How To Clean A Mattress Infested With Bed Bugs? Bed bugs are some of the most versatile and invasive bugs that exist. Even if you clean your home day in and day out, they can still find you. And once these small vampire bugs make their way into your home, it can be tough to rid them.
Their flat bodies can hide anymore. You can find them behind posters, under couches, and in mattresses. Once you notice bed bugs in your mattress, do not ignore them. Bed bugs are known to multiply quickly. The quicker you handle a bed bug problem, the better.
This article will go through the necessary steps to take to clean a mattress with bed bugs.
Table of Contents
Firstly, prepare your bed. This means removing all pillowcases, sheets, cover tops, and all other removable items. These items should go into something that will separate them from other materials. You do not want bed bugs spreading from your placement of a sheet. The best bet is to place the contaminated items in something like a garbage bag.
Carry these items to the washing machine and drench them in hot water. This will make sure every last one of those vampire bugs don’t make it out alive.
Attack your mattress with the hose of your vacuum. This doesn’t mean beat your mattress down or anything like that. This means relentlessly vacuum every crevice of your mattress. Make sure to get everywhere those pesky bed bugs like to hide.
Once you have done a good job vacuuming, do not empty the vacuum cleaner inside. You should empty it outside, a long ways from your house. Nobody wants to have returning bed bugs.
Also make sure to clean the container compartment of your vacuum with soap and hot water. Only do this if you actually see more bed bugs hiding in the compartment of your vacuum. If there are no bed bugs in the container then you can just bring the vacuum back inside. But it is always safe to clean it in case.
Many people have never heard of a bed bug-proof casing. But these are critically important to making 100% sure all of the bugs die after cleaning.
This mattress casing goes over the mattress and box spring. This casing is so important because it is made from a material that the bugs can’t bite through. So if there are surviving bugs on your mattress, they will eventually die out.
This mattress casing will stay on for about a year. Bed bugs can survive for months on end without a meal. Their eggs can also survive for quite awhile without blood. The mattress casing staying on for a year is the best route to take.
Now it is time for the headboard and frame.
Inspect your bed’s headboard and frame for bed bugs. If you spot any, kill them with an insecticide.
Remember, always take the necessary precautions when using insecticides. Make sure you read the back of the bottle to make sure they can be used indoors.
Now you can go ahead and move your bed away from everything. It is best to place it in the middle of the room so it doesn’t touch any walls. It is also recommended to put bed bug interceptors on each foot of your bed.
These bed bug interceptors make sure to poison any bugs that try climbing down the legs. They are incredibly inexpensive and add another layer of bed protection. Your mattress should not be touching the floor. Only your leg’s feet can touch the floor.
Now we are almost done solving your mattress’s bed bug problem!
This is the last step, then you are done taking care of the bed bugs! Now you just have to vacuum the entire floor, scooping up any leftover bugs. As the bed bug interceptors, this is just for added precaution.
It is also safe to be on the lookout for bed bugs in the coming days in other rooms. This is because bed bug eggs take a few days to hatch. You may need to do these steps again for another bed, but hopefully not!
Now you are done and the bed bugs are dead. Congratulations!
