Bed bugs in the mattress - what do they look like, how and what to treat your mattress to get rid of mattress pests on their own

Reader Question:

Anna

We bought my grandmother a new mattress six months ago: we ordered it over the phone, paid for it, and she took it herself. Yesterday she called and said that it had gone bad - it seemed to be faulty. This morning I was at her place, I look, and there's a nightmare - a nest of bedbugs somewhere inside, as I saw a small area on the dark spots, and the center hole. Nearby on the bed frame there was brown husk - the shells of the parasites.
Now I don't know what to do: you can't take it apart, you can't replace the filling either - there are still spring blocks inside. I can't buy a new one, as this model is expensive and of high quality. Grandma does not sleep on the bed now, moved to the couch, but it's small, narrow - uncomfortable to lie down. I also think what to do now. We should probably take her home with us for a while since we need to treat bed bugs. We will try to do the treatment ourselves. But we need to understand when there are bed bugs in the mattress, what to do, how to combat them. I would be grateful for professional advice. Anna

The author of the portal answers the question:

Where did the bed bugs come from in the mattress. Where is the source of the infestation

The bed, where a person sleeps every night, is the main place in the apartment, where they tend to get bedbugs. But the target is not the construction itself, but the source of food - blood.

The bed and mattress are the epicenter of the infected apartment.

If parasites become more numerous, they will disperse into other areas, gradually making nests in other furniture. However, the infestation of the object starts from this place.

Causes of hitting insects apartment:

• it became necessary to increase the infestation area (for example, if the number of the colony increased many times), then some of the insects get to the neighbors;
• The parasites don't have enough food where the colony has grown, so they rush to new territories;
• bedbugs bring guests along with their belongings (clothes, in a bag);
• they come with furniture, appliances, inside suitcases;
• there is a small risk of infecting a private home through an animal's hair.

There are bed bugs in your mattress - how to find them. What do they look like to recognize the parasite. Close-up photos of adults and larvae

Before you start treating the mattress and the entire room, you should make sure that the cause bites determined correctly. It is necessary to check the mattress, and the inspection is done from all sides, for which it will be more convenient to take it off, put it near the wall.

Check the seams, here insects settle more often than on a flat surface.

There is a risk of intrusion insects inside the product. But the parasites do not damage the upholstery themselves, their mouth apparatus is not designed for this (no gnawing function). Insects get inside under the upholstery if there are holes on the surface. This is the greatest danger, because it is difficult to detect the pests until there are too many of them and the surface around the entrance hole shows signs of life bedbugs. Pay attention to the signs:

• feces (spots of black color of small diameter);
• empty egg shells, shells;
• adults and juveniles (accumulate in one or more areas);
• there is a specific smell in the apartment (somewhat reminiscent of old cognac).

Looking young and mature individuals in a similar way:

• oval body, posterior end narrower;
• 3 pairs of limbs;
• 1 pair of tendrils;
• chitinous covers are moderately transparent, which contributes to their color change after eating: the body of bed bugs takes on a red-burgundy hue.

In adults. individuals there are pronounced bands on the back. They divide the body of the insect into segments. Adults Insects reach 6-8 mm, young specimens after emergence from eggs are several times smaller, but gradually develop (increase by 0.5-1 mm every week). Their coloration is also different - the chitinous shell is milky in color.

In adults, the color of the outer covers is dark brown.

Bites of mattress bugs

If marks appear on the skin in the morning and no new spots are found during the day, then it is assumed that it is the mattresses that attack bedbugs. The bites form a line-like pattern - you can see several spots located close to each other. Signs of attack bedbugs:

• Strong itching immediately after the bite (larvae attacked) or some time later (adult);
• The average size of a hyperemic spot is 5 mm to 5 cm, sometimes smaller or larger, depending on the body's reaction;
• swelling;
• painfulness of the skin puncture site.

