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When people think about pest control, their thoughts don’t always jump right to bed bugs. They probably think about spraying for roaches, eradicating wasp nests, and preventing termite damage. But do any of those things really keep you awake at night? Do you lay in bed wondering if a wasp just made a nest outside your home or if there is a roach in your kitchen at that moment? No, you lay there wondering what just crawled across your foot and whether that itch is just a phantom thought or an actual bug. The unpleasant truth is that bed bugs can cause insomnia and other health issues over time, but people continue to think that controlling bed bugs is something they just should handle on their own.

Night Crawlers

The thought of bed bugs crawling on your skin and leaving their trails of bite marks all over you is scary enough, especially when you think about how easily they can get into your home. These pests are only 5mm in length and are very flat unless they have recently fed, so they’re almost impossible to detect if you’re not looking for them. These pests will hitch a ride onto anything they can find just to make it to their next food source. They can enter your home through used furniture (like a mattress or a couch), luggage, clothing, shoes, other people, and your own body.

Along with checking these items before you bring them into your house, noticing other indications of bed bugs can help you prevent a large, problematic infestation. One sign of bed bugs is the straight-lined or zigzagged red bite marks they leave on their victims. Another sign is the bloodstains they leave behind on sheets after a night of feeding. If bed bugs go undetected for too long, they can cause severe health issues such as rash, scarring, other skin irritation issues, and intense insomnia. A good night’s sleep is the key to being healthy, and that’s nearly impossible to achieve once bed bugs have overtaken your Los Angeles home.

Home Prevention

If bed bugs do start to see signs of bed bugs in your home, you don’t want to make the mistake of trusting in home remedies. They may work as a Band-Aid, but bed bugs will keep coming back if the infestation has any sort of foothold in your home at all. Let’s check out some of the DIY methods commonly found on the Internet.

Vacuum: Good idea! Suck the bed bugs right off your sheets and mattress. However, the bed bugs living inside the mattress won’t be affected, and they’ll be back the next night to feed on you.
Washing Your Clothes and Bedding: This solution has a similar problem to vacuuming. You might be able to eradicate the bed bugs from that particular set of sheets or clothes, but, if the bed bugs have had any time in your home at all, they are thriving in small nooks and crannies throughout your home. They’ll be back.
Silica Gel and Rubbing Alcohol: These two substances are known to kill bugs on contact. However, do you want to risk your kids and pets finding some silica powder and getting very sick? And do you want your bed to smell like rubbing alcohol? That sounds like it might interrupt your sleep more than the bugs themselves.

Unfortunately, most home remedies take too much time, too much energy, or cost too much money when you factor in the likely scenario that the bed bugs will be right back in a week or two. If you don’t kill off every single bug in your home, they’ll begin a new colony and continue their infestation.

Trust The Professionals

If there is any sign of a bed bug infestation in your home, the smartest option is to trust the professionals at Pestmaster^® Services. They will schedule a consultation when it is convenient for you and have a service technician inspect your home to identify the problem areas. They’ll discuss your options to ensure that your bed bug services will eradicate the problem. In the long run, you will wind up saving money by consulting the professionals and avoiding the wasted time and money spent on DIY methods.

If you think you have a current infestation or are worried about bed bugs in the future, reach out to Pestmaster^® Services today. We use effective, family-friendly products that will do the job right the first time.