Bedbugs in the sofa, ways to detect and remove them

What to do if bedbugs are found during inspection

You must first find the pest nests. This will get rid of most of the insects. In this case, parasites are destroyed mechanically or with chemicals (by acting on the nests). At the next stage, they move on to getting rid of stains and odors, since the excrement of parasites has managed to penetrate into the structure of the upholstery of upholstered furniture. Then choose any of the methods for treating things in the territory of the contaminated house and the premises itself:

• temperature exposure (steaming, boiling, washing at high temperatures, ironing, freezing);
• insecticides;
• folk remedies for bedbugs.

To remove parasites, it is recommended to use several methods at once. For example, folk remedies are used at the last stage, when the room is cleaned. They are used to prevent re-infection of the apartment.

It is recommended to remove bedbugs using insecticides. Individual items are cleaned by exposure to temperature.

How to clean a sofa from bedbugs yourself?

It's time to act! Follow our instructions and you will forget about bedbugs.

Cleaning from bedbugs includes 5 stages

1. Use a vacuum cleaner. Remove the brush from it, leaving only the pipe. Vacuum every crevice of the sofa. Do not forget to vacuum the cleaner after this, the bedbugs will not die there.
2. Find and borrow a hot air gun from your neighbors. It will treat furniture at a temperature of no more than 100 degrees, due to which individuals of any age die within 3-5 seconds. Remember, this treatment is only suitable for fabric sofas. But do not overheat the fabric of the sofa. Temperatures should not be allowed to exceed 100 degrees and exposure to a section of sofa fabric should not exceed more than 10 seconds.
3. Spray every inch of the sofa with chemical insecticides. Follow safety precautions. Pay special attention to deep places. That's where they most often hide. When the sofa is completely wet and treated, cover it with film. Wrap it so that no air reaches the furniture at all. Popular insecticides: “Executioner”, “Klopomor”, “Kombat”, “Karbofos”, “Fufanon”. There are many options at the hardware store.
4. After 4 hours, remove the film and wash the sofa using detergents, with the addition of anti-bedbug products, which we will discuss below. Once the sofa is dry, repeat the steps with a vacuum cleaner, this will help remove dead larvae.
5. Ventilate the room thoroughly and inspect all rooms for the presence of parasites. Check your sofa every day for a week; to be sure, you can repeat the procedure after 5 days.

How to understand that there are bedbugs in the sofa

How can you tell if there are bedbugs in your upholstered furniture? This may be indicated by a number of signs:

• The appearance of an odor similar to the aroma of almonds or raspberries. It appears when there are a lot of insects in the house.
• Insect excrement. They look like small black dots, similar to street dirt, as in the photo. If pests are already infested in upholstered furniture, this dirt will appear frequently.
• The appearance of bites on the human body. These bites are similar to mosquito bites, only they are smaller. If the room is heavily infested with pests, bites on the body will appear 3-4 in a row. This is the surest way to detect insects if they have recently appeared.

How can you see bedbugs yourself if they have created a full-fledged colony in upholstered furniture? Usually, for this purpose, it is enough to lift the upper cushions of the furniture or dismantle its tight joints (for example, the space between the seat and the armrest) - this is where pests most often settle. Here you can find insects that look like small cockroaches, their excrement, and eggs. The nest of parasites is usually very mobile.

How to find out if there are bedbugs in a sofa

When bedbugs appear in a sofa, you can check their presence using evidence. And also by smell.

• Insects are guided in their life by their sense of smell. A sleeping person is found by the smell of carbon dioxide, which is released during sleep. If danger approaches, the odorous glands release their scent, which allows them to warn all other relatives. It is also present during the mating period. The smell is similar to rotten raspberries and nutmeg. And some compare it to cheap cognac. If a strange aroma becomes noticeable, you should not hesitate to destroy the bedbugs.
• Traces of blood and black spots remain on the bed. Small black dots are bedbug excrement. After parasite bites, wounds remain on the body, and blood continues to ooze from them for some time. In addition, well-fed insects become very vulnerable. The chitinous cover stretches and simply bursts at the slightest pressure. Upon careful inspection of the bed, you may notice dead bedbugs, as well as gray skins. It is necessary to check every corner of the sleeping area.
• The main sign of the presence of bed bugs is bites on the body. Swellings are red in color with a red dot in the center. The wounds cause severe itching. The bites are arranged in the form of a path. Because during one meal the insect bites several times. In addition, it is not possible to immediately find a suitable artery. You have to try several times. In some places, several bites merge into one large spot. Bedbugs bite the neck, legs, arms, back, and forearm. Very rarely face, stomach.

