How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs in 4 STEPS!

As you read on, we'll explain how to get rid of bed bugs in your home using methods that can be done yourself.
Our program is broken down into 4 easy steps, which will keep the bed bugs from biting from the very first night!

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Encase Your Mattress / Remove Hiding Places

Kill bed bugs hiding in your mattress
Protect your bed from invading bugs
Keep your mattress fresh for years

The first thing we want to do is stop bed bugs from biting you in your bed. Since bed bugs are most likely inside your mattress and box springs, you will need to kill the bugs that are present first and then apply certified bed bug proof mattress covers. Our bed bug mattress covers are used to protect and seal off the mattress and box springs, preventing bed bugs from entering or escaping the mattress once applied.

1A| Treat Bedding

Begin by stripping off your bedding from the mattress and placing them into sealed garbage bags in order to prevent bed bugs from escaping and infesting other parts of your home. Take the bags directly to your washing machine, carefully unload your bedding directly inside, and wash using the "HOT WATER" setting. When that cycle finishes, dry the bedding on the "HIGH HEAT" setting if possible. The heat from these cycles will kill bed bugs and eggs hiding in your bedding.

1B| Vacuum Bugs & Eggs

While your bedding is being washed, remove your mattress and box spring from your bed frame. Use a HEPA vacuum to remove any bed bugs, shells, fecal droppings, or eggs that may be present along the seams of your mattress, pillows, and box spring. Also, don't forget to vacuum the frame, headboard and footboard thoroughly inside cracks and crevices where bed bugs might be hiding.

While most regular vacuums may be used for this step, the preferred vacuum to use is a sealed HEPA PCO vacuum. These vacuums are designed specifically to collect bed bugs and their eggs into a sealed HEPA filter, so that nothing gets out.

1C| Steam Your Mattress

Once the mattress and bed have been vacuumed, our bed bug steamers can be used to effectively penetrate deep inside mattress, box springs, bed frames, headboards, and footboards in order to kill bed bugs and their eggs on contact. Bed bugs are highly susceptible to heat, which is why steam treatments are used to efficiently treat large surface areas in a short period of time. Simply use the included cloth attachment provided with each of our steamers to limit the moisture expelled by the steamer during treatment. When steaming, move at about one inch per second to ensure that an even application of hot steam is applied.

An alternative to steaming your bed and mattress is to use STERI-FAB. STERI-FAB can be sprayed directly onto these areas to kill bed bugs on contact. Lightly spray your mattress along the top and bottom seams and allow to dry for 30 minutes (or until fully dry). We recommend removing the box spring’s dust cover, to allow you to spray inside of the box. The dust cover does not have to be re-applied once removed, as it's there mainly for aesthetics.

1D| Spray Your Bed Frame

While the mattress and box spring are left to dry, spray the joints of the bed frame, headboard, and footboard with a contact spray, like JT Eaton Kills Bed Bugs. This will kill bed bugs quickly and then evaporate, leaving no residual protection. Follow up with a residual spray, like Bedlam Plus, to fill the cracks and crevices of the frame, headboard and footboard with a residue that will kill bed bugs for several weeks. Remember to follow the sprays’ product labels and MSDS for safe and effective usage, and to wear protective gloves when spraying.

1E| Encase Matress, Box Spring and Pillows

Once the mattress and box spring are vacuumed, steamed and completely dry, the zippered mattress, pillow and box spring covers should be applied and fully zipped up. Encasements are crucial to success, as they prevent bed bugs from entering or escaping the mattress and box spring. This is especially helpful with hollow box springs, as they create an ideal hiding place for bed bugs to reside. Without a blood meal, they will eventually die inside the cover. Encasements should not removed for at least 18 months to ensure all beds bug are dead.

After the encasements have been applied, you may now put your mattress and box spring back on your treated bed frame, and put your laundered bedding back on your bed.

Recommended Products

SafeRest Encasements:
• Mattress
• Box Spring
• Crib Mattress
• Pillow

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Expert Tip

Be sure to reseal the garbage bag the bedding was initially placed in and dispose of it properly to prevent reinfestation.

Steamer Video

STERI-FAB Video

SafeRest Video

Isolate Your Bed / Stop the Biting

Stop bed bugs from reaching you
Cut off the bugs' feeding source
Monitor the population

In step 1, you treated your bed inside and out and made sure that bed bugs stay out of your mattress. However, bed bugs aren't just hiding in your bed; they are often found in furniture, along baseboards, and inside walls, cracks and crevices - anywhere close enough for them to detect the body heat and carbon dioxide that you emit in your sleep. So the second step is to block any bed bugs from climbing back onto the bed looking for a meal. We will do that by isolating your bed and adding ClimbUp Insect Interceptors to each leg of your bed.

2A| Isolate Your Bed

Before applying the ClimbUp Insect Interceptors, we must first ensure the bed is properly isolated. Bed bugs often travel from hiding places within five feet of the bed in order to feed, so creating a barrier between you and the bugs through isolation is a must.

A common mistake people make when dealing with bed bugs is to throw away their bed frame and mattress, resorting to sleeping on the floor or on an air mattress. This is actually the worst thing you could do, as there is nothing stopping the bed bugs from getting to you. Remember, bed bugs can’t jump or fly, so they must climb up something to reach you.

Elevating the mattress from the floor with a bed frame creates limited access points bed bugs must use to reach you. Only the legs or castors of your bed should be in contact with the floor, so any hanging covers or bed skirts should either be tucked in or removed. If your bed has storage below the mattress that is touching any part of the bed, that will need to be removed.

2B| Place Climbup Interceptors

ClimbUp Interceptors are barriers that stop bed bugs from climbing up your bed legs, preventing them from reaching you in your bed. To install them, simply lift each bed leg and place the trap underneath so that the leg rests in the center of the bowl. As bed bugs attempt to get to you, they will climb up the edge of the interceptor and fall into the perimeter pitfall where they can't escape.

This step is crucial, as bed bugs will be unable to reproduce if they cannot feed and grow into maturity. With the interceptors installed, you are cutting off their feeding cycle while creating an effective trap that will capture bed bugs while you sleep. Preventing bed bugs from feeding also offers relief, both physically and emotionally, as you can now sleep bite-free!

With the bed now fully isolated and elevated, you can use the ClimbUp Interceptors to monitor the changing population of bed bugs in your home. Hopefully, you will see less and less bugs appear in the traps as you go through the treatment process, until there are finally no more new bugs appearing at all. Also, if you see a majority of the bed bugs stuck in one leg of the bed, you may be able to also locate directionally where bed bugs are coming from (perhaps a nightstand or furniture near that leg).

Now that you have created a safe haven in your bed, you can move onto treating the rest of the room.