I came across a very good one-page write up on bed bugs in the Times Leader: What to do when bedbugs start biting.
The writer hits on all the important topics. A few bits stand out:
If I have them, am I a lousy housekeeper? Bedbugs have been found in even the nicest homes, but cluttered environments do provide more locations for these pests to hide.
Spot on. Dirty conditions are harder to clean, make it harder to spot bed bugs and create more places for bed bugs to hide. They don’t cause bed bugs however. This is an important point fact that doesn’t get enough attention.
If people think that having bed bugs means they are dirty, then they are more prone to cover up or deny a bed bug problem rather than tackle it head on. This is especially important in multi-unit dwellings.
What should you do when you find them? Bedbugs cannot be effectively eliminated with do-it-yourself approaches such as washing all the bedclothes.
I have a new article in the works on this. Pest control professionals (aka bed bugs exterminators) I’ve spoken to are all in agreement: DIY bed bug extermination is not advised.
This may remind you of the cowboy proverb: “Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.” Fair enough. But do one thing before you decide to skip down the DIY path: use Google to find and read the stories of people that have done the same. That’s what you have to look forward to.
The article also goes on to give several good home protection and travel protection tips.