To check whether there are bedbugs in a sofa, it is enough to inspect the bedding and then the furniture itself. The bedbug nest can be located in the joints of the sofa, between soft pillows, seams, in folds, on the back of the sofa.

Where do bedbugs come from?

Let's take a closer look at where bedbugs in the sofa come from and list the main ways insects penetrate inside the home.

Parasites can be introduced:

• when purchasing second-hand items;
• along with new furniture;
• when returning equipment from repair;
• with personal belongings of workers or guests entering the apartment;
• from the bathhouse and sauna.

Very often, sofa bugs crawl from neighbors through ventilation shafts, enter through cracks in door frames, and seep through cracks in walls.

Combining processing methods is the key to success

We need to find the most effective ways to get rid of furniture bugs. At the same time, the control is carried out with different types of means that have different effects on pests. This measure reduces the risk of developing resistance to insecticides and repels new insects. Available combinations:

• treating the nests with hot steam + spraying an insecticide - as a result, the bulk of the pests will be destroyed by high-temperature exposure, the remaining individuals will die later due to the poison;
• treatment with insecticides + the use of vinegar, essential oils or herbs with bitterness - this will help kill insects with the drug, after which repellents will create unsuitable conditions for the existence of pests:
• steam treatment + natural-based Pyrethrum powder + herbs - the first two products will kill bedbugs in a safe way, then the plants will repel the remaining insects.

Hot steam treatment of furniture

Probable routes of entry

Clean owners, especially those using new furniture, have legitimate bewilderment and misunderstanding where the parasite population came from. Gradual infection leads to the growth of a large population that settles in a cluster, but does not constitute any community.

Bedbug nest

Bedbugs simply settle nearby, feed, reproduce and spoil, leaving characteristic traces, and when the owner looks inside the sofa, it appears that there is powder in the tray and between the cracks.

The causes of bedbugs are few and varied. Typically, the main reason why bedbugs appear is, as in any infection with ectoparasites, external infection:

the insect enters the apartment on the clothes or in the bags of the apartment's inhabitants; carried on the fur of a domestic animal running freely on the street; comes with guests where there is a similar misfortune at home; ends up on a new sofa in a store if a bag containing parasites is placed on it; in rare cases, emerging bedbugs can crawl through the balcony, and sometimes through the ventilation from neighbors.

There are few reasons why bedbugs may appear, but usually it is almost impossible to find out a reliable source. Few people voluntarily admit to the presence of parasites in their sofa, and even more so if such individuals have become a likely source of infection for other people. But it is unpleasant to clarify this question, because it is an indirect recognition of the existing problem.

Therefore, most often, owners begin to look for ways to get rid of bedbugs in the sofa on their own.

Folk remedies for killing parasites

From the many existing ones, it is very difficult to choose the most effective method of exterminating insects. Often, domestic bugs are expelled using folk remedies. Traditional methods involve the use of aromatic herbal infusions or bouquets.

Domestic bugs do not like the smell of chamomile, calamus, tansy, wormwood and wild rosemary. Fresh cut plants are laid out in places where insects accumulate. Dry herb loses its aroma, so you need to constantly ensure that the required concentration is maintained in the room.

This technique is complemented by wiping areas where bedbugs accumulate, furniture, and floors with herbal infusions with the addition of salt. Also, rooms infested with insects are fumigated with smoke from smoldering aromatic dry plants.

Furniture bugs and sofa bugs are difficult to remove using this method. The aroma only temporarily dulls the reproduction and active activity of insects, only some individuals die. It does not affect bedbug larvae.

