How to get rid of bed bugs on a mattress

Are you searching the internet for information on how to get rid of bed bugs on a mattress? What you need is right here. My guide outlines the following methods for eliminating bed bugs.

How to treat bed bugs on a mattress 

As soon as you become aware of a bed bug infestation, you should act immediately. Bed bug home remedies are only effective during the early stages of an infestation. If you wait too long, bed bugs will invade not only your bedding but also your furniture. 

The only solution is to call for professional help, which usually comes in heat treatment or vacuuming. Here are the different methods that you can try when dealing with bed bugs on a mattress. 

  1. Home remedies

Remember that advanced level infestations might mean that your mattress is beyond salvaging, and no home remedies you will try will be ineffective. 

Alternatively, the NHS recommends that you call your local council or pest control service immediately as some bed bugs are resistant to certain insecticides. 

Nevertheless, here are steps that you may take. 

First, spray a whole can of aerosol bed bug spray onto your mattress, making sure to pay special attention to the crevices, folds, and seams as these are areas where they are likely hiding. 

You may also use insecticide dust that is formulated explicitly against bed bugs on the mattress. At early levels of infestation, this is effective and will be a treatment that lasts for months. 

To ensure that bed bugs starve or die off, cover your mattress in bed bug covers, more commonly known as encasements, for at least a year. This way, they also don’t escape. 

If you don’t cover your mattress in an encasement, you’ll have to spray it regularly with aerosol spray for every 7 to 10 days until all bed bug activity ceases to exist. 

  1. Dos and don’ts

Here are the dos and don’ts that the NHS recommends for you to do. 

First, ensure that you are not keeping clutter around your mattress or sleep environment. This will prevent the bed bugs from jumping into different items making the infestation more difficult to control. 

Also, at this point, do not bring in any second-hand mattress, furniture, luggage, or clothing items from outside into your home, as these are the primary ways that bed bugs spread. 

Strip your mattress off with any beddings and place all of these into a hot wash at 60 degrees Celsius or tumble dry for around 30 minutes. The extreme heat will kill off the bed bugs. 

  1. Call a professional

Professional pest control for bed bugs usually comes as either heat treatment or insecticide treatment. 

Heat treatment is highly effective and guarantees a 100% complete eradication of these critters from your mattress, other infested furniture, and even the walls of your home. 

No matter what stage the infestation or the bed bugs are, they will be killed by heat anywhere above 56 degrees Celsius. 

The second process is a professional insecticide treatment, wherein bed bug exterminators employ potent insecticides to get rid of these bugs. 

You’ll also be glad to know that most modern insecticides do not wield any adverse effect on health. 

What kills bed bugs in the mattress 

Bed bugs are sensitive to heat and insecticides, so using them will guarantee to get rid of them quickly. 

  1. Heat 

No matter what stage in life, bed bugs are all sensitive to heat, precisely temperatures above 56 degrees Celsius. 

This is why professional heat treatments are the most effective and sure-fire ways to eliminate bed bugs. 

This is also why you are recommended to wash all infested beddings, clothing, and fabrics like curtains near your mattress at 60 degrees Celsius or tumble dry them. 

  1. Insecticides 

Different types of insecticides are used when dealing with bed bugs. Fast-acting contact insecticides are used for furniture that seldom comes in contact with a human touch. 

Whereas residual insecticides are usually applied thoroughly for regularly used furniture and touches such as sofas. 

Dust insecticides are more commonly used for mattresses. Because of its dust form, it’s perfect for getting into nooks and crannies where bed bugs tend to hide, such as the corners or seams of a mattress. 

What to do with a mattress with bed bugs

You have to make choices when you are faced with a mattress with bed bugs. You can either remove them or buy a new bed in a box

  1. There are many reasons why one would want to try and salvage a mattress with bed bugs, hopefully. 

It could be because the bed is relatively new and replacing it would be a waste, or that you still haven’t got your money’s worth for that mattress. 

Whatever it is, it is only recommended for you to try and salvage a mattress when the bed bug infestation is at its early stages. 

Make sure that the treatment process has been completed and eradicated these critters. However, to make sure, continue using your bed while it is placed in an encasement. This way, no bed bugs will get out and multiply. 

  1. If you choose to replace your new bed, take precautionary measures when exposing your old one not to aggravate the problem. 

Destroy the bed as much as you can by slashing it or ruining the layers. This way, it discourages anyone from taking the mattress and the bed bugs within it. 

And then seal it in a plastic casing.

You are highly encouraged to seek professional disposing of services to ensure that this mattress ends up in the dump and will not be taken into other’s homes. 

If you plan to dispose of it for the trash collectors, bring it out just in time when they arrive and don’t leave it out your door as somebody could take it home in that period. 

For extra measures, place a warning on the casing that this bed is infested with bed bugs to discourage anyone from taking it. 

This video is an excellent reference if you want a visual illustration of the processes and methods outlined in this guide.