If there are bedbugs in the sofa, it is quite difficult to get them out, since they get into all the cracks and feel great in various folds and seams. The peculiarity of bedbugs is that they nest in close proximity to their potential victim. In order to drink blood, you don’t need to travel long distances, just crawl out of your hiding place and there he is, a sleeping and unsuspecting person. All that remains is to pierce the skin.
Therefore, it is not for nothing that the owners are concerned with the question of how to get rid of bedbugs in this case. Even despite the difficulty of fighting bedbugs, there are a number of ways that will help destroy these parasites. This article addresses exactly this issue, focusing on the problems of sofa bedbugs.
Where do bedbugs come from on the sofa?
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Having analyzed the ways in which domestic parasites enter the apartment, it will be possible to understand where the bedbugs in the sofa come from.
Little parasites move into the room with things after business trips, trips, and travel. It is not necessary to bring a live insect.
A few eggs are enough. They retain their viability for a long time even in poor conditions. Beds in trains and hotels can be infected with eggs of parasites.
Old items bought secondhand may harbor bedbugs or contain eggs. This could be antique furniture, clothing, baby strollers. Insects love to live in the bindings of books. Bedbugs are even found in new furniture and cardboard store packaging of household appliances.
Eggs of various parasites are brought in by pets from the street on their fur, and by people on their shoes. There are a lot of them on the dirty wheels of bicycles and baby strollers. Parasites successfully penetrate the apartment, then look for a better shelter, for example, a sofa.
Why do bedbugs prefer the sofa?
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House bugs live in different places in the apartment - behind baseboards, in closets, in sockets, behind radiators, under mattresses. But people often notice couch parasites.
They live where it is warm and there is a food source nearby - humans. It is easy to hide in the folds of the sofa, lay eggs, and organize a nest. Bed bugs live together because it is easier to keep warm. A soft sofa meets this requirement.
Nocturnal parasites crawl slowly, but they do not need to move far - a person often sits on the sofa, even in some cases sleeping on it.
How to prevent the spread of bedbugs?
This is a very important step, because if you don’t do it, you will have to remove bedbugs from both the sofa and the apartment. How to prevent the spread of sofa bugs?
- The most effective and correct solution is to move the sofa outside the apartment. If this is not possible, then at least move it to the middle of the room.
- Clean the sofa thoroughly from all sides with a vacuum cleaner. To treat creases, use special crevice tools.
- Carefully inspect drawers and niches for linen, especially if you stored some things in them.
- If you have a steam clothes brush, go over the sofa with it, making sure not to miss any seams.
- Place special adhesive tape on the sofa. Bed bugs cannot jump or fly far - when trying to escape, they will definitely fall into this trap.
- Make sure that bedbugs only live in the sofa. True, this rarely happens, because often these insects hide under carpets, behind baseboards and in closets.
Bed bugs live in dark, secluded places, so you need to check everything for nests and larvae
Advice! When you finish cleaning the sofa with a vacuum cleaner, immediately throw away the bag so that the insects that get into it cannot get out.
Signs of furniture infestation with bedbugs
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It is not immediately possible to determine that there are bedbugs in the sofa. Adults numb their bites and come out to drink blood once every 3-4 days. But some characteristic signs can help identify parasites in furniture:
- a peculiar aroma will be felt in the apartment, reminiscent of cognac, almonds or stale raspberries;
- Bedbug bites are different from mosquito bites, with which they are usually confused. The mosquito bites once, nocturnal parasites build a “path” of 3–5 bites, moving along the blood vessel;
- Insect feces will be visible on the sofa, they look like small black dots or poppy seeds. It is not recommended to touch with your hands - only with gloves;
- if you carefully examine the sofa, you can see the night parasites themselves. They often live under the lining, in the folds of the material. Insects of all ages, larvae, eggs, excrement, and shed shells are usually mixed in the nest.
Usually, bedbugs do not settle only in the sofa; they also inhabit other secluded corners of the apartment. You need to get rid of them quickly before they multiply even more.