The above plants, not counting chamomile, are poisonous; a strong concentration of aromas can have a bad effect on people's health, so the premises must be treated without the presence of residents.

Handy chemicals for killing bedbugs

Bedbugs are sensitive to pungent odors, but their complete destruction from exposure to odors does not occur; you can only achieve the expulsion of bedbugs yourself. Bedbugs do not like the smells of acetone, vinegar, ammonia, kerosene, transformer oil, and turpentine.

This technique also does not affect bedbug larvae.

Temperature effect on bedbugs

What to do if bedbugs are infested in the bed, bedbugs are found in the bed? How to get bedbugs out of a sofa? The answer to these questions lies only in a little trick. Bedbugs are very afraid of low and high temperatures, daylight, they die at -18°C and at + 30°C. Consequently, beds, sofas and bedding can be treated with hot steam, fried in the sun, doused with boiling water, treated with a hot iron, and placed in the cold for several days.

Since bedbugs in a mattress - sofa or bed - tend to settle under the cover, it should be removed and boiled, and the surface of the mattress should be heated as much as possible. The ends, seams, folds, and edgings need to be treated especially carefully with hot tools.

Furniture bugs that have settled in the ends of furniture are killed by the hot air of a hair dryer.

Toxic chemicals for killing bedbugs

The most difficult thing to fight against insects is if bedbugs nest in furniture. Furniture bugs die from exposure to toxic chemicals. An effective way to get rid of bedbugs in a sofa, bed, cabinets, chests of drawers is to treat the cabinet surfaces with special means. These can be powders (Nopin, Riopan), aerosols and sprays (Dichlorvos, Reid), liquids (Lakterin, Primadid, Foxide). Bedbugs are very sensitive to the substance karbofos, which is included in many chemicals.

All parts of the furniture are subject to treatment - ends, pallets, doors, back walls, internal shelves, as well as additionally window sills, floors in all rooms, ventilation holes.

If bed bugs are found in an apartment, this is not a reason for frustration. There is no need to search hard for the reasons for this undesirable phenomenon. You should use one of the methods described above to combat insects and clear your home of uninvited guests.

Well, if there are personal reasons why independent control of household parasites is not possible, you can always use the services of a special residential disinfection service.

The first signs of bedbugs in upholstered furniture

The following signs indicate that there are bedbugs in the sofa:

• Black spots on furniture and bedding. These are waste products of blood-sucking parasites.
• Pinpoint bites on the skin in the form of a track, which appear 1-2 times a week: bedbugs do not feed on blood every day. A person can receive about 500 bites in one night. The bite site is a swelling with a bright red dot in the center.
• The appearance of an unpleasant odor. Bedbugs give off a specific smell, which has been compared to the aroma of nutmeg, rotten raspberries or cheap cognac. Furniture in which these blood-sucking insects parasitize acquires a stale, musty smell.
• Traces of blood on the skin and bed linen. They remain after insect bites, and also if a person, changing body position in a dream, crushes them. Traces of bedbug excrement are observed not only on the piece of furniture that they occupied: black dots appear within a radius of 3-5 m from it, on the walls, in the area of ​​the baseboards. Bedbug bites not only cause discomfort: they can cause allergic reactions, the formation of ulcers with the addition of a secondary infection, and in severe cases, iron deficiency anemia.

Determining the presence of bedbugs

At first, many people don’t even know that there are bedbugs in the house. It is impossible to see them during the day; at night, people usually sleep. For a long time, bites that appear have been attributed to an allergy - hives.

However, it is quite easy to find out that there are bedbugs in the house, since their bites have characteristic signs:

• Itchy spots on the skin appear regardless of the type of food eaten;
• Bite sites are always discovered in the morning;
• Bites are most often arranged in a characteristic way - in chains of several pieces - the bug bites a person as it moves, looking for a suitable place.

You can also find out about the presence of bedbugs if suspicion creeps in if you turn on the light suddenly at night - in this case you can see parasites on the sofa and bed linen. You may also want to learn how to locate bed bug nests and get rid of them.

The presence of bedbugs is indicated by tiny drops of blood appearing on the bed linen, which look like brown dots.

