When you find bed bugs, the right moves are to stay calm, inspect carefully, encase your mattress, launder on hot, set interceptors, and treat thoroughly. The wrong moves are to panic, throw out furniture, sleep in another room, blanket-spray everything, or set off foggers.
Key Takeaways
- DO stay calm and inspect — a clear-headed inspection beats a panicked reaction every time.
- DO encase and launder hot — encasements plus a 30-minute hot dryer cycle kill bugs and eggs.
- DON’T move rooms — relocating just spreads bed bugs to new areas of the home.
- DON’T use foggers — bug bombs are ineffective and can scatter the infestation.
What should you DO about bed bugs?
Start by staying calm. Bed bugs are a nuisance, but they do not transmit disease, so you have time to act methodically. Confirm the problem with a thorough inspection of mattress seams, the bed frame, baseboards, and nearby furniture, looking for live bugs, shed skins, and dark fecal spots. Our how to check for bed bugs guide covers exactly where to look.
Next, reduce hiding spots. Encase your mattress and box spring in a quality cover that traps bugs and removes seams, then launder bedding and clothing on hot and run them through a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes, which kills all life stages. Place interceptor traps under bed and furniture legs to catch and monitor bugs. Finally, treat thoroughly using a combination of methods rather than relying on one product. The EPA recommends an integrated approach combining physical and chemical controls.
What should you NOT do about bed bugs?
Don’t panic-toss your furniture. Throwing out a mattress or couch is expensive, often unnecessary after proper treatment, and can spread bugs through your home as you drag infested items out. If you must discard something, wrap and label it so no one else takes it home.
Don’t move to another room or to a relative’s house. Bed bugs will simply follow you, expanding the infested area and starting it somewhere new. Don’t blanket-spray every surface; over-applying pesticide is unsafe and largely ineffective because bed bugs hide deep in cracks and many sprays don’t kill eggs. And don’t use foggers or “bug bombs”: research from the University of Kentucky shows they fail to reach harborages and can scatter bugs to adjacent rooms.
Why does method matter more than effort?
Bed bugs are widely resistant to pyrethroid insecticides, so spraying harder with the wrong product won’t help. Effective programs combine targeted treatment of harborages, heat, desiccant dusts, encasement, and persistent follow-up. Eggs hatch in roughly 6 to 10 days and many products miss them, so a single treatment rarely finishes the job. Plan to inspect and re-treat over several weeks until interceptors stay empty. For the full step-by-step plan, see how to get rid of bed bugs, and for laundry specifics, how to kill bed bugs with your washing machine and dryer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I throw away my mattress if it has bed bugs?
Usually not. A quality encasement seals bugs inside and prevents new ones from hiding in the seams, letting you keep the mattress safely. Discarding it adds cost and risks spreading bugs as you move it, and a new mattress can get reinfested if the rest of the room isn’t treated.
Is it safe to keep sleeping in an infested bed?
Yes, and it can actually help. Bed bugs are drawn to where you sleep, so staying in the bed (with interceptors and encasements in place) keeps them in one targeted area. Moving away just sends them searching and spreads the problem.
Do I need a professional, or can I do it myself?
Light infestations caught early can often be handled with diligent DIY using encasements, hot laundering, interceptors, and desiccant dusts. Larger or persistent infestations usually warrant a professional with heat or combination treatments. Honest assessment of severity is the deciding factor.
Why are foggers a bad idea?
Foggers release insecticide into open air, but bed bugs hide deep in cracks where the mist never reaches. They are ineffective against the infestation and can drive bugs into walls and adjacent rooms, making the problem harder to control.