Bed bugs can become a problem in anyone's home, no matter the level of cleanliness or organization. A bed bug infestation in your home can start off from a single bed bug hitching a ride on your clothing, suitcase, or bedding from an infested location. But once you have an infestation problem with bed bugs, you will need to be diligent in the clean-up to ensure it is successful. Here are some tips to help you identify and get rid of a bed bug infestation inside your home.

Locate and Identify Bed Bugs

If you suspect a bed bug problem and have found evidence of them in your home, such as itchy red bumps on your body, you will need to do a thorough search of your bedroom and home to find out where they are living. Focus your inspection on your bed and couches, along with other crevices and cracks around your bedroom and other rooms of your home. Bed bugs like to live in crevices where they can hide easily, which includes seams of upholstery and the edges of wallpaper and behind wall decor. 

Pull back the sheets on your mattress to look for bed bugs and their signs they live there. You may find black dots of their droppings, bed bugs hiding along the edges of the mattress seams, and small red spots on your mattress. You may also find light yellow colored skins from juvenile bed bugs as they grow and shed their skins.

When you locate any bed bugs, trap them in a glass lidded jar so you can identify them with your pest control professional. This can be helpful in your home's treatment of the pests. Be sure you kill them, which you can do by placing a cotton swab saturated with rubbing alcohol into the jar.

Clean Up Your Home

Once you have identified the bed bugs and arranged for a professional heat or pesticide treatment to your home, you can start to clean them from your home. Be sure you don't move items around your home so you avoid spreading the infestation to an uninfested room. Use a vacuum to suck up bed bugs by vacuuming furniture, mattresses, and flooring corners. Dump the contents into a double bag and put them into the trash. 

Wash your home's bedding, clothing, and other infested linens in the hottest setting allowable for the items, and dry in the dryer afterward to kill the bed bugs. Declutter your home and get rid of piles of items on your floors, as they can harbor bed bugs. This will also help you prepare your home for a thorough inspection and treatment by your pest control professional.

Contact a local bed bug control service to learn more.