If you examine the sofa from the back and inside, you will notice black and brown dots - these are traces of bedbugs. If there are many points, then the apartment is quite heavily infected. In the folds of upholstered furniture you can find skins from insects and their larvae that remain after molting. If there are a lot of bedbugs, then the folds seem to be covered with some kind of substrate.

How to treat furniture. What safe chemicals are best to use?

If furniture bugs appear at home, how to get rid of them - the answer to this question presupposes the need to choose the least aggressive and non-toxic means. This is due to the fact that the fabric quickly absorbs liquids.

This means that when bedbugs appear in furniture, concentrated liquids cannot be applied to fabrics. But it is permissible to spray the substances using a spray bottle. In addition, aerosols are used. When sprayed, a fine suspension is released. The upholstery does not get wet, as a result, the poisonous components do not penetrate the structure of the material, remain on the surface, where they kill bedbugs, and then gradually erode. Medicines that can be used at home:

• “Karbofos” - contains malathion, this substance is odorless, after treatment you need to wait several hours, then the room is ventilated, thanks to this drug the nervous system of insects is affected, the solution is prepared using a concentrate, water, the recommended ratio is taken as a basis - after contact with the substance insects die in a few minutes, but if during spraying not a single bug came into view, it will take 19 hours to eradicate the parasites;

• “Raid” is an aerosol based on an insecticide of the pyrethroid class (cypermethrin); after treating furniture against bedbugs, you can ventilate the room within 30 minutes;
• “Raptor” - contains cypermethrin, tetramethrin and a synergist substance that enhances the effect; after spraying, leave for half an hour, then clean, the furniture can be used immediately;
• “Dichlorvos” - they use an odorless variety, the processing principle is the same as that of the previously discussed products, since the composition includes substances of the pyrethroid class.

Treating upholstered furniture with liquid bedbug repellent

Preparing the sofa for processing

When all areas where there may be parasites have already been inspected, it is necessary to study the rules for preparing furniture for disinfestation. Their violation leads to an increase in the size of the colony. Provide access to hidden areas of the base.

Some structures will have to be dismantled

Vacuum cleaner

This is one of the fastest ways to remove bed bugs yourself. A vacuum cleaner helps to collect all specimens (larvae, adults, eggs, shell shells) from the surface of upholstery of upholstered furniture. After this, it is recommended to additionally check the seams of the upholstery (there could be tubs of eggs left).

At the last stage, you need to poison the parasites with an insecticidal preparation, but in this case the treatment is carried out only on hard surfaces (elements of a wooden structure). But eggs and bedbugs remain inside the vacuum cleaner, so if you choose this method, it is no longer recommended to use a vacuum cleaner.

Vacuuming is not the best way to combat parasites

Steam generator or hot air gun

A heat source (hot steam or heated air) helps clean the surface of the sofa without using harsh chemicals. As a result, sofa bugs die instantly. The air flow temperature when using a steam generator exceeds +150°C. A hot air gun is even more effective. The air flow temperature reaches +560°C. This leaves no chance for parasites.

Treating a sofa with a steam generator

Iron

The temperature of the sole when heated reaches +200°C. You can iron the woven material with an iron, this will destroy parasites (their eggs).

Synthetic fabrics are often used in the production of upholstered furniture; they are easily damaged when exposed to high temperatures.

The iron can damage the fabric upholstery of the sofa

Ultrasonic repellers

Such devices are effective against mosquitoes and many other insects. However, they do not provide the required result if you need to get rid of sofa bugs. This is explained by the fact that ultrasound can only repel those pests whose vital activity is in one way or another connected with high-frequency sound waves. For example, mosquitoes transmit and perceive signals with such parameters.

Ultrasonic devices are not effective against bedbugs

Insecticides. Chemicals

Bed bugs can be removed using household products containing toxic substances. There are types:

• intestinal action;
• contact;
• combined means.

It is possible to remove parasites from your home only through the last two varieties.

Intestinal insecticides are powerless against couch bugs

Cucaracha

The two-component drug contains substances of different types: the class of pyrethroids and FOS. This reduces the risk of bedbugs developing resistance to poisons. In addition, the negative impact on the nervous system of pests doubles, and death occurs faster.

