I survived the bedbugs, my mattress too. But…
RIP my box spring. And yes, bedbugs won a battle, I won the war but not only thanks to the best bed bug sprays.
What are bedbugs?
Bedbugs are a real problem that we don’t talk enough about. We thought we got rid of them in the 1930s, but it was a false alarm, they came back because they became resistant to certain insecticides.
They multiply quickly (5 to 15 eggs per day) and, if they are not dangerous for health, the stings can be painful and it is disgusting to know that you have that at home.
Why talk about it?
Bedbugs are very common in the United States and Canada and of course, in major cities around the world. But we don’t talk about it. Well no, it’s shame.
They travel in luggage and pass quietly from apartment to apartment.
It is difficult to find a real article on the internet on bedbugs. Many of the speakers on the forums are professionals looking to sell their services.
Talk about it, perhaps you will find someone who suffered from the problems and won both the battles and the war.
How do we know we have bed bugs?
I thought I was bitten by a mosquito, the bite is quite similar. Except that if you get bitten every night and your bites wake you up around 2/4 p.m., it’s time to inspect your mattress.
So you have dirty little rascals that you haven’t invited, pooping in your bed.
Bedbugs bite at night, mainly when you sleep very deeply. At first, the bite is anesthetized, so you do not feel it.
But they can wake you up during the day, or not, it depends on the people and their sensitivities. If you sleep in pairs, they may bite only one of the two.
Bedbugs are lazy: they hide where they can nibble on you without much effort. However, when they become too numerous, they disperse.
They have 5 stages of evolution: egg, mini yellow larva, mini black larva, medium black larva, adult bed bug. If you look at the best bed bug sprays, you will find products that eliminates all these states of the bugs.
They lay eggs at this last stage, and of course: they need to suck on your blood to evolve. Last point: they can survive 6 months to 2 years without eating.
I typed bed bugs in the search engines to know what it was all about. I have had thousands of results and spent hours searching for the ultimate solutions. Until I did what is written below.
I lifted my draw sheet, and I saw one that went to hide.
You should know that they have sensors for light and therefore take refuge in dark corners. And there were others. Not many, but others.
We turned the mattress but we did not see anything at first, however we found lots of eggs and larvae against the bed seam. We vacuumed everything up, then we threw the bag making sure we sealed it tight (well yes, we don’t want to pass it on to the neighbors).
Bedbug attack plan
I warn you, if you have bedbugs, you cannot procrastinate. You start the counter attack IMMEDIATELY. Otherwise, it will be time consuming and very stressful.
The problem is that you have to sleep in your room even though your bed is infested, if not, they change rooms with you ( this is without doubt the worst info of this article, hold on almost to the end).
We have to find them before they lay eggs!
How we did it (this is not a guaranteed or universal method):
1) At first, we did not buy the best bed bug spray even though they prove efficient: we did not want to scare them away in the apartment. We favored mechanical action.
2) I put double-sided tape all around the doors and cupboards: they could not move easily.
3) We vacuumed every day, throwing away the bags.
4) I used my steam iron, I steamed Everything I could. Professional equipment can be rented for the same technique.
5) I bought: the best bed bug spray I could find to spray targeted baby bugs, a special mattress cover, a flashlight (for inspections), diatomaceous earth and bed bugs traps.
I am not sure that the diatomaceous earth works but we have put it everywhere. It’s super hard to vacuum, but hey: who doesn’t try anything, has nothing.
7) The traps are only used to assess the situation: whether you have many or not. They will not kill all of the bedbugs.
8) Wash everything lying around (including your sheets, of course) at 60 degrees. Apparently, they die at 46 degrees.
9) I inspect day after day with my flashlight, see if I find suspicious traces (always this poo story).
10) You can tell your property owner if you live in a building. Me, they did not care much when I told them, so I saved myself the trouble.
Let’s be honest: I woke up several times at 3 a.m. and it was not pleasant.
A month without injections, the end of the nightmare?
Fortunately, my cats have (vaguely) helped me by pretending to be a hunter from time to time in the face of a bedbug.
FYI: unlike fleas, they do not stay attached to pets, so don’t worry about your cat or dog
However, they can annoy them, even if it seems to require too much effort. So if they have a hairless target, like you, they won’t be shy.
For us, victory: it has been a month since we haven’t been bitten!
I know that does not mean we are definitely out of the woods, but I am hopeful.
In short, we have come to the end of it, you have to be patient and above all, not to be closed in on yourself by not sleeping anymore: attack the problem little by little and gain ground.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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