Even though it’s hard to see a chinch, these insects do leave around quite a few signs of bed bugs that you can use to figure out that your house is infested. Chinches will feed with blood taken from human victims, so if you notice that your skin has unusual insect bites on it you might be looking at an infestation. You might also see brown and red fecal matter on the mattress. Even though their favorite hiding spot is the mattress of the bed where people are sleeping, these parasites can also be found in box springs, furniture and bed frames.
Getting rid of these bedbugs is expensive in most cases and it’s especially so if the infestation is a big one. You should try to do it in a natural way, which would protect both your budget and the health of your family. Below are some of the things you can do to get rid of the bedbugs in a natural manner.
Vacuum Cleaning
The first step in your attempt to get rid of the infestation is to vacuum the room where bed bugs exist. In order to get to the locations which are harder to reach you should attach a nozzle to the vacuum cleaner. Make sure you get to all the furniture in the room, including the box spring, the mattress, baseboards and the carpet. This will not remove them completely, since they can hide in very tight spots, but it will do some of the job, so it’s not useless. The bag of the vacuum cleaner should be emptied away from the house, so that the bed bugs don’t get back inside. You should throw it away ideally.
Using the Laundry Machine
Whatever can be washed in a laundry machine should be taken through this process. Wash with hot water things like pillows, curtains, clothes and bedding, at the biggest setting that is available. Both the eggs and the parasites will be killed by this process. The dryer should also be used at the highest setting. Once the items are cleaned, keep them in a plastic bag that is sealed, in a location that is safe from bedbugs. Don’t take the laundry in the infested room, since it will only become infested once again.
Bed Bug Steam Treatment
Steam cleaning can be a very effective weapon against these insects. The items which can’t be washed can be steam cleaned. This method will clean the surfaces of the fecal matter of the bed bugs and it will kill the insects and their eggs as well. The furniture, mattress and the carpets should be cleaned with it. Either buy your own hand held steam cleaner, or rent one, to do the job.
Freezing
The reverse of the heat method is freezing, which also kills a bed bug. These insects die when exposed to temperatures lower than 25 F. If you have items which shouldn’t be exposed to high temperatures, but can be subjected to low ones, then putting them in the freezer might be the solution.