If you’re moving out due to a bed bug infestation, then you should know that there’s a great chance of you taking the bed bugs with you to the new place. Those small critters are experts at hiding, meaning that they’ll most certainly hitchhike a ride with you to the new residence.
Unless you do whatever’s necessary to prevent bed bugs from moving with you.
Keep in mind that it’s always better to eliminate a bed bug infestation before you move out. However, if you just have to move before the critters get terminated by a pest control professional, you must take the necessary precautions to not take bed bugs with you when moving.
First of all, DON’T PANIC! Bed bugs are not life-threatening and their bites are not known to transmit any infectious diseases.
And secondly, follow the steps below to leave bed bugs behind when you move.
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are insects from the genus Cimex that are small, flat, oval, and light brown to reddish-brown in color. Those insects are wingless, so instead of flying, they crawl quickly over floors, walls, and even ceilings.
With the size of about 0.16 inches (4 mm) long, adult bed bugs do have the size of apple seeds. Young bed bugs, on the other hand, can vary in size – from poppy seeds to sesame seeds.
Bed bugs feed primarily on blood, praying on sleeping birds and mammals, usually during the night. Regrettably, those wingless insects are hard to spot as they usually come out at night when people sleep.
How to be sure there are bed bugs in your home
It’s important to know what to look for when you’re trying to identify whether you have a bed bug infestation in your home. Needless to say, it’s always better to catch that infestation early and get rid of it before it becomes established or spreads too much throughout the home.
Usually, the first sign that there are bed bugs in a home is series of bites on a person. Bed bug bites can be found on any area of skin that’s been exposed while a person has slept during the night. The bites of bed bugs are painless at first but can later turn into itchy welts.
But here’s the tricky part: people often attribute those bites and the resulted itching to mosquito bites. So, the only way to confirm that there’s a bed bug infestation in your home is to find and identify the bed bugs themselves.
Here are some other signs that you have bed bugs in your home:
- Small blood stains on the sheets and pillowcases;
- Reddish or rusty stains on sheets or mattresses. Such stains are usually caused by bed bugs being crushed under your weight during the night;
- Dark (rusty) spots on the sheets, mattress, bed clothes, or even walls. These spots are, in fact, bed bug excrement;
- Tiny egg shells or shed skins around the areas where bed bugs like to hide.
Speaking of hiding places, you should be able to find the bed bugs if you look hard enough. Those wingless insects do not have nests (like ants do) but rather live in small groups in places such as:
- mattresses,
- box springs,
- bed frames,
- headboards,
- nightstand,
- drawers (inside and underneath),
- furniture with cushions,
- curtains,
- electrical outlets,
- wallpapers,
- floor cracks, and so on.
The really bad news is that over time, bed bugs will scatter throughout the room (usually the bedroom), and will later spread to other rooms as well, or possibly even to other apartments within an apartment building.
Must-read: Moving timeline: Interactive week-by-week moving checklist
How to get rid of bed bugs when moving
Should you move out if you have bed bugs in the home? If you’ve found a bed bug infestation in the place you live, one of the thoughts that may cross your mind is to move out of that place to get rid of those pesky insects. Of course, such a scenario is especially relevant when you’re a renter.
Another scenario is when you’re dealing with a bed bug infestation in your home while you’re getting ready to move to a new place. Either way, you must do all in your power to prevent bed bugs from moving with you to the new home. The thing is that unless you take the right precautions, those awful bugs are very likely to move with you and continue to cause more trouble for you in the new residence.
Step 1. Vacuum EVERYTHING
To prevent bed bugs when moving, your next step is to vacuum everything – floors, furniture items, including the bed and its surrounding area. Not surprisingly, the mattress needs special attention, so use a stiff brush to scrub the mattress seams in order to remove bed bugs and their eggs. Then, vacuum them to send them straight into the vacuum bag.
When done, place the vacuum bag into a plastic trash bag, seal it well, and dispose of the vacuum bag immediately into a trash container outside because it will contain live bed bugs.
See also: How to clean your apartment before moving out
Step 2. Get rid of your mattress
One proven way to take bed bugs with you when moving is to take your old and infested mattress. Don’t do it. Mattresses are not cheap but you surely don’t want to risk taking those annoying critters to the new home.
You could try various treatments to kill the bed bugs living in your mattress – heat treatment, pesticide treatment, and mattress encasement, but the only way to be sure you have got rid of the bed bugs in the mattress is to throw it away.
Still, you have to be careful how you get rid of your mattress. Insert it in a plastic mattress bag, seal that bag well so that no bug can escape it, and write BED BUGS with a red marker on the top as a warning to anyone who may be tempted to bring that mattress into their homes. Make sure you dispose of your mattress properly, following the proper waste disposal procedure in your town or city.
See also: Is it worth moving a mattress to another home?
Step 3. Treat infected furniture
As a rule of thumb, you should take as few furniture pieces with you as possible. Bed bugs are hard to spot and even if a few insects make it to the new place, then you’ll be facing the same infestation problem all over again.
The recommended way is to NOT take any furniture with you when moving out of a bed bug infested home because those appalling bugs are great at hiding and hitching a ride. But if there are some units that you really want to move to the new home, then you must make sure they are free of any bed bugs.
All furniture that you’re moving has to be properly sanitized. When taking with you pieces such as a desk, a nightstand, or a bookshelf, then those units have to be emptied first so that they can be sanitized effectively.
So, remove and pack the contents of the furniture pieces you’re moving with you – pack everything in plastic storage boxes with lids that click into place. This way, no bug can escape the temporary prison until you figure out a solution later on.
Finally, call in a licensed pest control professional to treat the furniture you’re moving with you.
Step 4. Wash all your infected clothes and bedding
If you know that some of your clothes have been infected with bed bugs or you suspect that they might have been in contact with those bugs, then you should wash those clothes since the high temperature and the laundry detergent are proven ways to kill bed bugs and their eggs. As you wash and dry the clothes under suspicion, be sure to use the highest heat setting of your washer and dryer for sure bug elimination.
It’s best to launder your clothes in batches. When done with a batch, place the washed and dry clothes into sealable plastic bags or plastic storage boxes tight lids, and label the containers CLEAN. This way, you’ll know that those clothes will not be re-infected.
Also, do the same with all the bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, etc.) and other fabric items that can be washed in a washing machine.
Remember that drying your fabrics on a high setting for at least 30 minutes is more effective than washing to kill bed bugs.
Read also: How to pack bedding for moving
Step 5. Place ALL your belongings into plastic bags
The next step to making sure you’re not taking bed bugs when moving is to place all items that cannot be laundered in clear plastic bags and seal them tightly so that nothing can escape them. Such items that cannot be sanitized inside a washer and a dryer include books, electronics, small appliances, and so on.
Once potential bed bugs are successfully trapped inside those bags, contact a pest control professional and seek advice on how to treat those items in order to terminate the bothersome insects.
Good to know: How to use garbage bags for packing and moving
Step 6. Arrange for proper treatment of the place before moving out
If you’re a renter moving out, you’ll want to inform your landlord ASAP that there’s a bed bug infestation in the rental property so that they can take the proper measures to eliminate the infestation. For best results, only licensed pest management professionals can guarantee complete bed bug extermination.
If you’re an owner moving out and putting your property for sale, you’ll also want the infestation problem solved as soon as possible so that you can sell the house or apartment fairly quickly for the price you want.
Moving to a new home without bringing any bed bugs with you is monumentally important. Follow the above steps to prevent bed bugs from moving with you.
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