There aren’t many things worse than having a bed bug infestation in your home or business premises, but if you do, you need to know how to deal with it in the safest way possible. Not just for your own household, but for the local community. One of the main points to consider when it comes to safely treating bed bugs, and to avoid spreading them in the community, is how to dispose of infected furniture. Disposal needs to be the last resort when it comes to infected mattresses and soft furnishings, and it is mainly not necessary.
There are a lot of treatment options and techniques you can use to eradicate these pests before you have to throw away your furniture. Put all removable fabrics in the laundry, and use the hottest heat setting to destroy bed bugs, which are extremely sensitive to heat. Vigilant vacuuming of the mattress is also a must, and always empty the cylinder into a sealed bag to prevent any of them from escaping.
Chemical treatments can be used, but apart from the obvious health and safety risks to people, animals and the environment, they are not so effective. Pests build up resistance to insecticides, and in any case, they do not kill their eggs.
Professionally administered heat treatment is the most effective method against bed bugs. A good pest company’s equipment reaches a very high temperature than can kill these pests at all stage of their life cycle, and in terms of health and safety, it is completely non-toxic.
If you are able to keep the affected items enclosed in one room, they’re much simpler to treat and to get rid of the bed bugs entirely. It’s always best to assume that all of the furniture in an infested room is also infected. Bugs are pervasive and will infest any items within their immediate vicinity. Also, inspect all the rooms in the building for good measure, just to be certain the bed bugs haven’t spread.
If you decide on the disposal of your furniture or mattress, there are certain steps you need to follow. You must ensure that you destroy all visible signs of bed bugs from the furniture before you do anything else. This will reduce the risk of the pests spreading. Once this is done, slash, clearly mark or damage the item before putting outside the property to let people there’s something wrong with it, just in case they try to take it. Put it outside your building as near to the time the waste disposal van arrives as possible. (Depending on your local council, you may need to notify them before putting a mattress out for disposal, there may also be a charge for the removal.)
Finally, if you can, it is advisable to seal or at least wrap any beds, mattresses or furniture in plastic. This will help to stop the spread of bed bugs in the neighbourhood.
We hope you find this infographic from Empire Pest Control Ltd. useful and that it helps you and your home or business remain safe and pest free!
