They invade our rooms and especially our mattresses, but do you know precisely where you can find bedbugs, and how to eradicate them? We talk to you about it with Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of TipsForWomens.
After Parisian hotels and cinemas, the bedbug has just entered the hospital: in information dated September 18, the emergency department of the Reims University Hospital had to be temporarily evacuated and treated due to from his irritating new roommates. But where do these dreaded bedbugs nest? On what materials do they like to wait for their prey, and what parts of your home can shelter them? Unfortunately, the answer is quite broad.
Where do these bedbugs nest in your home?
For Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Dictissimo, the surface area is not so much important as the proximity to humans. “Bedbugs are primarily attracted to body heat and human blood, which they feed on. So the favorite surfaces are those in contact with humans who are sleeping, or who are in any case inactive.”
So understand the bed, the box spring and the soft sofas, all this furniture which has folds in which pests will be able to hide and in which you lie down for several hours a day. And by extension bedding, pillowcases, and blankets.
But that’s not all, other spaces offer a perfect hiding place for these bedbugs:
- Anything with cracks near the bed, such as a headboard, a bedside table, etc.;
- Cracks in the walls and baseboards of your room;
- Peeled wallpaper;
- The floor ;
- Cracks in a frame on the wall;
- The rug, the carpet;
- Travel bags, if they were placed on the bed;
- By extension the clothes that were transported there;
- Curtains.
“Which can mean that when you buy second-hand furniture for example, you have to treat them or at least check that they do not contain these bedbugs” explains Dr. Kierzek.
How to get rid of bedbugs at home?
If you know where these bedbugs prefer to live together, all that remains is to dislodge and eradicate them to return to a peaceful daily life. According to the Ecologie.gouv website, it is important to act quickly as soon as insects are discovered:
- Wash contaminated clothing and bedding (sheets, pillowcases) at 60° minimum and dry them in the dryer for 30 minutes;
- Thoroughly clean with steam (over 120°C) all areas where bedbugs are likely to be present;
- Throw away excessively infested objects such as the mattress, make them unusable, and declare them to the removal services, in accordance with the rules put in place by the community. Never store them in the common areas of buildings.
- Do not use insect repellent fumigants or chemicals. If it persists, call a professional.
