The US Environmental Protection Agency suggests more prevention strategies: “check secondhand furniture, beds, and couches for any signs of bed bug infestation (yesterday’s blog) before bringing them home.
Use a protective cover that encases mattresses and box springs which eliminates many hiding spots. The light color of the encasement makes bed bugs easier to see. Be sure to purchase a high quality encasement that will resist tearing and check the encasement regularly for holes.
Reduce clutter in your home to reduce hiding places for bed bugs.
When traveling: in hotel rooms, use luggage racks to hold your luggage when packing or unpacking rather than setting your luggage on the bed or floor. Check the mattress and headboard before sleeping. Upon returning home, unpack directly into a washing machine and inspect your luggage carefully.” Wash and dry your clothes at high temperatures to kill bed bugs. More information from the EPA can be found at http://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/
A temperature of 113 F for an hour (a shorter time for higher temperatures) will kill bedbugs but our home heating systems cannot heat our houses to that temperature. If a person’s house becomes infested, he should talk to professional exterminators for safe and effective treatment to eliminate bedbugs. The experts do not recommend a person try to exterminate their home; the strong chemicals used to eliminate bedbugs can be dangerous if not used correctly.
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