Bed bugs have the advantage of being good hitchhikers and excellent hiders. When you do not look for signs and do not conduct an extensive inspection, it may be hard to see that your house has already been infested with bed bugs.
No matter what kind of infestation you have – large or small – you will have difficulty finding and exterminating them.
So, how to make bed bugs come out of hiding?
Think like you want to capture a vampire. Bed bugs come out at night in search of blood. Use that to your advantage!
Here’s the 101:
- Bed bugs emerge at night. Search during the typical period when they emerge from hiding.
- Use a steamer. When you emit heat, the bugs may come out of hiding to seek a new hiding spot.
- CO2 and heat attract bed bugs, so when you fall asleep, both of these are produced by your body, which will bring out bed bugs.
Let’s take a closer look at bed bug hiding places, and the methods that can bring them out of their hiding spot so you can confirm their presence in your home and start treatment as soon as possible.
How to Make Bed Bugs Come Out of Hiding
Following a few steps, you can coax bed bugs from their hiding places.
1. Wait Til Sundown
Like all vampires, bed bugs are nocturnal. Grab your garlic and wooden stakes!
When they crawl out of their hiding spots at the usual time of the day, you can take advantage of this opportunity. It’s possible to treat these areas with heat once you have determined where the insects are coming from.
2. Try a CO2 Trap
You should place active CO2 traps like BeapCo’s ‎ 6-hour carbon dioxide trap away from walls. CO2 and heat detect bed bugs for 6 hours, attracting them to the glue cartridge and trapping them.
You may place this on top of your bed or close to your bed so that bed bugs will be attracted to it when you exit the room.
A person’s body releases heat and CO2 when they sleep, which brings bed bugs out of hiding. A bed bug trap emits these odors, making the bed bugs climb out.
Despite reaching the heat source and the CO2, they will fall into the trap and become entrapped in the glue paper.
You can buy refills to monitor and trap bed bugs as they emerge.
3. Steam Away The Night
A steam cleaner can be an effective way of killing bed bugs on your mattress or furniture. There may be instances where the steamer doesn’t penetrate where the bugs are hiding.
However, they can emerge from hiding if exposed to enough heat.
Just remember: if you rent a steamer, tell the rental company you’re dealing with bed bugs, as they’ll want to disinfect the steamer when you’re done. You don’t want to spread your infestation to the next person who rents it!
4. Heat Em Up
Heat encourages bed bugs to emerge from hiding, as it indicates the presence of a host. It is typical for them to venture out several meters from the source when they are feeding.
One of the most popular traps is the Beacon, which attracts these pests. A continuous detection period of two weeks is provided, allowing you to monitor the severity of the infestation while bed bugs are continuously attracted to the area.
To use the trap, you simply need to place it where you think bed bugs may be hiding, and the CO2 it emits will attract them. Eventually, bed bugs will emerge from the unit and travel toward it. By trapping them inside, you will be able to determine the severity of the infestation.
If any of these fail or don’t work as expected, you can always use other bed bug lures in your home.
Why Are Bed Bugs So Hard to Find?
It’s common knowledge that bed bugs are experts at hiding. Their concealment makes very difficult to wipe out an infestation. It always seems there’s another batch waiting to spawn somewhere else.
Due to their special abilities and qualities, it can be hard to overcome them.
Bed bugs are experts at hiding. Their concealment makes it very difficult to wipe out an infestation.
As far as their shape is concerned, both males and females are similar, and they are relatively flat and small. Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed.
The width is equal to the width of a credit card, making it easy for the bugs to fit in all sorts of places. Consequently, bed bugs have many hiding spots to choose from.
Start with the Mattress
Mattresses and box springs are bedbugs’ favorite dwelling places. Each has fabric folds that they can hide underneath. And you don’t move or lift your mattress very often, so you won’t know they are there.
If you’ve got bed bugs in your mattress, you may want to toss it and get another one, depending on how expensive it is. But you can’t stop there, that’s just the start of your process of extinguishing the infestation.
Bed Frame
It’s possible for bed bugs to conceal themselves in your bed frame as well, metal or not. These bugs can fit through the cracks and joints in the wood. A dark, stable underside offers hiding corners. They can live in screw holes, even in metal frames.
Bedroom Furniture
In furniture, bed bugs can live in dark cracks, corners, holes for fasteners, and joints. When an infestation is severe, bed bugs will establish themselves anywhere they can access your tasty, tasty blood.
When an infestation is severe, bed bugs will establish themselves anywhere they can access your tasty, tasty blood.
Anywhere Else in the Room
There are many places where they can live, including cracks in walls, within walls, the baseboards, and on top of the carpet.
They will stay if they can reach you at night (provided they cannot be killed or washed away).
Other Upholstered Furniture
Bed bugs will happily infest sofas, chairs, even carpet. Curtains (and curtain rods) and soft furnishings can also contain them. Bed bugs can sometimes be seen running along carpets at night, exploring.
Clothing
Bed bugs are attracted to your dirty laundry.
If your clothes are untouched or stored for a long time, wash your clothes on the highest heat. Your clothes must be washed and dried using this method.
Bed bugs and their eggs are more likely to die at higher temperatures. In fact, if your clothes permit washing and drying at the highest, your machine and dryer will do.
Conclusion
Bed bugs are excellent hiders and may never leave you alone unless you know how to play their game. This article provides all the tips and hints you need to bring bed bugs out of their hiding places.
Once you have identified their hiding places, vacuum vacuum vacuum! Keep it up, and hopefully your infestation will subside.Â
It is possible to use traps that mimic human activity, including the two major factors that lure bed bugs: carbon dioxide and heat. Try to lure them out using a few of the methods mentioned above, and you can then treat them accordingly.
