before making it will help prevent bed bugs. Is this true?
Although, allowing your bed to air before you make it may help prevent dust mites, bed bugs do not usually live in your bedding. Bed bugs can burrow into your mattress and live there, but they most likely live on the bed frame where they can find cracks or crevices to hide and set-up a nest. They will also often live close to the bed in cracks within skirting bards or door frames.
Why are they Called Bed Bugs if they Don’t live in your Bed?
Bed bugs get their name because they generally feed from human blood while they are sleeping (usually in their bed). Although it is also common for them to live in other furniture such as sofas or wardrobes, they will generally live around your bed, so they have easy access to food.
How do Bed Bugs Know Where My Bed is?
Bed bugs don’t necessarily know where your bed or bedroom is but when they move around at night looking for food, they are attracted to the carbon dioxide you exhale as you breathe. Once they have found you, they will inject you with a numbing agent before latching on to feed on your blood.
How Often Do Bed Bugs Feed?
One of the reasons it can be hard to spot bed bugs is that they do not actually need to feed every night. In fact, they can survive for months without feeding. This means that you may notice a bite, then not notice anything for weeks or even months leaving you unsuspecting.
Each time a bed bug feeds it will go back to the nest to digest the food and grow into the next stage of its development. After 6 feeds, the bed bug will be fully developed and capable of reproducing.
What Steps Can You Take to Stop Bed Bugs Infesting?
There are things you can do to prevent bed bugs from getting into your property an also prevent them from spreading.
Bed bugs are great travellers and can easily transfer to your home to your luggage when you travel and through second hand furniture which you bring into your home.
We can minimize the risk of this by being aware of the signs of bed bugs and how they move around. Read our page on the signs of bed bugs here and on preventing bed bugs from entering your luggage here.
If you suspect, you have bed bugs because you have experienced a bite at night you can check your bed for signs such as blood spots on your bedding. These can be clues that a bed bug has fed during the night.
Early prevention is best and identifying a bed bug before it has the chance to reach maturity and reproduce can reduce the chances of the infestation getting worse.
Washing your bed sheets regularly in a hot wash can help prevent bed bugs, so this should be the first step.
Check your bedframe for signs of beg bugs, looking for brown spots which me be a sign of a nest.
Use a torch at night to check your bed, you may spot bed bugs moving around. If you see them, they can be squashed.
If you continue to get bitten, contact your local bed bug heat treatment specialist to arrange a treatment immediately. Early treatment is best as the infestation is likely to be smaller.
Will Heat Treatment Get Rid of Bed Bugs Immediately?
Yes. Heat Treatment for bed bugs is proven to kill the bed bugs, their eggs and nymphs meaning it is 100% effective at preventing them from returning.
For further information on how heat treatment works, please read our blog here.
Please contact us if you think you require treatment for bed bugs. We have over 10 years of pest control experience and cover all areas of London, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Kent.
We offer a free, no obligation quote and our service is also fully discrete, we use unmarked vans and equipment, meaning your neighbours don’t need to find out.
We are 5 star reviewed on Google reviews and offer a six month guarantee on all of our heat treatments.
Watch our videos on heat treatments for bed bugs here.