Combat

This is a two-component drug, but contains drugs of one class - pyrethroids. The risk of developing resistance in insects remains, but death occurs quickly due to the high concentration of toxic substances.

Combat against bedbugs

Get

The active ingredient is chlorpyrifos. The drug is available in the form of a microencapsulated emulsion. As a result, the poison will have a longer effect on pests.

Get remedy

Clean house

If you are looking for a way to get rid of bedbugs in the sofa, consider this option. It is suitable for self-processing and is effective. "Clean House" contains cypermethrin. This substance provokes disturbances in the transmission of nerve impulses, which leads to paralysis.

Means Clean Home

Raptor for bedbugs

If blood-sucking insects appear, special means are used against them. Raptor contains substances of the same class. One of them (neopinamine forte) is a tetramethrin derivative (pyrethroid) and is considered more effective.

Aerosol Raptor

Diatomite (or kieselguhr)

You can treat the room with preparations in powder form without toxic substances in the composition. Diatomite contains crushed rock, which means that this remedy for bedbugs has a traumatic effect, which leads to a violation of the integrity of the chitinous shell of insects, and at the same time dehydration occurs.

Diatomite Powder

How to withdraw: effective methods

In recent years, the list of methods to combat these arthropods has expanded significantly. For example, effective insecticides have appeared that can kill insects in a short time. However, classic, proven methods should not be discounted either. In order for sofa bugs to disappear forever, you should treat your home according to all the rules.

How to properly treat a sofa

It is no coincidence that bed bugs are sometimes called couch bugs. It is in these upholstered furniture products that insects infest most often.

The process of removing bedbugs from a sofa has a number of features:

1. insects feel comfortable in cramped spaces, so the ideal place for them to live is seams, folds, corners. Bedbugs can also settle on the back wall of furniture.
2. The sofa must be processed from all sides, lifting, unfolding, moving it away from the wall.
3. Particular attention should be paid to furniture drawers, if any. The bedding that is stored in them should be removed and subjected to heat treatment.

It is important to remember that bedbugs can nest not only inside the sofa.

Therefore, in order to permanently eliminate insects, you should also walk through other potentially dangerous places.

Mechanical method

This method is quite labor-intensive and ineffective. Before getting rid of furniture bugs, you should determine their nesting sites, walk through them with a bottle, manually collecting arthropods and their larvae. With this method of processing, there is a high probability of missing a couple of insects, which will begin to actively reproduce and quickly organize a new colony.

Vacuuming

This method is less labor-intensive, but more effective than the previous one. A huge plus for the squeamish – you won’t have to touch the sofa bugs with your hands. It is enough to go over all the seams and folds with a narrow nozzle. Before getting rid of bedbugs in the sofa, you should disassemble the furniture and move it away from the wall. The bag from the vacuum cleaner must be thrown away immediately so that insects cannot crawl around the room.

Temperature treatment

Treatment with hot water or steam is another effective method of getting rid of bedbugs. A temperature of 50 0C is already destructive for these insects. You can kill bedbugs using a steam cleaner. To do this, you should go over all the folds and creases. Covers for removable elements (sideboards, pillows) must be removed and washed. You can also pour boiling water over the seams and nesting areas, after making sure that such a procedure will not harm the furniture.

These insects cannot tolerate low temperatures either. In winter, you can put your furniture outside, and within a few hours the sofa bugs will die. After a week, the procedure must be repeated - during this period, new individuals will hatch from eggs that are resistant to cold. It is advisable that the temperature outside is below -150C.

Treating the sofa and other surfaces with an insecticide

This is one of the most effective and modern methods of combating these arthropods. Finding something to treat furniture against bedbugs will not be particularly difficult - stores selling household chemicals and gardening supplies offer a wide range of modern insecticides.

