If you've just purchased an existing home, you're probably in a hurry to get moved into your new place. While that is an exciting prospect, it's important that you prepare your home for you and your family. You see, if you move too quickly, you could be moving in on top of existing occupants. Your home could be occupied by bed bugs, and you wouldn't even know it. The last thing you want to do is move your family and your belongings into a home that's infested with bed bugs. Here are four steps you need to take to prevent that from happening.
Start With Pest Control Service
Before you move into your home, the first thing you need to do is invest in a pest control service. In addition to the bed bugs, your home could be infested with roaches, spiders, ants, and even rodents. A thorough pest control service will help eradicate the problem. It's also a good idea to arrange for routine pest control visits for at least the next year. That way, you'll know you've taken care of the problem once and for all.
Invest in Mattress Covers
Bed bugs have a tendency to linger long past the time when you think they should be gone. All it takes is for one or two bed bugs to survive the initial treatment to start an entirely new infestation — which is why repeat treatments are essential. To make sure your mattresses don't get infested with bed bugs while you're waiting for the last bug to die, you need to invest in mattress covers. The covers will stop the bugs from invading your mattresses and can be taken off and washed in hot water once a week.
Elevate Your Beds
Once you have your mattresses covered, you'll want to take the protection one step further. To do that, you'll need to elevate your beds. Purchase bed bug interceptor traps to put around each of leg of your beds. Once they're in place, sprinkle a small amount of powder in each reservoir. The bed bug interceptors will trap the bed bugs and prevent them from getting up to your mattresses. Clean the traps at least once a week. Let your pest control service know if you see signs of repeat bed bug activity.
Use Essential Oils
Finally, if you've purchased an existing home and you want to make sure you don't end up with bed bug problems, put essential oils to work for you. Bed bugs are repelled by the odor of lavender. Place a few drops of lavender essential oils in diffusers and place them around the house. The lavender will help keep bed bugs away.
For more information on how to handle a bed bug infestation in your home, contact a company like Quality Pest Control.
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