Diatomite
Mineral based powder. This is a natural remedy that is not dangerous to humans and pets, but is harmful to bedbugs. Diatomite (also called kieselguhr) is applied to the elements of the sofa with a syringe and left for several days. After this, the powder is collected with a damp cloth. The only problem is that the powder affects parasites through direct contact, so there may be individuals left in the sofa that are not affected by this product. That is, the colony will reproduce again.
Removing bedbugs using improvised methods
You can remove domestic parasites using improvised methods while their numbers are small. There are several ways to get rid of bedbugs in your sofa.
You can't just kill them. The shell of bedbugs is hard, it is difficult to crush the insect. The eggs are small and difficult to destroy, but if they remain in hard-to-reach places, the insect population will revive again.
Vacuum cleaner
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You can collect bed bugs using a vacuum cleaner. To do this you need to know all their habitats. Work quickly and carefully so that the insects do not have time to flee to other shelters. The method is not effective, it will require a lot of effort, and there may be no result.
Steam
Bed bugs cannot tolerate high temperatures (more than + 50 degrees). This should be used to drive out unwanted parasites.
It can be removed using a steam generator. An ordinary household hair dryer will not work; it is not able to maintain high temperatures for a long time.
A steam generator should be used to treat areas where bed bugs accumulate and where they are supposed to live. They usually settle at a distance of 3 meters from a person’s sleeping place.
The steam needs to be directed at the insects and held for a few seconds so that it can affect the eggs.
It is better to pass the steam generator several times through the locations where bedbugs are located to ensure the death of all parasites. This method of exterminating bed bugs can be eliminated if they have not yet managed to breed into a large colony.
Iron
If nocturnal parasites have been living in the apartment for a long time, special attention should be paid to bedding. This is where bed bugs love to lay eggs.
A hot iron will help fight them. After washing in hot water (or boiling), you need to turn the bed linen inside out and iron all seams with an iron at high temperature and steam.
Insect repellers: benefits or myths
Some people do not want to use proven folk methods or chemicals to combat bedbugs, considering them outdated. They resort to high technology, buying ultrasonic repellers.
However, bedbugs use odors as their means of communication. They are endowed with an excellent sense of smell, which makes them so easy to find their victims. This same property helps them find places to locate nests and ways to enter the home.
All their other senses are underdeveloped , so parasites are not able to respond to ultrasound. Therefore, the use of ultrasonic repellents in the fight against bedbugs is a waste of time and money.
The gullibility of some consumers in modern technology, the fear of chemicals and the dishonesty of sellers who seek to sell their goods ensure the commercial success of these devices.
But don’t give in to advertising and buy dubious, expensive devices : they cannot be used to repel or destroy bedbugs. Numerous deceived buyers speak with confidence about this.
Traditional methods for bedbugs
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When they discover parasites in their home, many people try to remove them themselves. For this, folk remedies are used, many of which are effective.
To get a lasting positive result, you need to focus on the specifics of insects. For example, house bugs cannot tolerate strong odors; there are several effective methods using aromatic oils and herbs.
It must be remembered that strong odors do not kill bedbugs, but only repel them. This means they will run away and settle in another place. Insect eggs also remain intact.
A good way would be to place the sofa in the center of the room and cover it with fly tape around the floor. Bedbugs will stick to it and run away from the unpleasant smell. The treatment will have to be repeated after a few days, when the larvae hatch from the eggs.
Aromatic essential oils of tea tree, lavender, clove, and peppermint are used as sources of pungent odors. They are applied to the legs of the sofa and the hard surfaces of the body. There may be marks on the upholstery, so you need to be careful.
It is better to apply it to sheets of paper and place it under the sofa. Add a few drops to water and wash the floors.
Dissolve essential oils in water, pour into a spray bottle, and spray on cabinets, bed frames, hard-to-reach places behind radiators, and cracks in baseboards. Fragrant oil can be applied to the body to prevent bedbugs from biting at night.
