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Getting Bed Bugs Out of Your Stuff
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How to "de-bug" your personal items -
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Summary: If you are unlucky and discover that you've spent
time in a room infested with bed bugs, what should you do to clean or "de-bug"
your personal items that can't be washed? Use the suggestions below to stop an
infestation before it ever starts.
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Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers
Bed bugs are expert at hitching a ride from place to place on
our personal belongings like suitcases, backpacks, pillows, electronic devices,
and just about anything brought into an infested room and placed near the bed.
In fact, since bed bugs lack wings and are not equipped to walk very far they
depend on us to move them around (see How To
Identify Bed Bug Infestations). So, what should you do if you discover that
you have stayed over night in a room infested with bed bugs so you don't carry
the little vermin home with you?
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Bed bug (4th instar larva,
unfed) - about 1/5". After feeding bed bugs
become less flattened, more rounded.
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Wash in hot water and heat dry
Place belongings in plastic garbage bags before heading for
home. When you get home normal washing in warm/hot water and heat drying is
sufficient to "de-bug" anything that can be washed in water. Most insects,
including bed bugs, will be killed by temperatures in excess of about 140
degrees F. Dry cleaning is another more expensive option. What about things that can't be exposed to
hot water, hot dryer air, or dry cleaning chemicals?
Freezing is the next best option
Place small items that can withstand freezing temperatures in
sealed plastic bags and place them in an ordinary home freezer for a couple of
days. This will kill all stages of bed bugs. Larger items like suitcases can be
thoroughly cleaned and treated as you would a room (see below) then placed in
storage away from where people sleep.
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How to "debug" your bedroom before moving in
When moving furniture into an empty room where you suspect an infestation it is
best to treat the room first. Bed bugs are
not difficult to control if the infestation is caught early. Rooms and
even bare mattresses can be cleaned, and a residual insecticide can be used to safely get
rid of any bed bugs that may have been missed during cleaning (see How to Treat Rooms For Bed Bugs for more details). There's no need to
discard bedding, mattresses or bedroom furniture that can be cleaned.
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Supplies: Professional-level pest control supplies are
generally not available in home and garden stores but can be found at DoMyOwn.
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unbiased information for solving common insect and
mite problems around your home, business and landscape
using least-toxic methods.
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