I Found A Bed Bug In My Bed..Now What?
In today’s blog post we want to instruct our customers on what we recommend they do when they find a bed bug at home. To your every day home owner this is one of the most stressful situations they may go through. Because of the horror stories they hear on the news and from friends, they are frightened. We want you to realize that you are not alone in this situation. On a daily basis we deal with many people who have bed bugs, and get them successfully exterminated. If you have bed bugs and follow these steps it can help with your stress level and give you a bit of direction in your bed bug journey.
- Make sure it is a bed bug first. Many frightened homeowners will find insects that resemble bed bugs. The most commonly insects that are misunderstood as a bed bugs are usually in the beetle family. Use your smart phone to take a photo of the insect and get a few opinions. You can also email us the photo of the insect for identification. If its not a bed bug, good! If it is, go to step 2 (If possible, put the bed bug in a ziplock bag as proof).
- Dont freak out. We know its stressful, and believe it or not we would probably freak out if we found bed bugs in our bed. We promise you that it is a solvable problem. Its okay to cry, just dont go crazy 🙂
- If you live in an apartment building then contact your landlord to inform them of the infestation. According to New York City law the landlord is responsible for the extermination of your apartment or condo. Please find out if the contracted bed bug exterminator is A) Licensed B) has a good reputation. If you hear bad things about this company you may want to hire your own bed bug exterminator. That choice is up to you. Homeowners, you have no choice to hire your own bed bug team.
- Carefully follow any preparations the bed bug exterminators may give you. These prep directions will dictate how successful your treatment will be. The exterminators should be giving you an visual inspection PRIOR to the prep instructions. Any good company will come out to see the property prior to treating. Many times we have had our customers send us photos of each bed room, so we can be specific about our prep instructions.
- Do not hire the first company you speak to. Call around, ask questions. Any question is a good question and dont feel stupid. Also call family or friends and ask them to call around for you also. It is very important to treat ASAP but a few hours on the phone wont make a difference.
- Leave it to the pros! Dont spray your self, or try to rid the problem your self. I know, it seems like its just a small problem. That is more of a reason to have a pro take care of it. You dont want things getting out of hand too quickly.
We wish you the best during your bed bug journey and want all of our customers and blog readers to know that we are here for you. Whether you live in Brooklyn, or anywhere else in the country you can contact us for advice. Email or call us with any strange or unusual questions you may have. We are here to help!
