Bed bug treatment in Almere: recognising the signs
Bed bugs are flat, oval insects, about the size of an apple pip and reddish brown. By day they hide; at night they are drawn to the warmth and breath of a sleeping person. Most people notice the bites first, but there are other clues:
- itchy bumps, often in a line or cluster on the arms, neck, shoulders or legs
- small blood spots on the sheets or pillowcase
- black specks, their droppings, in mattress seams, on the slats or behind the headboard
- pale, empty shed skins
- with a large population, a sweetish, musty smell in the bedroom
Not everyone reacts to the bites, so one partner can be bitten while the other notices nothing.
How bed bugs get in and spread
A dirty home has nothing to do with it. Bed bugs travel: in a suitcase after a hotel stay, in a second-hand bed, sofa or bedside table, or in a guest's bag. They cannot jump or fly, but they crawl unnoticed from luggage to bed.
Once inside, they spread slowly. At first they stay close to where you sleep, later moving to skirting boards, sockets, curtain rails and other bedrooms. In a block of flats they can also reach the neighbours through gaps around pipes. The sooner you act, the smaller the area that needs treating.
Our approach: inspection and heat
During the inspection we check every sleeping area and the spaces around it: mattress seams, slatted bases, bed frames, sofas, skirting boards and cracks. That shows how far the bed bugs have spread and which rooms need treating.
Then comes the heat treatment. We raise the temperature of the room and furniture to a level that bed bugs and their eggs do not survive, even deep in seams that a spray never reaches. Where needed, we add a professional product in the places they hide; that work is reserved for certified pest controllers. After a while we return to check for any remaining activity. For other pests you can turn to our pest control in Almere.
Preparing: what to do and what not to do
Good preparation makes the treatment more effective. Wash bedding, soft toys and any clothes lying in the bedroom at 60 degrees, or tumble-dry them on a hot setting, then keep them in sealed bags. Clear the floor under the bed so we can reach everywhere.
Do not throw the mattress out in a panic: dragging it through the stairwell spreads bed bugs further. Do not start sleeping on the sofa either, because they will follow you. A supermarket spray mainly drives them deeper into the house. Are the bites mostly around your ankles, and do you have a dog or cat? Then it may be a different pest; read about flea treatment.
Keeping bed bugs out in future
After a trip you can greatly reduce the risk. In a hotel or holiday home, check the mattress seams and headboard first, put your suitcase on the luggage rack rather than the bed and unpack at home on a hard floor. Clothes go straight into a hot wash.
When buying second-hand furniture, use a torch to look into seams, screw holes and corners before you bring it inside. A zipped mattress encasement also makes any new infestation easier to spot. And after guests have stayed, check the spare bed for black specks.