How and what to treat a mattress against bed bugs

To take out pests from the object, they use a variety of means, including those characterized by an aggressive effect. But these methods are not suitable for all cases. You need to find out if there is a safer option to control the insects and how to get rid of bed bugs in the mattress, without harming the person.

Physical and some of the chemical means are considered for this purpose.

Step-by-step instructions for removing parasites

It is necessary to find traces of insect habitation. This will allow you to determine the treatment area. However, bed bug eggs may be attached to other areas of the upholstery. They are light in color and small in size. They often blend in with the woven material in color, so there is a high risk that such formations will go unnoticed.

It is recommended to treat the entire product, without skipping any area.

Step 1: Preparing the bed for treatment

The linens are removed. Then it is treated by temperature exposure.

Step 2: Physical treatment of the mattress

Mattress parasites die exposed to extremely high (+55°C) and low (-20°C) temperatures. It is possible to take the mattress outside (if fighting in winter) for frost. But during transportation, some of the insects will escape. You need to find out how to handle mattress from bed bugs by other physical means:

• the use of boiling water, the disadvantage of this option is getting the upholstery wet;
• Impact ferry - This method is suitable for cases where a person has a steam generator at his disposal.

If you take the mattress outdoors and leave it in the sun, there is no guarantee that all the parasites inside will die, since this provides uneven exposure to the surface.

Step 3: Chemical treatment

If there are bedbugs in the mattress, you can destroy them yourself. To do this, consider the means:

• aerosols;
• concentrated preparations.

The second of the options should be applied in diluted form (mixed with water according to the manufacturer's recommendations). The ready product is sprayed over the mattress with a spray gun. After application insecticide preparations leave the product near the wall for some time (from 30 minutes to several hours). Then the room is ventilated.

Final events

The mattress is not recommended for the next 3-4 days. During this time the parasites die. In addition, the poisonous substance will partially or completely be removed. When the bed has been treated and cleaned, the mattress can be returned to its place. It is advisable to check whether the seam in the area where the upholstery was cut is of good quality.

If there are leaks, they are repaired so that in case of reinfestation the parasites do not get in.

How to kill bed bugs from an orthopedic mattress

Such products are more complex than their counterparts with coconut, foam layer, spring blocks. In this case the parasites can be in any of the hidden areas. To treat them through the upholstery is difficult - it is quite dense, moreover, there is an internal additional layer under this covering. When treating externally with insecticides or hot steam will not kill bed bugs inside.

A non-disassembled product will have to be thrown away.

Breaking its integrity can lead to the loss of properties of the structure. It will no longer perform its functions. Otherwise, you can get to the inner layers to get rid of the mattress parasites that live inside. In doing so, the above instructions for eradication of insects in an ordinary mattress.

Folk remedies for exterminating bed bugs

These methods are used as a repellent. Hand-held remedies and household chemicals are characterized by a strong odor, which prevents bed bugs from existing.

Ammonia

It is not recommended to apply on the upholstery, otherwise it will be impossible to sleep. You should soak a rag or cotton disks with such a substance, put it inside the bed frame or under the mattress. But for the first 1-2 days after such actions, it is necessary to change the sleeping place.

Naphthalene

It is important to know how to treat a mattress for bed bugs in this way. Naphthalene can stain the upholstery. It is mixed with kerosene and turpentine. The last of the components are taken in an amount of 0.25 liters each. Add naphthalene (60 g).

The mixture is applied to places near the mattress, but not on the product itself.

Turpentine

When a mattress is infested with bed bugs, you can clean it with this substance. Turpentine leaves traces on surfaces, especially fabrics, but it has a strong odor, which will deter the parasites. You can treat the frame of the bed, where the mattress will be located in the future.

Video tip (photo + video): do bed bugs live in new or old mattresses, how to find and disinfect

Likewise. Chemicals and methods of action against bed bugs in the mattress

If it was possible to understand where the parasites are crawling out to bite, consider the use of special remedies. They come in different types:

• universal action: it kills insects at different stages of development (but usually does not work on eggs);
• drugs that inhibit larval growth, which prevents the growth of the colony;
• Ovicidal (kills bedbug eggs).

