Bed bugs are only one-fifth of an inch in size yet they frighten people more than a grumpy badger. Don’t let them take control of your home.

Some practical advice to safeguard the bed includes  placing the bed away from the wall and apply some Vaseline or perhaps mineral oil to the legs of the bed in a two inch wide band in order to make it difficult for the bed bugs to climb into bed with you. They don’t have wings.

Caulk all the cracks  so they won’t have a place to hide and thrive. Some people suggest creating a barrier around the bed posts made from chalk or silica aerogel. Double sided carpet tape can be efficient at trapping the bed bugs.

Instead of tossing out the mattress you suspect is a playground for bed bugs, purchase a quality bed bug mattress encasement which will prevent them from snacking on you and they will eventually starve to death.

Placing your furniture outside during the cold winter may kill off the bed bugs. However, some experts suggest the temperature has to remain below freezing for probably several days. If they are still annoying, call a professional.

I’m giving my daughter a set of Stern’s Protect-a-Bed bed bug-proof mattress covers and box spring encasements. After complaining about her old, lumpy mattress, she just treated herself to a new bed to celebrate her birthday. Since my daughter lives in Brooklyn where bed bugs have been particularly active this year, I figure a bed bug-proof mattress cover and box spring encasement will ensure that she can enjoy her new bed for years to come.

Covering your mattress and box springs with bed bug proof encasements just makes good sense. It’s like buying insurance for your bed. The cost of a good mattress and box springs can run well over a $1000, particularly for king and queen sizes. It just makes sense to protect that investment with top quality bed bug-proof mattress covers and box spring encasements.

Beware though. Not all encasements are created equal. You can’t bed bug-proof your bed with mattress covers from Wal-Mart. Stern Environmental Group sells only BugOff encasements which are designed by experts specifically to keep bed bugs out and prevent them from infecting your mattress. If you already have bed bugs, BugOff encasements will also trap bed bugs inside permanently until they die so they can’t bite you. Protect-a-Bed mattress covers and box springs encasements are meant to stay on the bed for the life of your mattress. Put them on and you’ll never have to worry about bed bugs again. Click here for more information on BugOff professional bed bug-proof Protect-a-Bed products.

It would be great to have an amazing bed beg early detection device, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist. A small colony of the insects can often go undetected. An expert will have a difficult time discovering bed bugs in your home if there are only four eggs hidden in a small crevice or on a piece of luggage. Well trained dogs can be useful in finding the pests. Cats often refuse to participate (that’s understandable).

Utilizing a mattress and box spring encasement that has been constructed to trap bed bugs below the top surface of the mattress can also be a way to detect the presence of bed bugs in your home. If your neighbors have a bed bug infestation problem, placing a bed bug encasement on your bed can serve as a type of detection system.  Bed bug evidence is typically located deep inside the mattress which makes finding the evidence very difficult. With a quality encasement the bed bugs gangs that want to use you as a late night snack will have to traverse the smooth exterior of the encasement. Signs of their shedded skin, fecal matter and spotting can be easily detected. If you find evidence, stop screaming (pouting is allowed) and call a professional. 

As we mentioned in our last blog (July 10, 2007), bed bugs are an increasing problem in the United States. They have invaded all 50 states and their numbers are growing. U.S. News & World Report polled entomologists, exterminators, and survivors to find out what you can do to battle bed bugs (click the link to read the article). Here are their tips and a few of our own:

Prevention

• If you’re traveling, check the sheets and mattress, especially the side seams, for black smears which are evidence of smushed bed bugs and their feces. If you have what appear to be mosquito bites on your body in the morning, it’s likely to be bed bugs. Take a hot shower and report the problem to the hotel management.
• When you return home, vacuum out your suitcase, double bag the vacuum bag in plastic, tie it tightly and put it in the outside trash. Wash all clothing in hot water followed by a hot dry to kill bugs. Take another shower. You’ll feel better.
• Don’t bring home cool looking furniture you find on the curb. Bed bugs hide in tiny crevices. You could be bringing home more than you bargained for.
• To prevent bed bugs from harboring in your bed, cover your mattress and box springs with bed bug proof mattress covers. Stern Environmental Group sells professional grade Protect-A-Bed BugOff mattress and box springs encasements. These are the only encasements on the market created by bed bug extermination professionals specifically to defeat bed bugs. Click here to learn more.

Diagnosis

• Bites, of course, are a big clue. Bed bugs tend to make a series of linear bites, so look for a line of mosquito bite-like red welts.
• Unfortunately, many people don’t react to bed bugs. Other indicators of bed bug activity are finding a live bug, a bug carcass or black spots and smears on sheets and mattresses.
• There are other insects that to the untrained eye may look like bed bugs. If you suspect you have bed bugs, call the bed bug experts at Stern Environmental Group. We can give you a definitive answer and help you get rid of whatever pesky bug is eating you.

Treatment

• You need a pro. Bed bugs are expert hiders, spread easily and can live without food for up to a year. Trying to rid your home of bed bugs using commercial insect sprays will just spread the nasties all over your house and make things worse. Call in a pro who will bring special high powered vacuums to suck the buggers out of their hiding places and remove the adhesive eggs. He’ll seal off hiding places and instruct you in what to do to help get rid of the problem. He’ll bring powerful industrial pesticides that will kill the bugs. At Stern Environmental Group we protect your family’s safety. We use the most advanced products on the market. Our pesticides will kill the bugs but they won’t harm you, your children or your pets. Visit our FAQs page to learn more about the products we use.
• Vacuum often, disposing of the vacuum bag immediately by double bagging, tying tightly and disposing of in the outside trash. If you have a bagless vac, double bag and dispose of sweepings in the same way, then rinse the canister with very hot water to kill any remaining bugs.
• Don’t change your sleeping place; you’ll just spread the bugs. Tough it out and sleep on your bed. If you have bed bugs, encasing your mattress and box springs in bed bug proof covers will help. Never removed once installed, the encasements trap the bugs inside your mattress so they can’t get out to bite you. Over time the bugs die from lack of food. For more information, visit our website.
• Keep clutter to a minimum. Clutter provides bed bugs with extra hiding places where pest control chemicals may not reach them.
• Call a professional pest control expert immediately. Look for a company that is licensed, experienced in bed bug removal, reliable and fast. Call the bed bug experts at Stern Environmental Group immediately. We’ll get rid of your bed bugs — guaranteed!

Coping

• Remember, bed bugs are a nuisance bug; they do not spread disease.
• Bed bugs are equal opportunity pests. You don’t get them because you’re a sloppy housekeeper. Bed bugs enter your home on infected furniture, clothing, cardboard boxes, suitcases, etc.
• You are an innocent victim. The only way to get bed bugs is from contact with someone who has them or from something in which they are already hiding, like used furniture.
• Commiserating with other bed bug sufferers helps. You’ll find a number of bed bug blogs online. These are a few of our favorites: http://thebedbugresource.com/ and http://www.bedbugcentral.com/.

Having bed bugs isn’t the end of the world, even if it feels that way at first. Take heart and call Stern Environmental Group immediately. Our bed bug experts will come to your home, verify that you have bed bugs, assess the level of infestation and design a plan of attack. Visit our website for more information on our bed bug eradication services. The bed bug experts at Stern Environmental Group WILL get rid of your bed bugs, GUARANTEED!