Since the beginning of October the French capital has been filled with paranoia and fear as more sightings of bed bugs have been reported. Movie theatres, metros, trains, they are everywhere.
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While these little creatures cannot transmit diseases to humans they are however still very bad for your mental health. Bed bugs are the cause of a lot of anxiety, insomnia and other mental health issues as well as stigma.
So while we already taught you how to differentiate between mosquito and bed bug bites let us now tell you how to properly check your upholsteries.
Bed bugs can be very small
Bed bugs are creepy tiny creatures that make people’s lives miserable. They bite us, causing a lot of itching and they make us paranoid and sleep less. Moreover, on top of that they are incredibly hard to spot before they are already at their adult size.
All the videos and pictures taken in France showing bed bugs crawling on trains and metros are actually quite positive considering that in those situations bed bugs are visible. That is unfortunately not the case in most situations.
Bed bugs range from 1 millimetre when they’re eggs and get as big as 7 millimetres when they are adults. On top of everything, bed bug eggs are white which make them hard to see on mattresses.
But there are still some steps for you to check your belongings for bed bugs, whatever size they are.
How to properly check for bed bugs
Thanks to the paranoia bed bugs are currently causing, a lot of people who have suffered from an infestation have taken to social media to share their experiences and give some tips.
This is the case of TikTok user @cestmediteranee. The Canadian used her account to give a detailed description of the steps you should follow in order to check your bed for bed bugs.
Take away sheets and look
According to the Canadian woman the first thing you should do is ‘strip your bed’ and ‘look at the mattress’. At this stage you are looking for ‘anything that could be moving’ or ‘black dots or stains’.
The TikTok user specifies that the stains you have to keep an eye out for are ‘black or blood/rust colour’.
(Those stains) will look like a blood splatter or a trail as if you had a paper cut. Just very fine. It would look like you would think it’s dirt. (...) That’s bed bug poop.
Check for eggs
To do this next step you will need a plastic card like a bank card or student card. While all plastic cards would do, it is preferable for the card to be dark.
The TikTok user explains:
With the card you want to scrape all along the mattress. You are looking for eggs.
While this is going to be a tedious task, remember that eggs can be numerous and that they are very, very small (1 millimetre). The reason why this stage is crucial is because bed bugs have an active sex life which means that females are constantly laying eggs. That also means that just one bed bug is an infestation because they will lay eggs which will then turn into bigger bed bugs that will reproduce and lay eggs…
The TikTok user explains that using a card is ideal because of how small the eggs are.
You want to do your whole mattress and you want to check the corners. Inside the corners.
For this step, as you will have to manipulate your mattress, it is recommended that you wear gloves.
All the steps mentioned above can be applied to other upholstered surfaces.
Last words of advice
If you do find bed bugs you could technically go for treatment, however it is important that you are aware that it is very expensive. So, if you end up finding bed bugs in your mattress and decide to get rid of it, it is crucial that you follow this advice.
Before you throw out any mattresses, you want to buy a mattress bag and cover the mattress before you start moving it through the house.
That will ensure that you don’t just move the bed bugs around the house. Finally, for your clothes, they should be washed at 60 degrees minimum and then put in the dryer, again at high heat.
Finally, it is important to be cautious in your every day life. @cestmediteranee explains:
Don’t put your coat on your bed. Don’t put your school bag or any bags on your bed. Don’t bring library books home and put them on your bed. Don’t put clothes that you’ve worn outside back in the closet. Don’t go into your bed or on your bed with outdoor clothes.
Read more:
⋙ 3 revolting signs you have bedbugs and how to prevent them
⋙ Cockroaches have genetically mutated to survive humans: This trap no longer works on the insect
Sources:
Terminix: How Big Are Bed Bugs?
