Bed bug treatment in Nijmegen: how to recognise them
Bed bugs are flat, reddish-brown insects a few millimetres long, roughly the size of an apple pip. They hide during the day and come out at night to feed on blood. Because they hide so well, you usually notice the effects first:
- itchy bites on arms, neck or shoulders, often in a line
- small blood spots on the sheet or pillowcase
- black dots, their droppings, in the seams of the mattress and bed frame
- empty, light-brown skins left behind by young bugs
- with a heavy infestation, a sweetish, musty smell in the bedroom
Not everyone reacts to the bites. So one partner may have symptoms while the other has none, even though they share a bed. Are the bites mainly around your ankles and do you have a cat or dog? Then flea treatment may be the right topic.
How bed bugs end up in your home
Bed bugs have nothing to do with a dirty home. They travel in suitcases, rucksacks, clothing and second-hand furniture such as beds, sofas and bedside tables. One hotel stay, a second-hand mattress or a guest with an infested bag can be enough.
Once inside, they settle into seams, cracks and screw holes close to where someone sleeps. From there they slowly spread: behind skirting boards, behind loose wallpaper, into sockets and picture rails. In homes with shared walls, such as student houses and flats, they can move through pipes and gaps into the room next door. That is why we look not only at the bed but also at the rooms around it.
Our approach, step by step
A good treatment starts with a careful inspection. We check the mattress, base, frame, furniture, skirting boards and sockets and work out how far the infestation has spread. Adjoining rooms are included when necessary.
Then comes the heat treatment: the room and its contents are heated until bed bugs and their eggs cannot survive. Where heat alone is not enough, a certified pest controller also treats cracks and seams with a suitable product. Beforehand you receive clear instructions for clothing, bedding and other belongings, and a follow-up check takes place after some time. We apply the same careful method to every type of pest control in Nijmegen.
What helps – and what makes it worse
What helps: wash bedding and any clothes that were in the bedroom at a high temperature and then put them in the tumble dryer. Keep clean laundry in sealed bags until the treatment is finished. Vacuum the seams of the mattress and bed base thoroughly and throw the vacuum bag away outside immediately.
What to avoid: sleeping on the sofa or at a friend's place, because the bugs will follow you and spread further. Do not use shop-bought sprays; they often just drive the insects deeper into cracks. And do not drag a mattress down the stairwell without wrapping it. Unwrapped, it will leave bugs and eggs behind along the way.
Preventing bed bugs after travel or a purchase
After a holiday or city break, unpack your suitcase in the hallway or bathroom rather than on the bed. Check seams and side pockets and wash your clothes straight away. In a hotel or hostel, check the edge of the mattress and the headboard before putting your bag down.
With a second-hand bed, sofa or bedside table, look in the seams, screw holes and under the upholstery for black dots and shed skins. When moving into a new rented room, run a torch along the bed frame too. The earlier you discover bed bugs, the smaller the job: treating one room is far simpler than treating a whole house.
