As a parent, finding bed bugs in your child’s bedroom can be stressful and concerning. Getting rid of bed bugs requires diligence and consistency, but there are steps you can take to successfully eradicate them from your kids’ rooms.
Inspect and Identify Signs of Bed Bugs
The first step is to thoroughly inspect your child’s bedroom to identify any signs of bed bugs. Some things to look for include:
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Live or dead bed bugs – Check the mattress, box spring, bed frame, and headboard. Look along the seams and tufts of the mattress and in cracks and crevices of the bed frame. Bed bugs are small, flat, oval-shaped bugs.
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Blood spots – Look for small dark blood spots on sheets, mattresses, and upholstered furniture. This is bed bug excrement.
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Eggs and eggshells – Bed bug eggs are tiny and white. You may find them in clusters along mattress seams or cracks and crevices.
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Skin shed casings – As bed bugs grow, they shed their skin. These translucent molted skins may be left behind in bedding.
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Musty sweet odor – A musty sweet odor is sometimes noticeable where a bed bug infestation is heavy.
Thoroughly checking all areas of your child’s bed and bedroom is important to determine if bed bugs are present before moving forward with treatment.
Clean and Declutter the Bedroom
Once you have confirmed bed bugs, thoroughly clean and declutter the bedroom to eliminate bed bug hiding spots.
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Wash all linens and bedding on the highest heat setting possible. Then place them in the dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes to kill any bed bugs.
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Vacuum the mattress, bed frame, baseboards, and all cracks and crevices thoroughly. Pay close attention to seams, tufts, and edges of the mattress. Immediately dispose of the vacuum bag afterwards.
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Remove all clutter and items from around and under the bed. Discard anything that can’t be cleaned. This eliminates hiding places for bed bugs.
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Scrub mattresses, box springs, and bed frames with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs.
Completely cleaning the bedroom removes clusters of bed bugs and allows you to monitor for new infestations.
Apply Registered Bed Bug Treatments
After cleaning, use EPA-registered bed bug sprays or dusts on the mattress, bed frame, baseboards, and surrounding furniture to kill bed bugs on contact. Some effective treatments include:
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Pyrethroid-based sprays like Temprid FX – Spray mattresses, box springs, and cracks and crevices.
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Diatomaceous earth dust – Lightly apply a fine layer around baseboards and bed frames. The sharp dust cuts bed bugs’ exoskeleton.
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Professional heat treatments – Use by pest control companies, high heat kills bed bugs and eggs on contact.
Using registered chemical treatments or heat is key to killing bed bugs that may be hiding in the bedroom. Be sure to read and follow all label instructions carefully.
Seal Cracks and Crevices
Bed bugs can squeeze into very tiny spaces. Sealing cracks and crevices helps eliminate hiding spots and entry points for bed bugs.
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Use caulk to seal small cracks around baseboards, outlets, windows, and other areas.
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Install bed bug interceptors under furniture legs. These traps prevent bed bugs from crawling up bed and furniture legs.
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Consider applying silicone sealant around tufts, seams, and edges of mattresses and box springs to eliminate bed bug access.
Sealing the bedroom is an important part of making the environment less hospitable to bed bugs.
Monitor with Traps and Detector Dogs
Continuously monitoring for bed bugs is key to preventing re-infestations after initial treatment. Traps and bed bug detector dogs help find bed bugs early.
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Place bed bug monitors and traps like Climbup Interceptors regularly around the room. Check them weekly and replace traps every 2-3 months.
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Hire a handler with a certified bed bug sniffing dog to come inspect the room. Dogs detect live bed bugs with their sensitive noses.
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Do routine visual inspections checking mattresses, bedding, and furniture every 2-4 weeks.
Frequent monitoring and inspections allows you to detect any signs of bed bugs early and treat the infestation before it spreads.
Repeat Treatments and Isolation Measures
Eradicating bed bugs requires diligence and repeating treatments over time. Other steps can also help isolate bed bug infestations.
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Repeat spray, dust, encasement, and heat treatments every 2-4 weeks for at least 3-4 treatments to kill newly hatched bed bugs.
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Wash and dry all bedding on high heat every 2-4 days. This kills bed bugs at all stages.
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If possible, move the child’s mattress and box spring to a metal bed frame to isolate it from any infestations in the room.
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Vacuum and declutter the room thoroughly a minimum of once per week.
Repeating treatments consistently over time will help eliminate bed bugs. Isolation and cleaning measures make it harder for bed bugs to spread.
Eradicating bed bugs from a child’s bedroom takes patience and diligence. But incorporating thorough inspection, cleaning, treatment, and monitoring steps can help eliminate infestations and prevent their spread. With time and consistency, you can successfully rid your kids’ bedrooms of bed bugs.
