What Steps Should I Take When I First Notice Bedbugs?

Once bitten - Call pest control!

If you’ve identified you have bedbugs and live in a multi-unit building, urban municipality or rural district, immediately notify your local expert in pest control. Collect a sample to show a qualified pest control agent, and then take these steps until a strategy for elimination can be determined:

Inspect the Areas that have Bedbugs

Map out on a sheet of paper all the furniture, mattresses or items that have been colonized with bedbugs.

Keep a record of the rooms, and list the areas and the items that have been inspected.

This will help the pest control agent to determine the severity of the bedbugs and give him a strategy of how to treat them.

First Response to Keep them from Spreading

It isn’t advisable to start throwing your furniture outside. Unless you spray paint or destroy it, other people may pick it up and risk further spread and infestation.

The best deterrent is to cover and isolate your bedding by placing your sheets in a sealed plastic bag. You can also put a sample of the bug in a jar for the pest control agent. If the furniture is so infested that it needs to be removed, the pest control agent can assist you in this process. Any items you believe may have bedbugs, isolate them as well, or seal them in plastic and make sure to dispose of them where they have no chance to be retrieved or opened.

Treating the Small items

If your pest control agent has advised it, begin by washing your bed linens and clothing in hot water and dry on high heat, on long wash and dry cycles. Pillows and other heavier items may take longer. After doing this, seal and do not remove them until you are ready to use them. Dry Cleaning does eliminate bed bugs, but you will have to disclose to them that you have them, and they may not take your clothing.

If you vacuum, make sure you change the bag and dispose in another sealed plastic bag. Be careful when you vacuum you do not spread them to another room if they are only in one room. Also, do not panic and buy chemicals or bug foggers. Unless you know what you are doing, you will make the infestation worse, or expose yourself to harmful chemicals.

Call a Pest Control Agency

The smartest step to take once you know you have bedbugs is to call Harlow Pest Control in the Edmonton, Alberta area at (780)-757-2999 or toll-free at 1.855.757.2999. We have a 24-hour emergency service, and can immediately identify and get your bedbug problem under control!