Processing is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. buy insecticide. Since upholstered furniture will have to be treated, it is important that the chemicals do not leave traces on the upholstery. It would be good if the cylinder had a comfortable, long nozzle that would help penetrate even remote places.
2. Clear the room of foreign objects, dishes, and food. It is important to ensure that items removed from the treatment area are free of parasites.
3. Soft things that can serve as a place for bloodsuckers to live (toys, tablecloths, curtains, blankets, pillows, etc.) are taken away and washed at the highest possible temperatures.
4. Pets, including reptiles and fish, are removed from the treatment area.
5. Wear PPE (gloves, respirator, goggles, closed clothing).
6. They take things to the center of the room and stick adhesive tape around the perimeter so that the insects cannot run away.
7. The concentrated product is diluted according to the instructions. Treatment is carried out sequentially, starting with large clusters of sofa bugs. To enhance the effect, furniture can be wrapped in film and left for several hours.
8. Carrying out general cleaning.

Despite the fact that sofas and other sleeping places are favorite places for parasites to settle, they can nest under wallpaper, behind baseboards, in sockets, and behind paintings. Therefore, all potentially dangerous places should be treated, and not just those where insects were found.

Effective drugs include the following: “Combat”, “Foresight”, “Executioner”, “Insecticide”, “Tetrix”, etc.

Professional Services

To treat premises, you can contact special services whose scope of activity includes disinfestation, deratization, and disinfection. In the arsenal of professional craftsmen there are powerful remedies that will help remove sofa parasites once and for all. The main disadvantage of such services is the price for their services, which may seem too high to clients. But specialists carry out comprehensive treatment of the room, often providing a guarantee that bedbugs will not reappear in the sofa.

Folk remedies

A homeowner who doesn’t know how to get bedbugs out of a sofa on his own will probably come up with the idea of ​​using folk remedies. It is well known that couch bugs cannot tolerate the smell of tansy, so they try to stay away from this plant. You can also drive insects out of their homes using vinegar or a mixture of turpentine and laundry soap. True, the specific aroma will not only repel parasites, but will also create a certain discomfort for humans. In addition, the explosive mixture can leave stains on the upholstery of the sofa.

Tansy or wormwood flowers, placed under the bed or on the bed, can repel insects for a couple of days. When hungry, the bloodsuckers will overcome their hostility and go on the attack again.

Who to look for when inspecting a sofa

When inspecting the sofa, it is recommended to pay attention to the following objects:

• Adult parasites (imago) are flattened oval insects, dark brown or red in color. Length, about 5-6 mm.
• The larvae, called nymphs, range in size from 1 to 4 mm, depending on the stage of development. After birth, they are transparent, gradually become yellowish-brown, and when they are saturated with blood - red.
• Cuticles (insect skins) are the sheaths shed during molting.
• Eggs are whitish capsules, oval-elongated, up to 1 mm long. They are found scattered or crowded.
• Fecal specks are the result of bedbugs. When fresh, they are easily washed off with warm water, while old ones are difficult to remove.

Ways to get rid of parasites

There are few methods by which you can get rid of bedbugs, these include:

1. Mechanical destruction of bedbugs or collecting them manually - not everyone will do this, since the process is long, unpleasant and sometimes extremely ineffective;
2. Impact of temperatures. In this way, it is quite possible to get rid of insects. Bedbug eggs and they themselves die within 24 hours at a temperature of -18°C, and also die almost instantly at a temperature of +50°C. You can take the sofa outside for 2 days in winter or use special heat treatment products. To do this, it is enough to pour boiling water over the sofa, but then it will take a lot of time to dry;

Cleaning the sofa

These methods are quite problematic and sometimes the bedbugs return after them, so we will consider in detail a more serious method with which you can get rid of parasites forever:

What do sofa bugs look like - photo

People who have never encountered evil spirits may not know what bedbugs and their eggs look like. Not everyone even feels the bites. But detecting the infection in time is very important. Insects reproduce instantly, and it will be difficult to eradicate a colony of parasites. Here's how to spot bed bugs in your home.

Bloodsuckers look like small bugs no more than 8 mm long. Their larvae are very small - about 1 mm. Hungry pests are almost transparent, and when the parasite is full, its color changes to brown. In addition, the bloodsucker swells and increases slightly in length. On its head there is a proboscis, with the help of which the pest bites the victim and drinks blood. If the owners have little idea what sofa bugs are, the photo below will allow you to identify the threat by external signs.

