Bedbugs are one of the most difficult pests to control not only because of their tiny size and hugely populated numbers but also their insanely swift reproduction cycle, not to mention the fact that they are everywhere! Ergo, to completely get rid of them is an almost impossible task. The worst news is that they are immune to numerous kinds of treatment when they are in larval form. To effectively control them will require a number of endeavors and it can take weeks and even months to see the result, depending on the extent of the infestation; in a nutshell, a one-time treatment job will not do them justice.
First and foremost, the infestation area of bedbugs must be identified and inspected to ensure better control of them. Necessary treatment will be carried out upon detection of the infested area (What sort of treatment are we talking about here? We’ll come to that later below). Items that are infested with bedbugs but cannot be treated must be isolated and placed in a sealed plastic bag until the bedbugs in it are dead (well, the period of time it takes for such isolation and the demise of the bugs vary and can possibly take up to a year!). An alternative way is to discard the infested things (if they are not so valuable to you), seal them up and place them in the trash can.
There are few methods to treat bedbugs:
(i) Non-chemical treatment – “Expose” the bedbugs to high degree of heat or extreme cold temperature at 0o F. Seal the items infested with bedbugs in a black plastic bag and place the bag under direct sunlight or place it in a fridge for 4 days; if the temperature of your refrigerator is not set to 0o F, it will have no effect in killing the bedbugs. Such methods won’t be able to help you to totally eliminate the bedbugs but their numbers can be greatly reduced.
(ii) Chemical treatment – Engage a pest control professional who will use different kinds of chemical to properly control the bedbug infestation. However, treating bedbugs is a long-term monitoring process which will require cooperation between both parties, i.e. the customer and the pest controller, and each party must do his or her part in properly controlling the infestation of bedbugs.
(iii) Gadget – Place bedbug interceptors under the legs of furniture for catching bedbugs and preventing them from climbing up to the furniture as well.
References: http://www2.epa.gov/bedbugs/do-it-yourself-bed-bug-control#identify https://www.healthline.com/health/bed-bug-bites (Image source) https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/bedbugs-feces-histamine-infestation (Image source)