Here's how to get bed bugs out of your couch using strong scents. But they will settle in other places. To completely destroy parasites, it is better to use modern synthetic agents.
Mechanical method
Bedbugs can be collected. They don't move very fast, especially when they drink blood. In addition, they are clearly visible on light-colored upholstery. Of course, this is an unpleasant, ineffective method, but it can be used. You can collect them manually, but it is better to use a vacuum cleaner. If the vacuum cleaner has good power, then it can get bedbugs from under the upholstery. You can also use fly tape to catch some of the bugs as they move. Bedbugs collected by hand or with a vacuum cleaner do not die, so it is necessary to use insecticides against them or send them to the sewer.
Application of chemicals
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You can quickly and completely get rid of bedbugs at home using chemicals. Most of them effectively fight against adults and eggs. Modern products are certified and moderately dangerous for humans and pets.
Cucaracha
The solution is diluted, poured into a spray bottle, and sprayed onto surfaces. Has an unpleasant smell. The product is poisonous; protective equipment must be used during use.
It does not affect insect eggs, so the treatment is repeated after 10 days.
Combat
Available in gel and aerosol form. The gel is used if the location of bedbugs is unknown. All furniture and the perimeter of the room are processed.
The drug is odorless and does not release toxic substances into the air. The mechanism of action is contact. The insect must come into contact with the poisoning agent. The aerosol is sprayed in places where parasites accumulate.
Get
Suspension, diluted according to instructions. It has a pleasant aroma and is non-toxic to humans and pets.
The effect of the active substance remains after wet cleaning. It has a long-term effect (6 months) due to the special form of the drug.
Clean house
Aerosol, officially approved for use in Europe. It is convenient to use on upholstered furniture and other fabrics because the product does not leave marks.
The product is toxic; you must wear a protective suit when handling. When exposed to fresh air, the active substances of the drug disintegrate, so a new treatment is required after a few days.
Raptor for bedbugs
The aerosol can be used to kill other domestic insects - parasites. The drug destroys bedbugs and prevents the appearance of new ones. It has a pleasant smell and is slightly toxic to humans. Easy to use, affordable price.
Using various means, you can significantly reduce the size of the parasite population, and then get rid of them completely.
Synthetic poisonous drugs act in a targeted manner, paralyzing insects at the cellular level, which leads to mass death. To avoid domestic parasites becoming accustomed to the poison, you can additionally use a folk recipe to ensure the destruction of bedbugs.
Prevention of parasites
To prevent bed bugs from appearing in your apartment, it is enough to follow a number of simple rules, such as:
- Carrying out regular cleaning of the apartment, emptying the home of unnecessary things. The accumulation of unnecessary things leads to the accumulation of various parasites that simply adore such places.
- When buying new furniture, and especially used furniture, it is better to carefully inspect the furniture from all sides, noting factors indicating the presence of parasites.
- The same applies to the purchase of old, antique things, such as furniture, mirrors in wooden frames, paintings, books, table lamps, etc.
- You need to check everything very carefully after the trip, with mandatory washing and ironing of all things.
- Regular inspection of the sleeping area, as well as paying attention to bites and their nature. When there are mosquitoes in the room, you can always hear them, but you won’t be able to hear bedbugs. In addition, the wounds differ quite significantly.
- Carrying out cosmetic repairs, especially replacing wallpaper, baseboards and trim. The gaps between them and the walls are an ideal hiding place for parasites.
If there are bedbugs in an apartment, and especially in a sofa, then getting rid of them is not so easy, especially if children, pregnant or sick family members live in the apartment, since the use of chemical control agents in such cases is contraindicated. Therefore, in order to get rid of them you will have to show patience and perseverance. You will have to sweat a lot, first of all, think about it. Everything will be much easier if you use chemistry. It allows you to quickly and efficiently clean your home from pests, and only then you can arrange bouquets of wormwood, tansy or other plants.
While bedbugs have not yet appeared, it is better not to hesitate and take measures to ensure that they do not actually appear in the apartment. For this you need very little, but comfortable living conditions will be provided.