Means that can get rid of mattress parasites:

1. Raid. Contains pyrethroid class insecticide, intestinal contact action, kills bed bugs through the outer skin and respiratory tract (when sprayed)
2. Raptor. A two-component preparation, the composition includes substances of pyrethroid class. They affect the nervous system of pests.
3. Combat. The kit includes a thin nozzle, with which it is convenient to treat internal areas where pests have been able to get established. It contains 2 components of pyrethroid class.
4. Clean House. The composition is similar to the Raptor aerosol, differing in the concentration of active substances, but the principle of operation in both cases is the same.
5. Dichlofos Neo. This is another type of pyrethroid-based bed bug repellent. But it is odorless.

Safety precautions for chemical treatment

Considering that it is recommended to fight the insects that have settled inside the mattress by means of a sprayer or a sprayer, it is necessary to use protective equipment:

• points;
• rubber gloves;
• headgear;
• respirator.

Clothing must be closed (shirt, pants). After the treatment is finished, the clothes are washed.

It is also important to rinse the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth, take a shower, and wash your hands with soap and water.

What is not recommended to use

For destroying insects under the mattress, on the seams, you should not use preparations in other forms:

• crayons;
• gels;
• concentrates, which are used to treat surfaces with a brush (by application rather than spraying, as discussed above).

Woven gloves should not be used either. They quickly absorb liquids.

How to get rid of the traces of life?

The mattress cannot be washed completely.

Preventing insects

To prevent contamination of your mattress, bed, or other items, you need to follow the recommendations:

• close access to the apartment: a fine mesh mesh mesh is installed on the vent hole, fill the gaps with mortar (on the floor, walls, in the ceiling, where the pipes pass, on windows and door units);
• under the mattress place cotton pads soaked in turpentine, ammonia or other strong smelling substances;
• Bed bug repellents should not be applied to mattress surfaces;
• leave herbs with bitterness (wormwood) inside the bed frame;
• regularly inspect the sleeping area.

Will a mattress cover help?

If such a product is hermetically sealed, it can be one of the most effective ways to protect against bed bugs. The parasites do not damage the fabric with their mouthparts, so they will not be able to get inside on their own. However, it is not advisable to purchase a cover if the mattress is inflatable. In this case, the risk of bed bugs penetrating inside is zero. This is explained by the fact that if the integrity of the cover is damaged, the latex mattress will deflate, which in itself indicates a problem with it.

If it is intact, there are no parasites inside, which means that the cover can only serve as protection against stains - traces of insect excrement.

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Expert tips

Anna

Entomologist, researcher. Work experience of 16 years.

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- you should not treat only the visible areas where traces of the parasites are found, their eggs are invisible and can be found on any part of the bed frame or mattress, so you need to spray insecticide over the entire surface;
- The treatment of the mattress is performed twice (a break is not less than 1 week, but not longer than 14 days);
- sprays, and especially sprays (in this case, the particles of the substance are larger) leave traces, you need to direct the jet at a greater distance - 30-50 cm from the surface.

Conclusion

Bed bugs are small insects (up to 6-8 mm, females are larger, brown in color). They live closer to humans, so they are often found nesting under the mattress, and sometimes even inside it. Other features of parasite life activity:

1. The insects come from neighbors, they are brought into the apartment with things, in suitcases from trips, inside equipment and furniture. The parasites quickly find people at home thanks to their sensitive tendrils.
2. Signs of infestation: dark spots on mattress upholstery, egg shells in nests where parasites congregate, and brown chitinous coatings. Bed bugs prefer to choose seams and folds to live in.
3. Physical and chemical methods are used to treat infested products. Folk remedies are used for the purpose of repelling.