Pestaway

How to Treat

Rugs

Large rugs should be rolled, wrapped in plastic, sealed off and treated. Many people elect to take their rug to the cleaners, which will eliminate all bed bugs. If you’d prefer not to take it to the cleaner, you can place Hot Shot Strips in the sealed plastic bags (or tarp) and leave them in there for 40 days (do not remove the Hot Shot Strip until 40 days have passed). The Hot Shot Strip releases a vapor that kills bed bugs.

Suggestions:

  • Many small rugs can be placed into the dryer on a hot setting for 30 minutes.
  • If the room has a large area rug, the rug can be dry steamed within the same time frame that other bed bug control measures are taking place, although steaming should be done before pesticide applications are made.
  • Rugs can be sent out for professional cleaning. Wrap in plastic for transport and warn the cleaning company.
  • In various situations and in the presence of heavy bed bug infestations, wall to wall carpeting should be removed. Pest Away will dry steam these areas while paying very close attention to the edges.

Furniture

Although it is tempting to throw away all furniture, normally it is completely unnecessary. Particularly, mattresses and box springs need not be destroyed. By purchasing Bed Bug Certified Covers and placing them on your mattress and box spring, you will prevent bed bugs from further harboring in the mattress and from spreading throughout the room. Bed Bug Certified Covers provide an effective barrier which prevents bed bugs from traveling.

Another treatment option for furniture is fumigation. Fumigating furniture eliminates all bed bugs that may be infesting it.

If you do elect to dispose of your furniture, you MUST wrap it completely in plastic and seal it up before removing it from your home. We also highly recommend writing “BED BUGS” and “DO NOT TAKE” on it so as not to spread the problem. Or you can destroy or deface the furniture to prevent others from unknowingly collected infested items. All too often people discard their infested furniture only for it to be picked up by someone else who sees it lying out on the street. This “bargain hunt” ends up infesting that person's home and further spreads this epidemic. Bed bugs are likely being transferred from place to place through infested furniture and discarded objects. With the furniture sealed and labeled, you eliminate the risk of spreading bed bugs throughout your building, which can lead to a re-infestation in your home.

Clothes

All clothes must be put into large plastic bags to be transported to laundry. Wash all clothes and dry them on high heat. The extreme heat of the dryer will kill all bed bugs and their eggs.

Don't use just any plastic bags. Get some of our Dissolvable Laundry Bags. The beauty of these bags is that once you place clothes in these bags, you can unknot the bag and place it in the laundry machine without having to re-expose yourself or your laundry area to bed bugs while the transfer is going on.

Any clothes than cannot go in the dryer can be dry cleaned or treated with a PackTite. A PackTite is a heat chamber that kills bed bugs. By placing any items that cannot go in the drier into the PackTite, you can treat your belongings.

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