The eggs of parasites are white and similar to grains of rice, only very small: their length does not exceed half a millimeter. But a particularly frightening sight is the colony of parasites found in the folds of the sofa. Their nests look like a dump, where individuals of all sizes swarm, eggs and shells shed after molting, as well as waste products of bloodsuckers, are lying around. This sight is not for the faint of heart, and the first question that shocked owners ask is how to get rid of bedbugs in the sofa at home.

Bedbugs in an apartment: what are they and how to detect them

Bedbugs are nesting parasites. Among all known bugs, there is only one species - bed bugs - Sinanthropus.

Parasites can nest in different places in the apartment:

• holes and cracks and other “loopholes”;
• door frames;
• window sills and window frames;
• pieces of furniture;
• wall and floor carpets;
• picture frames and mirrors;
• mattress folds;
• cracks in old plaster;
• books.

Bed bugs are able to travel long distances, crawling from one room to another in various ways:

• through holes and cracks inside the building;
• on external walls (in the warm season);
• along pipelines (water, heating, gas)
• along the electrical wiring.

In addition, bedbugs can “attach” a person along with old things and furniture.

The main identifying signs of the presence of bedbugs in an apartment are the presence of eggs, larval skins, and specks of black or brown excrement.

It is almost impossible to detect parasites with your own eyes during the daytime. Bedbugs hide well in the narrowest openings due to their flat body. Parasites are nocturnal.

Larval skins and eggs of bedbugs

A highly developed sense of smell helps bedbugs navigate and find prey in the dark. Insects can attack in broad daylight only in exceptional cases, such as severe hunger.

Bedbugs feed on blood. In the absence of people, they can attack domestic animals and birds.

The difficulty of controlling parasites is largely due to their reproduction cycle. Bedbugs reproduce year-round, going through several phases:

1. egg;
2. larvae of 5 instars;
3. imago (adult).

Every day the female lays up to 12 eggs. Over a lifetime (and bedbugs live for 1–1.5 years) it turns out to be 250–500. Masonry is carried out in the same hard-to-reach places: crevices, cracks, etc.

Further development depends on the microclimate of the room - temperature and humidity indicators:

• At a temperature of +22... +26 °C, eggs develop in 3–5 days.
• At +14... +18 °C - 18–20 days.
• Under favorable feeding and temperature conditions, the larvae develop in 25–28 days and molt 5 times during this time (every 5–6 days).

The larva looks the same in appearance as the adult, only slightly smaller in size and lighter in color.

The bedbug larva feeds on blood like an adult insect.

To “grow up,” the larva needs to feed on blood. Both adults (imagoes) and larvae attack people. Bedbugs bother people throughout the night, depriving them of sleep and rest. Itching from a bite occurs due to the injection of secretion into the puncture site of the skin. This secretion prevents normal blood clotting, so the bug can suck out the required amount.

Females suck about 7 mg of blood at a time (an amount equal to twice its weight), the larva - 1.3 mg

It is believed that bedbugs can be carriers of infectious agents:

• plague;
• typhus and relapsing fever;
• tularemia;
• Q fever

However, the possibility of infecting people with these infections through a bite has not been reliably confirmed.

Itching and irritation from bedbug bites is an individual reaction. During my student years, I lived in a dorm with three roommates. Despite the fact that we got a room renovated to European standards, this circumstance did not save us from encountering bed bugs. While one neighbor always slept peacefully and did not feel the bites, the second girl, after the bites, experienced severe redness and swelling on her legs the size of her second kneecap. The disinfection service's treatment had a short-lived effect, since there were always untreated rooms left. A simultaneous visit by an exterminator to all rooms of a 9-story dormitory is an unattainable condition, so the bedbugs returned again and again. So they lived from one treatment to the next. Lavender essential oil helped me sleep peacefully. There was no aroma lamp, and to treat all the bedding, more than one bottle of oil would have been needed. We sprayed the product using an old iron, dripping the solution onto the heated surface.

Bed bugs can survive lack of food for a long time: adults - up to one year, larvae - up to 6 months. The body of the bug “on a starvation diet” In this case, it resembles a translucent thin leaf.

