Proven Ways to Prevent Bedbugs |Verified

Bedbugs always present severe problems for people in Kenya and East Africa. Most bugs naturally need conducive, temperate environments to survive. Hence, numerous places within the home give them the perfect conditions to breed and thrive. These places mainly include narrow cracks and crevices that you may be unable to access. You should note that bedbugs don’t necessarily hide within beds. Anywhere with the ideal temperature conditions for a bedbug is a perfect home for them. While it may sound impossible, you can conveniently keep bedbugs permanently from your home with the proper measures. Remember that preventing a bedbug infestation is significantly easier than getting rid of it once in your home.

The following list compiles a simple step-by-step procedure for keeping bedbugs away from your house or apartment.

Always inspect second-hand furniture before purchase.

One of the best ways to get the best value for the lowest price is to buy second-hand goods. This principle is applied extensively to furniture. However, second-hand furniture poses severe risks of inviting bedbugs if they are not inspected correctly. Avoid buying heavily cushioned furniture, like mattresses, from second-hand stores. Ensure you thoroughly check the upholstery of sofas and office seats for signs of bedbug residue before you buy the furniture. Also, make it a habit to store furniture in a bed or a garage as you clean and inspect it for a while after purchase before you allow it into your home. Most people think messy homes bring bedbugs. However, no matter how clean, every home can have bugs if they invite previously infested furniture inside.

Travelling risk of bedbugs

When spending time away from home, always check your hotel room or host’s room for bedbugs before settling in. Thoroughly check the bedding, curtains, and upholstered furniture for any signs of insects. Notify your reception desk and ask for a different room when you find even the slightest indication that bugs have infested the place. Otherwise, these bedbugs can attach themselves to your clothing and luggage, surviving up to a week, only to make their way to your home. Try to make it a habit to inspect your luggage and thoroughly wash it before returning it to your household items.

Another great thing to do is to wash your clothes with the highest heat setting possible once you get to your house. Heat destroys any eggs that may have found themselves within your clothes.

Spray offices and school premises regularly

People who spend most of their time in classrooms or boarding hostels pose a considerable risk of bedbug transmission. Some high schools and college hostels have students sleeping in double beds, increasing the risk of bedbug transmission from one family to another. School officials should create an efficient spray schedule to protect the students from any pest or parasitic infestation on the school premises. 

Offices are also high-risk locations for bedbug transmission between individuals. Ergonomic chairs and desks with unattended spaces between their corners or upholstery provide an excellent environment for bedbugs to thrive. These bedbugs and their eggs eventually reach your clothing, vehicles, and home. Therefore, all companies should prioritize fumigating their offices for prevention purposes even when they don’t have bedbug infestations.

You can personally use several sprays as a home remedy for bedbugs. An excellent example of bedbug sprays is tea-tree oils that kill or repel bugs. Other examples are fungal biopesticides, DEET, and diatomaceous, which bedbugs naturally avoid.

Go the extra mile to spray your car occasionally to do away with the slight chance that it may be carrying bedbugs.

Cover all possible bedbug entry points. 

There is no knowing if your neighbor in the next apartment or across the hall has bedbugs. Therefore, cover all the entry points you can think of to avoid an infestation in your house. You can use cover options that are as cheap as tape to seal off these entry points. They may not get stuck on the paper but will turn away if their entry route is blocked. You can also remake windows, doors, and ceiling spaces using any creative means that can keep the bugs away.

Purchase mattress and cushion encasements for your house.

Encasements are thick plastic casings that cover a mattress or a sofa cushion. They have zippers that seal off the bed and cushion airtight; therefore, there is no way for bedbugs to get to their hiding spots. Bedbugs look for hiding spots within mattresses and pillows because they contain numerous services and are the closest areas to wait for a sleeping host to bite.

Cover all power outlets.

Bedbugs hide in power outlets to avoid extermination. Bedbugs travel within walls to get from room to room. Bedbugs use electrical piping within the walls during severe infestations to get to the other different areas of your home or office. You will notice bedbug infestation in walls through their red droppings that can be found in electrical outlets.

Avoid using shared laundry rooms.

As established, bedbugs’ best transmission mode is through luggage and clothing. Therefore, shared laundry rooms are a hotspot for bedbug transmission. When you can’t avoid these facilities, transport your clothes from the laundry to your house using a plastic bag directly from the laundry room to your home. As mentioned above, using high-heat washing machines is also an excellent infestation prevention measure.

Hire the services of a professional pest control company.

In summary, adopting several self-pest-control measures is a great way to keep away bedbugs from your house or apartment. Still, sometimes, more than these practices may be needed. Professional bedbug treatment from Rafiki Pest Control Company is necessary to efficiently and permanently remove bedbugs from your house. We offer preventive sprays and extermination services for households that risk bedbug infestation.