Bed Bugs: An Apartment Building's Worst Nightmare

Alana Korol

October 6, 2019

How Do Bed Bugs Spread into Apartments?

When bed bugs are brought into one apartment, it doesn’t take long before they end up finding their way around, infesting other neighboring apartments. They are usually introduced into apartment buildings by sneaking into luggage that a neighbor could have used while traveling or by people moving into apartment units with infested furniture, bedding, backpacks, luggage, and more. Once inside an apartment building, the bed bugs can easily spread from one unit to another causing widespread infestation.

Bed bugs are flat, wingless (non-flying) insects that cannot jump, but they can get around quickly by crawling, between three to five feet per minute. They generally prefer natural and textured surfaces because they don’t crawl as easily on slick surfaces. Bed bugs hide behind cracks and crevices in walls and crawl onto headboards and mattresses. They also make their way onto beds by crawling up the legs of bed frames, as well as crawling up to bed skirts, blankets, or any other bedding that touches the floor.

Why Do Bed Bugs Spread So Fast in Apartments?

Studies have shown that nearly half of the residents who live in apartment dwellings are aware they have bed bugs. However, all too often, many people are afraid to speak up and say that they are dealing with an infestation of bed bugs for fear of embarrassment. It’s understandable, after all, poor cleaning habits have typically associated an infestation of pests.

This is extremely counter-intuitive, because not reporting the problem, makes the infestation worse and getting rid of the bed bugs close to impossible as they have more ample time to find new places to hide and reproduce. Not to mention the fact that bed bugs aren’t exactly picky when it comes to the cleanliness of their environment. Clutter certainly does make it easier for them to hide, but having an infestation of bed bugs is not as simple as a matter of how tidy your home is.

What Should I Do If I Suspect or Find Bed Bugs in My Apartment?

If you are living in an apartment building and suspect you have bed bugs, you should immediately inform the apartment manager. It’s extremely important that adjacent units are inspected for infestation and treated in order to get control of and eradicate the bugs.

Choosing an effective and safe treatment should be a priority. The last thing you want is to use a method or product full of harsh or toxic chemicals that could end up keeping you from being able to comfortably enjoy your home.

How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs - Do It Yourself (D.I.Y) Bed Bug Treatment

Some apartment building owners make it clear that pest control is the responsibility of the renter. You do have options, however, when it comes to treating your home in a safe and natural way!

First, we know that bed bugs are excellent at hiding and most people don't know they have them until they start seeing mysterious bites on their bodies. If you do notice you have bites, the first thing you should do is start looking for signs of bed bugs to be certain that your bites were caused by bed bugs.

How to detect signs of bed bugs

The first thing you want to do is pull back your bedding and look for signs of bed bugs on your sheets, mattress, and box spring. Check your mattress to see if it is dotted with dark, reddish spots or smears. There may also be molted bed bug skins, as well as a sweet odor emanating from your mattress. If you can identify these signs, you have bed bugs.

DIY Bed Bug Treatment

Professional bed bug treatment can be very expensive and quite simply, many people cannot afford the cost of hiring a professional and will look to get rid of bed bugs on their own. Depending on the extent of the infestation, a single attempt may not be sufficient to complete the job.

Once you have identified bed bugs in your bedroom, you will want to determine if other rooms are infested. Check all the furniture, especially upholstered furniture in all rooms. This includes sofas, chairs, throw pillows, etc.

Here are some tips to treating for bed bugs:

1. Bag all items

To prevent cross-contamination and to prevent bed bugs from escaping and spreading to another room, throw all bedding, clothing and any washable items into plastics bags or plastic containers with a tight seal. If using plastic bags, make sure you double bag all items. Store bags and containers in the laundry room or garage until you are ready to wash them.

2. Wash and Launder

Wash all bedding and other washable items such as stuffed toys, animal bedding, blankets, etc. in hot water at a temperature of at least 120 degrees, include plenty of detergents. A typical household washer and dryer settings are usually hot enough to kill bed bugs. Be sure to dry all of your bedding using your dryer's highest heat setting available. Bed bugs will not survive in a hot dryer longer for more than 20 to 30 minutes of exposure.

If you have any items that aren't washable, heating items such as throw pillows in the dryer may do the trick. Be sure to discard all bags outside your home once items have been laundered to prevent any bed bugs that may be in the bags from spreading.

3. Vacuum

Thoroughly vacuum all infested areas such as box springs, mattresses, headboards, bed seams, baseboards, furniture, carpeting, rugs, etc. You'll want to be very thorough to vacuum all cracks and crevices where bed bugs and their eggs hide. Immediately dispose of the vacuum bag in the outside trash after vacuuming bed bugs.

4. Seal Your Mattress

Once you have thoroughly vacuumed your bed, you'll want to get a good set of bed bug proof encasement for your mattress and box spring. These prevent bed bugs from being able to hide and make nests in your mattress and traps bed bugs inside the mattress and box spring preventing them from escaping and prevent bed bugs from biting you.

5. Scrub and Spray

Scrub down headboard, bedpost, bed frame, baseboards, floors, drawers with a good scrub brush or disposable rags. Spray all surfaces with all-natural Bed Bug Patrol Spray and Dust to all the cracks and crevices of furniture, walls, and floors.

6. Follow Up

Because bed bugs are so good at hiding, you'll want to install Bed Bug Traps on the feet of any furniture including your bed to monitor for any remaining bed bugs. If bed bugs still remain, repeat these steps until you are sure you don’t have any bed bugs left.

Talk to Your Neighbors About Bed Bug Patrol Treatment

As tough as it may be, we cannot stress how important it is to talk with your neighbors about the potential spread of bed bugs. This can save a lot of time, stress, money, and embarrassment if a plan for treatment is set in place as soon as bed bugs are discovered. The sooner you begin treatment, the sooner you can really reclaim and enjoy your home again!

Let us at Bed Bug Store assist you. All our products come with a 90-day 100% satisfaction guarantee. We have been relieving customers of their bed bugs for over 15 years. Our products are also 100% all-natural, chemical and pesticide-free. The smell you notice when using our solution, is the fresh scent of peppermint.

Safe for children and pets, completely deadly for bed bugs.

Our sprays are made with 100% effective natural ingredients and essentials oils, making Bed Bug Patrol a great alternative to harsh pesticides and insecticides which bed bugs are becoming increasingly resistant to.

Enjoy the safety of knowing your bed bug battle will soon be won by the all-natural power of Bed Bug Patrol.