Bedbugs. They’re horrible little critters, whose bites cause itchy redness. If you’ve ever suffered a bedbug infestation, you’ll understand how difficult it is to get into bed even if you know they’ve been dealt with. Sleepless nights and stress are worse than the bedbug bites.
The stigma attached to bedbugs – especially for hotels, motels, and landlords – can decimate a business. This is probably why so many businesses try to deal with an infestation on the quiet. The problem is that when they do, they simply move the bedbugs elsewhere. Yes, bedbugs can live in carpet – just like carpet beetles. And under doors and windows, and behind picture frames and wallpaper.
You think you’ve eradicated bedbugs, but all they’re doing is taking a vacation in your carpet before returning with a vengeance.
In this blog, we’ll look at how to exterminate bedbugs from your carpet.
Whatever you do, don’t do this when bedbugs are in your carpet
The most common mistake we see when we’re called to deal with a bedbug infestation is a well-mopped floor or over-swept carpet. All this achieves is moving the bedbugs from one vacation location to another.
The only way to deal with bedbugs in carpet is to use a high-suction vacuum followed by a full carpet shampoo.
Three steps to rid your carpet of its bedbugs
Getting rid of bedbugs from a carpet is a three-step process:
1. Cover your carpet with diatomaceous earth. Wear a mask to do this. Even though diatomaceous earth is non-toxic (and can even be eaten), it can cause breathing problems, just like any dust.
2. Vacuum your carpet, sucking up all the diatomaceous earth. Vacuum twice to make sure you’ve captured all the bedbugs. Here’s a few vacuuming tips when you’re dealing with bedbugs:
- Only use a vacuum cleaner that has disposable bags. Bedbugs have a habit of living and multiplying inside vacuum cleaners.
- Always use diatomaceous earth – this helps to kill them in the vacuum.
- Dispose of the vacuum bag outside, never indoors. Place the vacuum bag in a sealed, heavy-duty plastic bag.
- Change the vacuum bag after each vacuuming, and never leave the vacuum to stand without disposing of the vacuum bag containing the bedbugs.
3. Shampoo the carpet using an industrial carpet shampooer.
That’s it! Getting rid of bedbugs that are living in your carpet is a job that takes patience, effort, and precision. If you don’t tackle the job properly, you’ll find the bedbugs that you leave behind will soon breed and multiply in numbers.
Of course, because carpets aren’t the only place these horrors lurk, you should also deal with walls, rugs, and even bare floors. If you’d like advice on how to do this, or a quote for professionals to rid your home or business of bedbugs, contact Porter's. We’re available 24/7 and we’ll be happy to help you resolve the problem of unwanted guests.