Oklahoma City's Most Frequently Asked Bed Bug Questions

When bed bugs get into your home, you're likely to have questions—lots of questions. We've compiled some of the most common questions we get about bed bugs. Perhaps you'll find the answer to your questions here. At the very least, you'll learn some valuable facts about these somewhat mysterious pests.

How Do People Get Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs are indoor pests; they don't live in your yard. The first thing you need to know about a bed bug infestation is that the bugs aren't coming in from the outside. Here are a few ways bed bugs could have found their way into your Oklahoma City home:

• If you live in an apartment, it is possible that bed bugs could have traveled through the walls. They like to get into dark voids and are commonly found in electrical outlets and wall voids.
• If your home is attached to other homes, such as is the case with condominiums, townhouses, etc., you could have gotten bed bugs from a neighbor.
• If you live in a single-family home, you can still get bed bugs from a neighbor. Bed bugs can be picked up and carried from one location to another. But don't be too quick to blame your neighbor for sharing their bugs with you. It is possible for bed bugs to infest a home for months without revealing themselves.
• You could bring bed bugs back from a vacation or an overnight stay in the home of a friend or relative.
• You can pick bed bugs up when you go to a movie, take a ride in a cab, or go to work.
• Your kids can pick bed bugs up at a friend's house or at school.

The bottom line with bed bugs is that they're hitchhiking pests. You, or someone else, can pick them up from many places.

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide?

When these pests get into your Oklahoma City home, you're going to have a hard time finding them. They prefer tight spaces, compressed areas, and dark voids. They could be in the seams of your mattress or box spring, the recesses in your bed frame, gaps in your nightstand, the void inside your alarm clock, under the edge of your rug, behind a baseboard, behind crown molding, in an electrical outlet, and in other hiding places. They can also be found in book bags, duffel bags, pocketbooks, luggage, boxes, and more.

Do Bed Bugs Spread Diseases?

As of this writing, there are no reported cases of bed bug-to-human disease transmission. There is, however, scientific evidence that bed bugs are able to transmit the bacterium that causes Chagas disease. Fortunately, having the ability to spread a disease does not mean an insect is likely to spread the disease. There are many factors involved. It is safe to say that bed bugs are a low risk for disease transmission. But that doesn't mean it is good to have them in your home. They can cause uncomfortable bite wounds which can become infected if the wounds open up and are not treated; and when a bed bug infestation is not properly addressed, ongoing bloodletting can result in anemia.

What Home Remedies Get Rid Of Bed Bugs?

There are a few ways you may be able to use home remedies to deter bed bugs or immediately eliminate bed bugs when you find them, but once bed bugs get into your home, you're not likely to have success arresting an infestation by using home remedies. Here are a few ideas that help to keep bed bugs out:

• If you go on vacation and stay in a hotel, you can use a lavender-scented spray to deter bed bugs from getting into your luggage and hitching a ride home with you.
• If you stay away from home for more than a few days, you can deter bed bugs by storing laundry in a sealed plastic bag.
• If you come home from a trip, you can exterminate bed bugs by putting items through a 30-minute dryer cycle.
• If you purchase a piece of used furniture and discover a small group of bed bugs hiding in a compressed area, you may be able to apply rubbing alcohol to the area and kill the bugs. After this, it is best to keep the item outside of your home and monitor it for bed bug activity before bringing it inside permanently.
• Bed bugs can be killed with cold temperatures. If you have an item that can be sealed in plastic and placed into a freezer, this can exterminate the bugs inside the item.

When You Need A Bed Bug Treatment

Bed bugs are notoriously frustrating to exterminate. The best solution is to immediately contact Guaranteed Pest Services of Oklahoma for effective bed bug control in Oklahoma City. We use industry-leading methods and products to get results. Connect with us today for service.