Bed bugs have a habit of hiding in places where you would spend a lot of time finding them. Places such as your couch, bedroom and in furniture are their prime places. Bed bugs in your couch and in furniture is embarrassing especially if you have guests and the bed bugs happen crawl over them. How do you get rid of bed bugs in your couch or furniture?
Finding bed bugs in your couch is a common. It has been scientifically proved that 25% of people have had infestations of bed bugs in their couch, beds, chairs etc. Getting rid of bed bugs can be overwhelming but we assure you that it can be successful if you follow our advice.
In this post, we have highlighted ways and steps in which you can follow to get rid of bed bugs in furniture or your couch.
So, how does one get rid of bed bugs in the couch? Some of the ways to eliminate infestation of bed bugs in your couch or furniture include setting traps, diatomaceous earth, couch encasement and a steam cleaner. These are just some of the ways to get rid of bed bugs in the couch. There are also home remedies to get rid of bed bugs in the couch. Read more.
Signs of Bed Bugs in the Couch
Here are the signs of bed bugs in your couch:
1. Bed Bugs Eggs & Shell
Bed bugs are good at hiding their eggs and this happens in places such as your clothes and couch. Anywhere it feels comfortable for the bed bugs to lay eggs, they will do so. Once you notice bed bugs eggs in your couch, that is a sure sign of their infestation.
Their eggs are slightly larger so you can’t fail to notice them really quick. The bed bugs shells are usually somewhere close where the bed bugs are hatched from their eggs.
The bed bug shells do not disappear on their own. This should be a clear sign of bed bug infestation in your couch.
2. Bed Bug Fecal Matter
You can’t fail to notice bed bug infestation in your home or furniture. Bed bug fees are the first sign to notice. Usually, it is a dark and thick substance that can be smeared when touched.
With time, the fecal matter hardens and it can stay on the couch for weeks or months. It can be hard to remove. You may be forced to use spray it with a cleaning fluid before wiping it away.
Small droplets on the couch that tend to retain shape even when completely dry is another sign of bed bugs infestation.
3. Dead Bed Bugs
You should be able to tell an infestation of bed bugs if you happen to see dead bed bugs scattered all around the furniture. They are no different from alive bed bugs only that they are not moving.
A dead bed bug is similar in size and color to a living usually it is close to the color of an apple seed.
4. Living Bed Bugs
Seeing a living bed bug on your couch can be quite hard. Bed bugs like many other pests prefer to hide in crevices and cracks. You only see bed bugs alive when they are out looking for human blood which is somehow rare during the day.
But you may notice one or two while taking a nap on the couch. One bed bug is a clear sign of many others around just that you’ve found out. Or it could be an infestation growing.
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in your Couch & Furniture Fast
Here are fast 6 ways to get rid of bed bugs in your couch & furniture:
1. Laundry
To get rid of bed bugs in your couch, you have to begin with laundry. Remove items such as pillows, cushions, covers from couch. Wash and dry them at the highest temperature settings. If bed bugs are exposed at extreme heat, lets says at 118 degrees Fahrenheit, they begin to die within a couple of minutes.
If you are not sure how long you should expose the bed bugs to heat, just run the dryer for 90 minutes straight.
You can use steam on your cushions just in case they don’t fit in the dryer. The trick is to expose the bed bugs to heat treatment for some times. When heat penetrates the couch cushions for a longer time, it is able to eliminate nearly all the bed bugs reducing their numbers greatly.
2. Vacuum
Vacuuming is another excellent way to get rid of bed bugs in your couch. It helps to eliminate bed bugs in large numbers if not all. Vacuuming doesn’t just pick bed bugs from the couch but also their eggs.
If you choose to vacuum you couch, chances are you will get rid of any signs of bed bugs such as their skin sheds and fecal matter. This makes your couch not just free from bed bugs but clean as well.
Once you are done with vacuuming, you can easily dispose of the vacuum bad in a tightly sealed plastic bad and throw it in a trash bin such that no bed bug can infiltrate your home again.
3. Steam
You can easily get rid of bed bugs in your couch with steam. If you opt to go for the services of professional steaming, it will cost you anywhere between $300 to $1200. Alternatively, you can still use a home steam cleaner. This will help to keep your couch free from bed bugs.
4. Sprays
When it comes to using spray to get rid of bed bugs in your couch, you have two options: chemical and natural bed bug sprays.
A chemical spray on your couch will kill all the bed bugs and their eggs keeping the couch bed bug free for roughly 2 weeks after treatment. Otherwise, you can opt for natural bed bug spray.
