Bed bug treatment in Zaandam: what to look for
An adult bed bug is flat, oval and reddish-brown, about the size of an apple pip. After feeding it becomes rounder and darker. Young bed bugs are smaller and paler, and the eggs are white and barely visible. During the day they hide in seams and cracks close to where you sleep. Look out for:
- itchy bites, often in a short line or cluster, on the arms, neck or legs;
- tiny blood smears on the sheet or pillowcase;
- black dots, their droppings, along mattress seams, the bed frame or behind the headboard;
- empty, translucent skins shed by growing bed bugs;
- with a heavy infestation, a sweetish, musty odour.
How bed bugs get into your home
Bed bugs say nothing about how clean you are. They are hitchhikers: in a suitcase after a hotel stay, in a second-hand bed, sofa or bedside table, or in a guest's bag. An infested hotel can be anywhere in the world, and a case left on the floor next to the hotel bed is a classic way to bring them home.
Once inside, they stay close to their host, coming out at night to feed and retreating to their hiding place afterwards. In flats they can move through gaps along pipes and skirting boards into neighbouring homes, so it is sensible to tell your neighbours or landlord if you find them.
How our heat treatment works
At the inspection we work methodically with a strong torch along the seams of the mattress and bed frame, the skirting boards, sockets and furniture in the bedroom. That shows how far the infestation has spread and which rooms need to be included.
The treatment itself uses heat: we raise the room and its contents to a temperature that neither bed bugs nor their eggs survive. Beforehand you receive clear instructions on what to wash, what to bag up and what to leave in place. Afterwards we carry out a check to make sure there is no remaining activity. It is the same careful, step-by-step method behind all our pest control in Zaandam.
Mistakes that make an infestation worse
In a moment of panic, people sometimes do things that make the problem bigger. A small infestation is easier to deal with than a large one, so do not wait too long before calling. And avoid these common mistakes:
- moving to the sofa in the living room for a few nights, because the bed bugs will follow you;
- taking things from the bedroom into other rooms or to relatives;
- using insect spray, which only drives them deeper into cracks;
- carrying an unwrapped mattress or sofa outside or leaving it on the pavement, spreading the infestation along the way and to others.
Prevention after a trip or a purchase
After a holiday or business trip, do not take your suitcase into the bedroom; leave it on a hard floor in the hall or bathroom first. Unpack there, check the seams and wash your clothes straight away. In a hotel, put your case on the luggage rack rather than the bed or floor, and take a quick look under the fitted sheet along the edge of the mattress.
Buying a second-hand bed, sofa or wardrobe? Inspect every seam before it comes through your front door. If there are no marks on the bed but you have bites around your ankles and a pet that keeps scratching, fleas are a more likely culprit; see flea treatment.
