How to get rid of bed bugs
Bed bugs are the hardest DIY pest on this site. Light, single-room infestations can be cleared in 4–8 weeks with mattress encasements, interceptors, residual insecticide, and a strict laundry routine. Anything bigger than one room — or any case where bites continue past 6 weeks — needs a professional heat treatment.
Tools
- ✓For inspecting seams, screw holes, and crevices.
- ✓Adult bed bugs are sesame-seed sized; nymphs are smaller still.
- ✓For physical removal from mattress seams and headboards.
- ✓Heat is bed bugs' weakness — 60 minutes on high kills all life stages.
Materials
- +Zippered, bed-bug-rated cover for mattress AND box spring. Traps existing bugs and prevents new harborage.
- +Sit under bed legs. Bed bugs can't climb the slick interior — physically isolates the bed and lets you monitor activity.
- +Pro-grade liquid with three modes of action including pyrethroid-resistant strains. Mix per label, apply to seams and harborages with a pump sprayer.
- +Dust thin layer in voids, under baseboards, around bed legs, inside the box spring frame.
- +Place inside sealed bags with hard-to-treat items (electronics, books) for 7+ days.
- +For sealing laundry between bedroom and washer.
- +For treating luggage and items that can't go in the dryer.
Steps
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1
Confirm the ID
Adults are 4–5mm (sesame seed size), reddish brown, oval and flat. Bites usually appear in lines of 2–3. You may also see small dark fecal spots on sheets or mattress seams. Photograph one and compare to reference images before starting treatment.
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2
Strip and encase the bed
Strip all bedding. Place mattress and box spring in zippered SafeRest encasements — leave on for at least 12 months. Any bugs inside die trapped.
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3
Install interceptors under every bed leg
Place Climbup interceptors under all four bed legs. Pull the bed away from the wall and away from nightstands. The bed becomes an island bugs can't reach. Check interceptors weekly — empty ones mean you're winning.
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4
Vacuum every harborage
Use the crevice tool on every seam of the mattress (now encased, so just the surface), every joint of the bed frame, the underside of nightstands, headboard cracks, baseboards in a 6-foot radius. Empty vacuum canister into a sealed bag, discard outside.
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5
Spray Crossfire on harborages
Mix per label. Spray seams of bed frame, inside the box spring frame, baseboards, behind headboards, under nightstand drawers. Do NOT spray the mattress surface (you sleep on it). Reapply at 2 weeks and 4 weeks.
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6
Dust DE in voids
Thin layer along baseboards, around bed legs (inside the interceptors is fine), inside switch plate voids. DE works mechanically — bugs walking through it dehydrate over days.
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7
Laundry every 3–4 days
Bag clothes/bedding in the bedroom, walk straight to the washer. Wash hot, dry on HIGH for 60 minutes — heat is what kills bugs, not water. Continue for 6+ weeks.
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8
Reassess at 6 weeks
If bites have stopped and interceptors are empty for 14 consecutive days, you're likely clear — but keep the encasements and interceptors in place for a full year. If bites continue past 6 weeks, get a pro heat treatment quote.