Worried about bed bugs? Here's how to rid your space of the little guys
By now, you've probably seen the news – or the memes – about the bed bug infestation hitting Paris. Inspiring toe-curling shudders across the globe, we're now thinking a lot about these critters and how we'd get rid of them if we ever (God forbid!) found them sleeping alongside us.
According to the experts, you're probably safe in Australia, which mostly has bedbugs under control. However, if you do find yourself with an infestation, you can manage it using a few different products until you can get pest control to help.
How can I tell if I've got bed bugs?
Bedbugs are reddish-brown and about six millimetres in length. If you notice tiny reddish-brown stains on your sheets, these might be from crushed bugs, and you'll have to look closer.
"Pull the bed away from the wall, pull off all the sheets, the blankets, the bedding, and look for signs of bedbugs, particularly along the seams on the bed closest to the wall," Stephen Doggett, Director of Medical Entomology at Westmead Hospital for NSW Health Pathology, told 9News. You might also notice stains from their excrement, which will look like "groups of little black dots."
If you notice these signs, you'll need to look closer.
"Bedbugs vary in size from about a millimetre to about a centimetre when they're full of blood," Doggett explained.
How to prevent bed bugs
The most common advice is to keep a clutter-free space and clean often. The lack of clutter gives them less space to hide behind, while regular vacuuming or steaming will kill any hanging around before they start to breed.
How to get rid of bed bugs:
Firstly, don't start with a pesticide. In fact, Doggett advises against it, as some pesticides can be more harmful than the bugs themselves.
"There's been many deaths, people buy it over the internet," he told 9News.
Hot steam and vacuuming are used to kill bugs and eggs these days, David Gay, a pest controller for WR Gay Pest Control for 25 years, informed 9News.
You can also use traps to start the process of ridding yourself of them, and in terms of 'natural remedies,' there are a few things that might help repel the bedbugs and keep them at bay.
What to use to repel or kill bedbugs
NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.
Natural repellents:
Gya Labs Sweet Orange Essential Oil
There's some evidence to suggest the smell of orange oil will repel bed bugs, so this is worth a try if you're waiting on pest control, or if you just want to get a jump on prevention. You can leave some drops around the edges of your bed as a small start to ridding yourself of them.
Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Oil
Also a natural remedy for mosquito bites, tea tree oil is very effective in repelling lots of bugs and nasties. You can similarly use this like the orange oil, around the bed or diffused in your room to begin the prevention campaign.
PHATOIL Citronella Essential Oil
Featuring the strong smell that'll bring back memories of all the Aussie summers of your childhood, citronella is usually a fail-safe for scaring bugs away. While it is a strong, often overpowering scent, we can't argue with decades of effective use of citronella as a mosquito repellent. There's some research to suggest that the smell of citronella can interfere with the pheromones bed bugs use to communicate, which makes it harder for them to infest a space. Use as much as you can handle in your space to repel those critters.
Traps:
Aspectek Bed Bug Trap Insect Interceptor
While the best way to check for bed bugs is to look, they can be very tiny, so setting traps is another option. These simple traps have a grooved outer edge but are designed so that the bed bugs can't crawl out. They have been made to have furniture legs sit inside them, with a depression in the centre to support even distribution of force from the item. One pack has four traps, which you can place strategically in the rooms you think might have bugs.
Harris Bed Bug Traps for Early Detection & Monitoring
Designed to lure bed bugs, these traps are also designed to sit in the spots where you're most likely to find bed bugs: under your bed or against furniture legs. Simply peel off the protective plastic, fold the trap as instructions dictate, and place them as needed.
Cleaning:
Sealable Mattress Vacuum Bag
If you find bedbugs, it's suggested you should strip your bedding and wash it immediately, then steam-clean your mattress. Then, if possible, you should put it in a sealed plastic bag and leave it in the sun to kill whatever might be left. This sealable vacuum bag is designed to fit a mattress inside, making it a perfect option. It'll also come in handy if you ever move house, too. We've also found two other options below:
SimpleHouseware Queen Size Mattress Bag
Mattress Bag with Handles for Moving and Storage
Karcher Steam Cleaner SC2
A steam cleaner is what's most recommended when de-bugging your room. You should steam clean the floors and your mattress, too. This steam cleaner from the German brand Karcher comes highly recommended for deep cleaning the home. It has two-level steam control and can clean all types of hard surfaces, killing 99.99 per cent of germs in the process. It also comes with a range of attachments for different types of cleaning.
Some other options:
Handheld Multi-Purpose Pressurized Steam Cleaner
Maxkon 13-in-1 Handheld Steam Mop Cleaner
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