Everything about sofa bugs in your apartment: where do they come from, why choose a sofa, how to get rid of them at home?

• By Vil Malinoshevsky
• Destruction of bedbugs

Getting rid of bedbugs in a sofa is actually not difficult. With the right approach and the use of effective tools, this can be done in just a few hours. However, many people do not know how to properly treat a sofa at home. Because of this, they are unable to remove the parasites, and they decide that this is an extremely difficult task.

Our company is contacted every day by people who have tried to eliminate bedbugs on their couch on their own, but failed. When asking them about the measures taken, we noticed that most people make similar mistakes, which is why they fail to destroy insects.

These are basic mistakes that people make out of ignorance. If you don’t do them, then the bedbugs can be eradicated by the evening. Professional exterminators take into account all the nuances, so they manage to clean the apartment after the first treatment, and in especially difficult cases, after the second.

What mistakes do people make most often?

Where do bedbugs come from on the sofa?

By analyzing the ways in which domestic parasites enter an apartment, it will be possible to understand where 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?

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.

Sofa bugs. How to get rid of it at home

Special methods have been developed to combat beetles. Four main groups can be distinguished:

1. People.
2. Physical.
3. Chemical.
4. Help from special services.

The choice largely depends on the financial situation of the owner and his personal preferences. Calling a team of fighters will cost many times more than an independent battle. But efficiency in this case will be guaranteed.

How to get rid of bedbugs on the sofa? Most insect control products are toxic to humans.

Signs of furniture infestation with bedbugs

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:

1. a peculiar aroma will be felt in the apartment, reminiscent of cognac, almonds or stale raspberries;
2. 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;
3. 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;
4. 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.

Prices

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

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.

Where do bedbugs live?

Bed bugs live in:

• pieces of furniture (sofas, beds, armchairs);
• in cracks on the walls; under the wallpaper;
• in bed linen.

Parasites go out to “hunt” at night. During the day they rest and digest the blood they consumed during the dark. Insects accumulate in groups of varying numbers (usually from 10 to 30 – 40 individuals) in the habitats listed above. There they mate and lay eggs. Such clusters of pests are usually called nests.

To begin effective control of parasites, it is first necessary to “calculate” the location of the daytime “rookeries” of pests. To do this, you will need to complete the following steps.

• Check furniture on which people and pets often sit, lie or sleep. In this case, special attention should be paid to the cracks, the joints of individual elements of the interior item (for example, the frame and the mattress). It would be a good idea to slightly cut the mattress and inspect its contents - bedbugs love to get inside.
• Examine all the cracks in the walls, places where the wallpaper is peeling off. Parasites love to hide not only in pieces of furniture, but also in the shelters that the apartment’s furnishings provide them. These can be gaps between the floor, walls and baseboards, small areas where wallpaper comes off, space under linoleum, paintings, rugs, curtains. All this also needs to be checked very carefully for the presence of clusters of parasites.

Traditional methods for bedbugs

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.

Temperature method

The most effective option, since bed bugs do not tolerate sudden changes in living conditions. And if insects acquire immunity to insecticides and other chemicals, then they are powerless against frost. It is most effective to lower the temperature in the room where the bedbug-infested sofa is located, to at least -10. In private homes in winter, you can turn off the heating and open doors and windows for several hours or days. This is how they fought bedbugs in the villages. However, in the modern world it is very difficult to organize such freezing. Of course, you can take the sofa outside, but insects, their larvae and eggs will still remain in the apartment. In addition, after significant temperature changes, upholstered furniture can deteriorate. It must be dried well to prevent mold from forming. In short, this method is effective, but difficult to implement.

Comfortable temperature for bed bugs is from 25 to 30 degrees. So, you can use the temperature method to remove the beetles, but do it at high temperatures. In hot summers, when the air temperature exceeds 30 degrees, you can expose the sofa to the sun. However, it is worth remembering that the temperature inside the sofa will be lower, which means there is a high probability that it will not be possible to completely “fry” the insects.

Another way to get rid of bed bugs using high temperatures is to steam your sofa. The steam will definitely kill all bed bugs, but it is necessary to treat the furniture in all hard-to-reach places.

Application of chemicals

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.

Basic mistakes

Here are the most common mistakes that lead to low efficiency of self-treatment of the apartment and the reappearance of pests.

• Not all nests have been discovered. Before starting treatment, it is important to find all clusters of parasites. If even one is missed, the insect colony will grow again.
• Rules for working with chemicals are not followed. When using insecticides, you must strictly follow the instructions for their use, observing the requirements for the amount and time of exposure to the substance. If this is not done, the effectiveness of the treatment may come to naught.
• The insects' escape route is not blocked. When treated with chemicals, bedbugs begin to crawl away from the place where the insecticide was applied. Therefore, it is important to block their migration route. If this is not done (or done poorly), then one or more fertilized females may leave the poisoning site. This will lead to the complete revival of the colony after a certain time.
• Failure to comply with safety regulations. Before using chemicals, not all people make sure whether it can be used in specific circumstances; they neglect to wear a mask and gloves. This often leads to poisoning.

Preparing the sofa for processing

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.

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.

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.

Chemical substances

Our grandmothers knew very well how to poison bedbugs. Chemical solutions are sold in pharmacies and hardware stores. They are dangerous to human and animal health. Take pets out of the apartment during treatment.

• Ammonia. Pour 10 milliliters into a container and place it near the beetle’s habitat. The strong smell will make them leave.
• Denatured alcohol. Instantly kills larvae and adults. Treat the area where they live with denatured pure alcohol.
• A mixture of cresol, naphthalene, kerosene in a ratio of 10:1:20. The mixture is used to clean all possible bed bug habitats.

All the substances described are toxic; they can corrode rubber gloves and even skin. Follow safety rules when working with them. Avoid contact with open areas of the body, mucous membranes, and eyes. In this case, rinse with plenty of water and consult a doctor.

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:

1. periodically carry out wet cleaning with the addition of aromatic essential oils to the water;
2. remove cardboard packaging from the apartment immediately. Don't leave it overnight. Bedbugs often live there;
3. check things that are brought into the apartment, for example, after trips, trips, business trips;
4. do not clutter the apartment with unnecessary things, old furniture, this creates shelters for many domestic parasites;
5. seal cracks in the room, seal up torn wallpaper - all this also serves as nesting sites for bedbugs;
6. 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.

Where are they hiding?

Bedbugs can enter your home completely unnoticed: through clothes, bags, new beds or sofas. Thanks to their narrow body, they are able to hide in the deepest crevice, the size of a credit card. They do not have a permanent nest, but they live in small clusters.

Places where bedbugs accumulate:

• ceiling panels
• peeling wallpaper
• inside the partitions
• for furniture
• parts of furniture structures
• behind the paintings

• on mattresses
• in the folds of the mattress seams
• on the sheets
• bed design elements
• in the cracks of the parquet
• under the baseboards

They can easily move to neighboring rooms and even apartments. The appearance of bedbugs does not depend on the cleanliness of the room. They are exclusively bloodsuckers, so they will live both in a perfectly clean apartment and in a hotel room.