3 Quick Steps To Win Your Bed Bug Battle:

STEP 1: Clear The Room

• Move mattress covers, linens, and clothing into a tumble dryer. If the care label allows, dry on the highest setting (typically 140 °F) for at least 30 minutes.
  
  
  

STEP 2: Inspect The Area

• Preferably with a UV flashlight, inspect the area to gauge the size of the infestation. Start with the affected mattress and work outward to the edges of the room, leaving no crack or crevice unexplored.

• Look for bed bug eggs, shell-like remains, and specks of blood from previous attacks.

STEP 3: Spray-On Target

• Thoroughly spray the contamination zone including: mattress seams, all sides of the bed frame and headboard, carpet edges, crown moldings, nightstand, and other furniture, curtain folds and windowsills, and any other cracks or crevices.
  

Post Bed Bug Treatment

We know that bed bugs are good at hiding, so if you've had your home treated for bed bugs, you may see them after treatment.  It is also possible that if some of the eggs survived the treatment, you will see more bed bugs.

Another reason why you may see bed bugs after treatment can be caused by the reintroduction of infested items.

After your home has been treated for bed bugs: Here are some tips to help prevent a re-infestation:

• To help ensure you don't have bed bugs, place a bed bug trap under the legs of your bed. You can also use bed bug traps when you travel to make sure you don't bring any bed bugs home with you.
  
  
• Place encasements on your box spring and mattress which will prevent any surviving bed bugs to escape the encasement.
  
  
• Vacuum daily in the first few weeks after treatment. Immediately dispose of the vacuum bag after cleaning. Even if you do not see signs of bed bugs, the eggs could still be around.

Protect yourself from bringing bed bugs home with you when you travel:

Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers, latching on to your luggage and clothes when traveling and winding up in your home.

• Before making travel plans, you can visit the bed bug registry to make sure your hotel isn't infested with bed bugs.
  
  
• Protect yourself from bed bug bites when sleeping in hotel beds with travel size, TSA-approved, all-natural bed bug killer spray. You can also spray down your luggage. bags and clothes to protect yourself from bringing bed bugs home with you.

• Upon your return, immediately wash all your clothing in very hot water and dry your clothes in high heat to kill any bed bugs.
  
  
• Be sure to examine the seams and zippers of your luggage before bringing luggage into your home.

Purchasing furniture:

If you're buying new or used furniture, inspect all furniture before bringing it into your home.  A bed bug detection UV light can help you spot signs of bed bug droppings and eggs preventing an infestation.

Never bring home discarded furniture, mattresses, bed frames, or headboards.  There's a good chance they are infested with bed bugs and have been discarded for a reason.

We are aware that bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide.  When we fall into a deep sleep, as we exhale, we emit carbon dioxide which attracts bed bugs to come out from hiding. Bed bugs are also attracted to body heat that is generated by humans.

But here's something interesting we bet you haven't heard of before.  According to an article published in Newsweek Magazine, bed bugs are also attracted to color.

The article states that bed bugs are specifically attracted to the colors black and red, and do not like the colors green, yellow, and white.

Bed bugs are not picky about cleanliness or hygiene. It simply doesn't matter how clean or dirty your home is.  Their only objective is to seek out warmth, carbon dioxide, and finally, a blood meal.

There is a way to attract bed bugs to determine if you do have an infestation. This will not kill them but can be helpful to alert you of an infestation in its early stages.

Here's how to make a simple DIY bed bug trap according to this National Geographic article:

• Fill an old coffee cup with ten tablespoons (150 grams) of sugar, two tablespoons (30 grams) of yeast, and one and a half quarts (one and a half liters) of water, and put it in the middle of an upturned dog bowl.

• (When the yeast mixes with sugar, it releases carbon dioxide, which is what will attract the bed bugs.)

• Voila! You have just made a bed bug detector that beats others on the market and is much cheaper.

Here are several precautions you can take to help prevent bed bugs from entering your home: 

• The best thing you can do is keep an eye out for bed bugs in your home before it becomes an infestation. You will want to look for signs of bed bugs where you sleep or rest (beds, recliner, sofa).

• Bed bugs are very good at hiding in all kinds of cracks and crevices so you will want to grab a flashlight and check behind wallpaper, picture frames, under the edges of carpeting, any cracks in wood floors, and inside of all furniture.

• If you travel, you'll want to check your luggage and the area where you store it for signs of bed bugs.

The greatest risk of bed bugs is when traveling.  This is where most people tend to pick up bed bugs and bring them back home. Regardless of the type of accommodations you have, you should always inspect your room. You'll want to pull back the sheets for signs of bed bugs.  Check behind the headboard, in the seams of upholstered furniture, etc.

If you see any signs of bed bugs, let the hotel management know immediately and ask for another room, in another part of the hotel.

If you do not see any obvious signs of bed bugs, it is still advisable that you do not leave any luggage on the bed or the floor and avoid placing your belongings inside dressers. Place your clothing on hangers and hang them in the closet. Store your luggage off the floor and on luggage racks away from the walls.

When returning home from a trip, keep your luggage in the garage and carefully inspect it for signs of bed bugs. Place all washable items in a plastic bag and immediately wash your clothes in very hot water and place them in the dryer on high heat to disinfect clothing from possible bed bugs.

Thoroughly vacuum luggage or steam heat luggage.  Carefully inspect all seams and luggage lining before bringing luggage into your home.

Because pregnant female bed bugs are more likely to travel to isolated areas away from other bed bugs, it is more likely that any bed bug you do accidentally pick up will be a pregnant female.

After a blood-feeding, a female bed bug can lay one to seven eggs per day and will lay anywhere from 200 - 300 eggs during her lifetime and can cause an infestation of 5,000-bed bugs within six months. Eggs are laid singly or in clusters and are placed within tight cracks or crevices.  This can include electrical outlets, inside wood frames, inside boxes or shoes stored under beds, sofas, chairs, recliners, etc.

The eggs hatch in about 6-10 days.  The newly hatched nymphs will then begin to travel on their own to seek out a blood meal.