What to do if bedbugs are found during inspection. Find and process

If red spots are found on the linen, chitin shells are found around the apartment, excrement, insect nests are found on the furniture (in the sofa, bed), all surfaces need to be cleaned of traces of insects. Then choose anti-bedbug remedies.

Available options:

• aerosols: Clean House, Raid, Raptor, Dichlorvos, Combat, etc. - they all act in a similar way (they negatively affect the nervous system, the toxic substance is delivered to the body through direct contact with the chitinous cover of the bug);
• powders: scattered over surfaces, but there is no guarantee that parasites will crawl through these areas, since they are not affected by bait, so such products are used only in conjunction with others;
• pencils: bedbugs themselves do not find the insecticide applied to the surface in the form of a chalk line to remove parasites; they treat the legs of furniture with this product, as well as baseboards, the back walls of interior items, the perimeter of sockets, the internal surfaces of cabinets, etc.;
• concentrated liquids, microencapsulated emulsions - used to prepare a solution at home, the finished product is sprayed with a spray bottle over areas where parasites can live, but you cannot spray upholstered furniture, a mattress, this method is also used to destroy nests in a crib;
• folk remedies: vinegar, ammonia, essential oils;
• physical methods: steam exposure, freezing.

For better treatment, you need to move the furniture closer to the center of the room in order to cover as many surfaces as possible with the toxic substance. You can invite professional exterminators. The hot or cold fog treatment method will be used.

Home remedies for bedbugs

• Vinegar . This product is a very effective means of combating domestic parasites, because it has a pungent odor that repels parasites. Vinegar does not spoil home furniture and does not leave marks on it when drying;
• Valerian . The smell of this tincture repels bedbugs, and they crawl to the surface. Once they come out, you can use a vacuum cleaner to remove all the insects. But the smell of valerian has no effect on the eggs they lay;
• Kerosene . A solution is made from kerosene, boiling water and soap. The solution is used to treat not only the places where they accumulate, but also the entire surface of the furniture;
• Wormwood . You can use both wormwood tincture and branches;
• Hydrogen peroxide . A solution is made from peroxide, alcohol and salt water.

Another effective way to combat parasites at home is low temperature.
In frosty temperatures, fabrics that have come into contact with furniture and pillows should be taken outside and left for several hours. All insects located on their surfaces will die from the cold. Also, a room with bedbugs must be regularly ventilated so that they freeze. The disadvantage of this method is that it can be difficult to remove all the furniture in which bedbugs live in the cold. If none of the above helps, you need to contact the sanitary and epidemiological station.

How to get rid of bedbugs on your sofa yourself

Destruction of bedbugs in the sofa

Before you remove bedbugs from the sofa yourself, you need to ensure that there are no residents or pets in the apartment, cover the aquarium and block the access to oxygen. It is better to remove and wash all textile items and things, and put away dishes and food.

Stages of processing the sofa and room:

1. The person who will be involved in the use of toxic drugs must wear protective clothing, a respirator, goggles and gloves.
2. The insecticide is applied to the sofa, more carefully in places where bedbugs and their larvae are found.
3. In addition, the drug must be used to treat possible habitats of parasites: doorways, cracks in walls and floors, ventilation ducts.
4. After waiting a certain time, the product must be washed off from all surfaces, and be sure to wash the dishes in which food is prepared.
5. Capes, bedspreads, bed linen, curtains - wash in the hottest water possible, then iron, some are better dry cleaned.
6. Inspect the objects located next to the sofa; it is advisable to clean the carpets or spray them with the preparation.
7. It is not recommended to wash the sofa for 2-3 days, then use a vacuum cleaner and a damp cloth, which is dipped in a soda solution, to remove insect corpses and clean all traces of them.

The main rule for effective control of bedbugs is their immediate destruction. As soon as it turns out that there are bedbugs in the sofa, it is necessary to urgently treat not only the sleeping area itself, but also the entire apartment. All of the listed measures to destroy “bloodsuckers” will help you get rid of bedbugs yourself and sleep peacefully.

How to detect a bedbug at night