Preparing the sofa for processing
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The action of insecticides will be effective if the apartment is properly prepared for treatment. To do this, you need to open all the places for better penetration of the toxic substance.
Take out all things from closets, personal belongings, toys, books or pack them hermetically in strong plastic bags. It is better to take indoor flowers to your neighbors. Lift the mattress onto the bed and place it vertically.
It is better to throw away old furniture; this is often where most bedbugs live. Pack the dishes tightly, hide the food in the refrigerator or take it out of the apartment. Cover all equipment with bags. Move furniture away from the walls.
At the sofa, you need to pull out the linen drawers (if any), unfold the structure so that the folding mechanisms and springs are visible.
If possible, you need to remove the covers and prop up the back wall of the upholstery. Parasites often hide in these places. During chemical treatment, it will be convenient to spray the poisonous substance on all egg clutches. This guarantees a positive result.
How to treat a sofa?
Domestic bugs quickly get used to active toxic substances. To prevent this from happening, you can simultaneously treat with two means at once.
This will improve your work efficiency. Before using the drug, you need to check whether it leaves marks on the fabric. Modern chemicals do not allow stains on the treated surface.
Traditional methods can have unpleasant consequences for upholstered furniture, for example, after using turpentine, the fabrics are not washed.
Careful processing of all folds of the sofa is necessary. From the bottom side, you need to spray chemicals on the compounds, fastenings to the metal or wooden frame of the structure. Pay much attention to the internal structure.
Since you need to fight bedbugs throughout the entire apartment, you don’t have to limit yourself to just one sofa. Domestic parasites occupy all the space, they multiply very quickly.
All cracks, sockets, heating radiators, shelves in closets, pipes, places under window sills, paintings, clocks on the walls need to be treated. Lastly, you can spray the chemical on the treated sofa again.
Safety precautions during processing
Regardless of which insecticide the treatment will take place, you need to protect yourself from toxic substances.
Chemicals should not come into contact with the skin, mucous membranes and respiratory tract. The sprayer should be held at arm's length from you.
It is prohibited to direct it towards yourself or another person. It’s better to poison insects together, so you can monitor your friend’s condition and help if necessary.
Often, the instructions for the drugs recommend carrying out the treatment with the windows and doors closed, which will increase efficiency. You need to work carefully, but quickly; you should not stay in a room filled with toxic chemicals for a long time.
Before using chemicals, you must wear protective equipment. Protect your eyes with special goggles and wear gloves on your hands.
It is better to wear long sleeves, boots, and tuck your trousers into them. The respiratory tract is protected by a respirator. After finishing the treatment, wash your hands with soap. Clothes need to be dry cleaned or washed.
Special signs
When a room is infested with bed bugs, you can navigate by one of the manifestations of the parasites. This is due to the fact that each of the signs differs from traces of contact with mosquitoes, fleas, lice and other blood-sucking insects
However, sometimes you need confirmation of your own fears, so pay attention to other signs
Characteristic bites
This is the main sign of bedbugs in an apartment, since it can be noticed immediately after an object is infested. For comparison, other manifestations become visible only after some time. Contact with bed bugs produces red spots of varying sizes. Some people do not have such a symptom; only invisible red dots remain on the body.
Bedbug bites can be easily distinguished from the bites of other insects.
Other symptoms of bed bug bites:
- itching, and its intensity is quite high, and scratching occurs on the body;
- swelling, as a result of which bumps are found in the areas where the bites appeared, but without compaction inside, the intensity of the swelling depends on the sensitivity of the body;
- the size of the red spots varies from 0.5 to 5 cm, and the tracks of the bedbugs form a straight line - a path, since the parasite makes several punctures per meal, moving forward every few centimeters.
Other symptoms appear less frequently: pain, fever, headache, chills.
