If you think you have bed bugs in a Brooklyn home, flat or rented room, don't throw out the bed yet and don't spray it with a supermarket can. Bed bugs need a thorough inspection to find where they're hiding, a targeted treatment of those places, and a follow-up visit to catch the ones that hatch afterwards. Done properly, it works. Done halfway, it drags on for months.
How bed bugs end up in Brooklyn
Bed bugs don't come from dirt. They hitch rides. They travel in suitcases, backpacks, secondhand mattresses, couches and bedside tables, and they move from room to room on clothing and bags. Brooklyn has a lot of the movement that spreads them: rooms and flats let to tenants near the university, people relocating in and out for work, staff and visitors who travel often, and and plenty of secondhand beds and couches changing hands whenever tenants move over.
Older houses divided into rooms or units also make it easier for bed bugs to spread once they're in, through gaps in skirting, along pipes and under shared doors.
Are they really bed bugs?
Bites alone aren't proof. Many people react to fleas, mosquitoes or bird mites in a similar way. Look for physical evidence:
- Small, flat, reddish-brown insects about the size of an apple seed, in mattress seams, bed frames and headboards
- Tiny dark spots, which are droppings, along seams and in the joints of the bed
- Pale shed skins and tiny white eggs in crevices
- Small blood spots on sheets in the morning
- Bites in a row or cluster on skin that was exposed while you slept
If you're being bitten but can't find any of that, the culprit could be something else. Our page on biting insects in Brooklyn walks through the other suspects.
What our treatment involves
We inspect every bed in the affected room and the rooms around it, along with couches, cupboards, curtain folds, skirting and plug points. Bed bugs hide close to where people sleep or sit for long periods. We then treat those harbourage areas directly with products suited to bed bugs. Because eggs are protected from most treatments, we return to treat again after they've had time to hatch. In flats and divided houses, we strongly recommend checking neighbouring rooms too.
You don't need to move out for a normal bed bug treatment. Children and pets should stay off treated surfaces until they have dried.
For a house of rented rooms, we can work through the whole building on one visit, so that tenants aren't treating their own rooms at different times with different products, which only pushes the bugs from one room into the next.
How to prepare
- Wash bedding, curtains and clothes from the affected room on the hottest wash the fabric allows, then tumble dry on high.
- Seal clean items in bags until the treatment is finished.
- Clear the floor around the bed and empty bedside drawers so we can reach the cracks.
- Vacuum mattresses and carpets, then empty the vacuum outside.
- Don't move furniture or sleep in other rooms. It just spreads the bugs.
The mistake that spreads them
Moving to the couch or the spare room. Bed bugs follow people. Within a week or two they're living in the couch as well, and the job has doubled. Stay in your own bed until we've treated, and the bugs stay concentrated where we can reach them.
A tip for Brooklyn tenants and landlords
Inspect before you move in, and before you move furniture in. Check the seams and joints of any secondhand bed or couch carefully, ideally outside, before it comes through the door. Landlords letting rooms near the university can save a lot of trouble by checking each room between tenants.
What does bed bug treatment cost?
It depends on how many rooms and beds are affected, how heavy the infestation is and whether neighbouring rooms or units need treating as well. A single bedroom caught early is a much smaller job than a house where bugs have spread into lounges and several bedrooms. We'll quote after the inspection. Honestly, bed bugs are one pest where DIY rarely works, because the eggs and hidden adults get missed.
For the full background, read our article on how to get rid of bed bugs, or see our bed bug treatments across Pretoria. We do the same work just east of here with bed bug control in Lynnwood, and the rest of our local services are on the pest control in Brooklyn page. SAPCA registered and in business for 25 years, we stand behind this work. Should bed bugs reappear within 3 months of our treatment, we'll return and treat again. Call 012 012 5526 or WhatsApp us a clear photo of the insect.
Questions we get asked
Do bed bugs mean my home is dirty?
No. Bed bugs feed on blood, not dirt. They turn up in spotless homes because they travel in luggage, furniture and bags.
Should I throw away my mattress?
Usually not. Most mattresses can be treated. Throwing one out often spreads bugs through the house on the way to the door.
How did I get bed bugs if I haven't travelled?
They may have come in on a visitor's bag, secondhand furniture, or from a neighbouring room or unit through gaps in walls and pipes.
Why do you need to come back a second time?
Bed bug eggs are protected from most treatments. The follow-up catches the young bugs that hatch after the first visit.
Can you treat a whole house of student rooms?
Yes. In a house of rented rooms we inspect each room, treat the affected ones and keep an eye on the rooms next door.
Can I sleep in my bed after treatment?
Yes, once treated surfaces are dry. Sleeping in your own bed actually helps, because the bugs come out and contact the treated areas.