Bed bug treatment in Haarlem: how we go about it
By day, bed bugs hide in seams, cracks and screw holes close to where you sleep. Every job therefore begins with a thorough inspection of the mattress, bed frame, slatted base, bedside tables, skirting boards and nearby sockets. That tells us whether we are dealing with a single bedroom or whether the bugs have travelled further.
Then comes the treatment itself. Bed bugs and their eggs cannot survive high temperatures, so with a heat treatment we heat the affected furniture and the room until even hidden insects are reached. Where needed, we combine this with a targeted professional product in cracks and crevices. After a while we return to check for any remaining activity.
How do you recognise bed bugs?
A bed bug is flat, reddish-brown and roughly the size of an apple pip; after a meal its body swells up. Because they bite at night and hide during the day, you usually notice other things first:
- Itchy bumps on the arms, neck or legs, often in a line or cluster.
- Tiny black or dark brown dots on the mattress, sheet or slats – their droppings.
- Pale, empty shed skins in seams and cracks.
- Small blood spots on the pillowcase.
Not everyone reacts to the bites. Sometimes one person suffers badly while their partner notices nothing, even though they share the same bed.
How bed bugs get into your home
Bed bugs have nothing to do with a dirty house. They hitch a ride: in a suitcase after a hotel stay, in second-hand furniture, a used mattress or clothes from a charity shop. In a block of flats they can also crawl from one home to the next through gaps along pipes and skirting boards.
The longer you wait, the more hiding places they take over. A first infestation in the bed spreads to the sofa, the curtains and other rooms, and acting early makes treatment simpler. Getting bitten mainly after cuddling the dog or cat? Then flea treatment may be the better place to look.
What you can do yourself – and what to leave
You can prepare well for the treatment. Wash bedding, pillowcases and clothes from around the bed at 60 degrees or more, then tumble-dry them. Anything that cannot be washed goes into sealed plastic bags. Vacuum the mattress seams and the floor along the bed, and take the vacuum bag straight outside.
What not to do: use insect spray from the supermarket, move to the sofa or another room to sleep, or carry furniture out of the house unwrapped. All of that only spreads the bugs further through your home, or to the neighbours.
Stopping bed bugs from coming back
After a trip, do not put your suitcase on or next to the bed; unpack it on a hard floor, the bathroom for instance, and wash your clothes straight away. In a hotel, check the mattress seams and headboard before you unpack. Inspect second-hand furniture and mattresses carefully before bringing them home, and never take in a mattress left out on the street.
If you let out rooms or a holiday home, give the beds a quick check at every changeover. For other pests in the house, our pest control in Haarlem team is ready to help as well.