Chitin shells
There are many signs of bedbugs appearing in an apartment, but in second place is the detection of husks, which are shed by the larvae after each molt. A young individual of the pest changes its shell up to 4 times. This happens at different intervals - from 7 to 14 days or more, depending on environmental conditions. The shell can be seen on the floor or other surfaces, as it is distinguished by its light brown color. Moreover, the outer covers are transparent.
Chitinous shells shed by bedbugs during molting
Clutches of eggs
A female bedbug lays up to 5 eggs per day. To provide the offspring with protection, she leaves them not only in the nest, but also in different parts of the room. If one clutch is destroyed, for example by human discovery, the remaining eggs remain intact. The offspring at this stage look like small white formations - up to 1.5 cm in length. On one side there is a lid that allows insects to escape from the shell when necessary.
Clutches of bedbug eggs: not a single infected object can do without them
Specific smell
If bed parasites have only recently appeared, this sign is absent. The smell is felt when the number of pest colonies increases to several hundred individuals. This is a consequence of the vital activity of parasites. They leave excrement and secrete other secretory fluids in minimal quantities, but as the number of insects increases, a large amount of excrement accumulates in the apartment, which contributes to the appearance of a smell reminiscent of old cognac. If you stay in the room for a long time, you won’t feel it.
The specific smell of bed bugs is a guarantee that there are insects in the apartment
Blood stains
Such signs of bedbugs are also detected if there are a lot of parasites at home. Dots or small specks of blood appear on the bed if a person accidentally crushes the parasite in a dream. This occurs due to an increase in the volume of the insect’s body after eating. As a result, the parasite is much easier to kill. His body becomes more pliable and breaks easily. For comparison, in a hungry state it is more difficult to destroy a pest mechanically.
Blood stains from squashed bedbugs remain on the bed
Traces of bedbugs on the wallpaper
If red spots remain on the bed linen, then on the finishing materials only stains from excrement, as well as other secretory fluids of parasites, appear to a greater extent. You can see traces of a bug on the wallpaper when the insects have built a nest in the area where the material has moved away from the wall. Parasites penetrate under any covering.
In particularly infested areas, traces of bedbugs are even present on walls and wallpaper.
Vital signs
When parasites colonize an apartment, black dots are found on different surfaces, and more often in areas where nests are located. This is parasite excrement. Bed bugs feed on blood, which is why the stool turns dark. The blackheads are small in size, which is why they resemble poppy seeds. The larger the pest nest is, the more things deteriorate in the area where it is located.
If furniture is infested with bedbugs, it is practically beyond repair.
Measures to prevent re-infection
After you have removed all the bedbugs from the sofa and the apartment, you need to make sure that they do not get into the apartment again. Several preventive measures will help to do this:
- periodically carry out wet cleaning with the addition of aromatic essential oils to the water;
- remove cardboard packaging from the apartment immediately. Don't leave it overnight. Bedbugs often live there;
- check things that are brought into the apartment, for example, after trips, trips, business trips;
- do not clutter the apartment with unnecessary things, old furniture, this creates shelters for many domestic parasites;
- seal cracks in the room, seal up torn wallpaper - all this also serves as nesting sites for bedbugs;
- Do not walk further than the hallway in street shoes. Disinfect the wheels of baby strollers and bicycles that are brought home. You can treat with soda solutions or a weak alcohol solution.
Preventive measures will prevent the eggs of bedbugs and other parasites from being transferred into the apartment, which will prevent re-infection.
Combining folk and chemical means of struggle
This is the most effective option, because it allows you to destroy parasites and at the same time provide protection from them in the future. First, the room is treated with chemicals.
Veronika Slizskaya, 39 years old, Samara When I used insecticides, I wanted to somehow protect myself for the future. I did not consider chemicals for this purpose, because they are still poisons. I chose essential oils: they smell nice and are beneficial.
Anna Andreeva, 33 years old, St. Petersburg When I saw insects at home, I got scared and bought a lot of everything: kerosene, ammonia, insecticides. I used it one by one, but the smell in the apartment was very strong. A few days later I returned, washed everything, and it’s been clean ever since.