Natural bed bug sprays are non-toxic and kills the bed bugs on contact. Natural bed bugs sprays are good only that they kill bed bugs on contact which means they don’t provide a continuous protections throughout.
5. Bed Bug Traps
Other than killing the bed bugs directly with sprays, you can set up traps too. This can help to bar new ones form infiltrating in your couch and house again.
6. Couch Encasement and Insecticide Dust
To completely seal off your couch from bed bugs, you can use a couch encasement. This will stop the bed bugs from escaping or entering your couch.
Insecticide dust also work well to get rid of the bed bugs from the couch. Just spray the dust evenly and distribute a layer of it all over your couch.
The dust is only effective when the bed bugs come in contact with it. Once you spread the dust on the couch, leave it sealed for a couple of weeks say 4 to 6 weeks.
Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Bed Bugs on Couch Instantly
Here are some of the home remedies to get rid of bed bugs in your couch and furniture:
a) Diatomaceous Earth
To get rid of bed bugs with home remedy, you should go diatomaceous earth. It is amazing when it comes to destroying bed bugs. You can scatter this product whenever you want including your furniture and couch. It will kill the bed bugs and the pests instantly.
You can also use to get rid of bed bugs in your furniture. Just place underneath your bed or cracks in your bed frame. You can also scatter the powder on the outside of your bed frame- Buy on Amazon
b) Essential Oil Sprays
You can never go wrong whenever you choose essential oil as a home remedy to get rid of bed bugs. It kills the bed bugs on the post although it requires a little more effort to apply. But you can still opt for it. Make a spray of essential oil and put it in a spray bottle then spray on your couch, furniture, bed frames, holes, crevices et.
Essential oil are very effective when dealing with a smaller infestation of bed bugs.
c) Vacuum Cleaner
We mentioned earlier on the effectiveness of vacuuming to get rid of the bed bugs. Vacuum cleaner helps to suck all the bed bugs, their eggs and fecal matter leaving your couch clean.
It helps to eliminate bed bugs on the surface of the couch. If you combine it with a steamer, it does great work.
The 3 Best Products for Bed Bug Treatment in Couch
In this section, let’s look at the 3 top best product in getting rid of bed bugs in your couch.
1. Utopia Bedding Premium Bed Bug Proof Box Spring Encasement
Utopia bedding gives an amazing bed bug cover couch to eliminate bed bugs in your couch. It is 60 by 80 inches in dimension enough to fit a box spring measuring up to 10 inches deep.
This couch cover is 100% polyester which implies that it is soft, breathable and waterproof. Nothing shot form a high-end couch cover.
The material is not only soft but also stretchable good enough to be used for bigger couches or even ordinary beds.
The material used to build this cover is of high quality and resistant to tears. It has a mini-zipper to seal your bed, couch tightly not allowing a single bed bugs to enter inside.
2. CRESNEL Furniture Cover Plastic Bag for Moving Protection
This is another effective couch and bed cover to stop bed bugs from entering inside your couch.
The width is 92 inches and the depth is 42 inches which means that it is enough for a heavy duty couch infested with the bed bugs.
Although it is an ordinary plastic, it comes with some amazing features such as increased thickness thus resistant to tear. It can cover your entire couch and even overlap enough to wrap it over again.
It is sealable, which means that you can prevent outer bed bugs from entering inside. It is a premium-grade, 100% non-recycled plastic thus health for your and entire household-Buy on Amazon
3. MAYTEX Pixel Ultra Soft Stretch Sofa Couch Furniture Cover
This is another excellent cover for your couch that can help eliminate bed bugs from your couch.
You can choose from a variety of colors up to 7 different colors. In short it is versatile and can fit to every couch.
Installing it on your couch is quite easy. Usually, the instructions are clearly written inside the box.
It is made from stretchable fabric with elastic corners to keep your cover in place. The dimensions are good enough to support any couch – Buy on Amazon
Summary
Bed bugs are notorious whenever they infest your home. They are good at hiding in places you can hardly reach. The technique of eliminating is more or less the same.
As discussed, there are different methods to get rid of bed bugs in your couch or furniture. Using either of these methods or a combination will have the problem solved. Be it traps, different sprays or encasement covers, the goal is to eliminate the bed bugs.
If you feel overwhelmed or you don’t have any clue to go about it, you can always call professionals. But it is always good to give it a try at personal level. With over 6 methods to get rid of the bed bugs, surely you cannot miss on one that perfectly works you.
You ought to have the experience of fighting the bed bugs such that it will be necessary for the future.
