Some dos and don’ts if you have Bed bugs
Do start dealing with your clothing and linens if the PCO requires this. Though you should not simply seal your possessions in bags (as above), it is probably a good idea to start working on clothing and bedding, if the PCO instructs you to do this. Note that some reputable pest control operators do not require most clients to treat all their clothing and linens. If your PCO does not require it, then I would skip it. You should take clothing and other items, wash on hot and and dry them on hot. Remember, driers vary as to their strength and how long they take with what size of load. Don’t stuff the machines. My personal method is that items should at least be dried on hot for 20 minutes after they appear to be fully dry and very hot. Note that if you start with clean items, you only need to dry them on hot: this is a huge savings to time and energy. Starting with clean, dry items, running the hot dryer for 20 minutes should suffice. (You PCO may not be aware of research proving that a hot dryer alone is enough.) Keep in mind that pillows, comforters, down coats, and other thick items may take longer to dry. Here’s the key: after washing and drying, bag items in sealed, airtight bags, and do not remove them until use. Our FAQs give more explicit suggestions. Dry cleaning is theoretically a bed bug killer, but impractical since most dry cleaners may not be equipped to deal with bed bugs, and you have to disclose that the items have been exposed to bed bugs.
Don’t assume bed bugs are only in your bed. While bed frames and mattresses and headboards are the most likely location for bed bugs, they can and do often hide out in sofas and other soft furniture, electrical sockets (behind plates), light fixtures, baseboards, floor crevices, and other crevices in the bedroom and living room. Bed bugs are occasionally found in kitchens and bathrooms. This should not make you panic: most cases, especially smaller ones, are quite concentrated, usually 10-20 feet from where people sleep (or where they sit for extended periods). However, if a PCO tells you bed bugs are not found in living rooms, realize that many Bedbuggers have infested sofas, computer chairs, and so on. Don’t believe that bed bugs only bite at night. They prefer a sleeping, stationary host who is fast asleep. But if they’re hungry, they’ll take what they can get. You can be bitten while in a chair, awake.
Once you get a PCO treating your place, don’t assume this will be solved overnight. If your PCO treats and you are still being bitten, this is normal. The bites should decrease and eventually disappear. If you see bed bugs or are bitten, do have another treatment about two weeks after the first. Do insist the PCO repeat treatment every two weeks until you see no new signs of bed bugs (like bed bug feces stains in the bed). Do not assume you’ve got a bad PCO because it takes three treatments to solve your problem. This, unfortunately, is common, even if you follow all the advice. However, do ask questions, from the first treatment on, and take notes: what is the PCO using? What does each substance do? Make a note of where each substance is applied, and how long the process takes.
If a few treatments go by and you are suspicious, post a question in our forums with these details– experienced Bedbuggers and reputable PCOs read this site and may be able to offer advice as to whether you’re getting good service or not. Stay on top of what’s happening, but be honest with the PCO about what you’re doing, and ask what you can do to support treatment. If they are good, they will welcome your involvement. Vacuuming every day in some cases is a good idea, in others, it may sabotage the work of certain substances left down to kill bed bugs. The same is true of bagging everything you own, as above. Never assume that you should do what someone online is doing, since they may be working with a different pest control protocol.
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