Bed bug treatment in Apeldoorn: how to recognise bed bugs
An adult bed bug is flat, reddish-brown and about the size of an apple pip. After feeding, its body swells and darkens. During the day bed bugs stay hidden; at night they are drawn to the warmth and breath of whoever is asleep. The familiar signs are:
- itchy bites on arms, neck or legs, often in a line or cluster
- tiny black dots on the mattress, the bed edge and the seams of the headboard
- rust-coloured spots on the sheet or pillowcase
- pale, empty shed skins and white eggs in crevices
- with a heavy infestation, a sweetish, musty smell in the bedroom
How bed bugs get into a home
Bed bugs have nothing to do with a dirty house. They hitch a ride in suitcases and bags after a stay in a hotel, holiday home or hostel, and in the seams of second-hand beds, sofas and bedside tables. A guest who has bed bugs at home can leave some behind too. In flats they sometimes crawl through pipe runs and gaps to the neighbours.
Once inside, they settle within a radius of the bed: in the slatted base, behind skirting boards, inside sockets and behind picture frames. The sooner you spot them, the smaller the area that needs treating.
Heat treatment for bed bugs
During the inspection we check the mattress, bed frame, headboard and immediate surroundings with a torch, looking for live insects, eggs and droppings. That tells us which rooms are involved. Then comes the heat treatment: the room and its contents are heated to a temperature that bed bugs and their eggs do not survive. Heat penetrates seams and cracks that a spray cannot reach.
Beforehand you receive a clear checklist, for example of items that cannot withstand heat and need to leave the room for a while. After treatment we schedule a check to see whether there is any remaining activity.
What you can do – and what makes it worse
Gather bedding and clothes from the bedroom in sealed plastic bags and wash everything at the highest temperature the label allows, or give it a long, hot cycle in the tumble dryer. Vacuum the seams of the mattress and bed thoroughly and throw the vacuum bag away outside straight afterwards. Anything that cannot be washed stays in a sealed bag until the treatment.
What not to do: move to another room to sleep, because the bugs will follow you and spread through the house. Avoid foggers and aerosol sprays as well; they only drive the bugs deeper into crevices.
Bed bugs or something else?
Not every itchy bump comes from a bed bug. Mosquitoes and fleas also bite at night. Fleas mainly go for ankles and lower legs and usually arrive with a dog or cat; in that case flea treatment is the right route. Bed bugs bite the parts of the body that stick out from under the duvet and leave traces in the bed itself.
If you want to be sure what you are dealing with, keep a captured insect in a closed jar or on a strip of sticky tape. We are happy to take a look, just as we would for any other pest problem handled by our pest control in Apeldoorn service.
