How to get rid of bed bugs

Getting rid of bed bugs comes down to four steps: make sure that's what you have, stop them spreading, remove as many as you can by washing, drying and vacuuming, and then treat the hiding places they retreat to. A very small, early infestation can sometimes be handled at home. Once they've spread to several rooms or into furniture joints and skirting, a professional treatment with a follow-up is usually the only thing that clears them. Here's how to approach it, based on what we've seen in 25 years of treating bed bugs in Pretoria and Centurion.

Step 1: Confirm it really is bed bugs

Bites on their own can't tell you. Many people don't react to bed bug bites at all, and fleas, mosquitoes and bird mites leave similar marks. Before you spend money or throw anything away, look for evidence.

• Take the bedding off and check the mattress seams, piping, labels and corners with a torch.
• Lift the mattress and look at the bed base, especially the stapled fabric underneath and the joints of the frame.
• Check the headboard, especially where it's screwed to the wall or the bed.
• Look along the skirting boards and inside bedside table drawers near the bed.

You're looking for small dark dots of droppings, tiny rust-coloured smears, pale shed skins, cream-coloured eggs about the size of a pinhead, and the bugs themselves: flat, oval and brown, from the size of a sesame seed to an apple seed. If you find a bug, put it in a clear container or take a sharp photo. It helps us confirm what it is.

Step 2: Stop them spreading

This is where good intentions often make things worse.

• Don't move to another room or the couch. Bed bugs follow people, and you'll carry them with you.
• Don't give away or move furniture from the affected room to another part of the house.
• Bag things before you move them. Bedding, clothing and soft toys should go into sealed plastic bags in the room, and straight to the wash.
• Pull the bed away from the wall and make sure sheets and blankets don't touch the floor, so bugs have fewer ways to climb up.

Step 3: Wash, dry and vacuum

Heat kills bed bugs and their eggs, and it's the most effective thing you can do yourself.

1. Wash bedding, pillowcases, curtains and clothing from the affected room on the hottest setting the fabric will take.
2. Tumble-dry on high heat for a good while afterwards. The dryer often does more than the wash, and it can be used for items that can't be washed, such as shoes or soft toys.
3. Vacuum the mattress, the bed base, the frame joints, the carpet edges and the skirting boards slowly, using the crevice tool.
4. Empty the vacuum into a sealed bag and put it in the outside bin immediately.
5. Repeat the vacuuming every few days.

Once the mattress is clean, a zip-up encasement designed for bed bugs traps any that are left inside and makes the mattress much easier to check in future.

What doesn't work

• Bug bombs and foggers. They don't reach the cracks and seams where bed bugs hide, and they can drive the bugs into walls and other rooms.
• Surface sprays from the supermarket. They kill only the bugs they touch directly, and do nothing to the eggs.
• Throwing out the mattress. Unless it's badly damaged, the bed bugs in the bed frame, headboard and skirting will simply move into the new one.
• Waiting it out. Bed bugs can survive a long time without a meal. Leaving a room empty doesn't starve them in any practical time.
• Essential oils and home remedies. Some may kill a bug on contact, but none reaches the population hidden in the joints of the furniture.

Step 4: Know when to call a professional

DIY has a chance if you've caught it early, found bugs only in one bed, and you can wash, dry and vacuum thoroughly. Call a pest controller if:

• You've found signs in more than one room or more than one piece of furniture
• You've been doing everything right for a couple of weeks and are still being bitten
• You're in a flat, a student residence or a guesthouse, where bed bugs can move between units
• Someone in the house is reacting badly to the bites or losing sleep

A professional treatment targets the hiding places with a residual product, which keeps working after it's applied, and includes a follow-up visit once the surviving eggs have hatched. You can see how we do it on our page about bed bug treatment across Pretoria, and if you're south of the city, bed bug control in Centurion.

Preventing bed bugs coming back

Once they're gone, a few habits stop a repeat. Check hotel and lodge beds before you unpack. Keep your suitcase on a luggage rack or a hard floor, never on the bed. When you get home, unpack in the laundry, and wash and tumble-dry travel clothes straight away. Check any second-hand bed, couch or headboard carefully before it comes into the house. If you live in a complex or student house, tell the landlord or body corporate early. One untreated unit next door can reinfest yours.

Not sure it's bed bugs?

If you've searched and found nothing, the bites may be from something else. Fleas tend to bite around ankles and lower legs, often in homes with pets. Mites from birds nesting in the roof can cause itchy bites in the rooms below. Our pages on flea control and other biting insects help you narrow it down.

If you'd like us to take a look, call 012 012 5526 or WhatsApp us a photo of a bug or the marks on the mattress. We're SAPCA registered, and our bed bug treatments carry a 3-month guarantee.