Do you have itchy welts on your body, smell a musty odor on your bed, or find tiny critters racing across your pillow?

We hate to break it to you, but you’ve got bed bugs. 

Discovering you have bed bugs is unnerving, to say the least. 

Do you move into the guest room, sleep on the couch, or just pack everything up and check into the nearest hotel?

Here, we cover everything you need to know about where to sleep if you have bed bugs, precautions to take to keep them from spreading, and who to call for safe and effective bed bug eradication. 

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where to sleep when you have bed bugs

 

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Where Should I Sleep When I Have Bed Bugs?

If you have bed bugs, you have two options:

  1. Sleep in the room where the bed bugs were found
  2. Move to another room

Sleeping in the room with bed bugs is the best choice to keep them from spreading. 

Keep reading to find out how to sleep if you have bed bugs and precautions to take while you wait for the exterminator to arrive.​​

Recommended: Stay in the Room Where the Bed Bugs Were Found

While we’re pretty sure this isn’t the news you are hoping to hear, if you have bed bugs, the best thing to do is sleep in the room where the bed bugs were found. 

Why? Because they feed on human blood, meaning you are the bed bugs’ food source, and as crazy as it sounds – they’ll hunt you down, tag along, and infest the new location.

Here’s our expert advice on how to sleep knowing you have bed bugs in your room. 

How Do You Keep Bed Bugs Off You While Sleeping?

We figured it would be pretty rotten of us to tell you to bunk down with a bunch of bedbugs without telling you how to keep the nasty critters off you as you try to get some sleep.

So, before you get totally freaked out, keep reading. 

While the first and most important step is to call the professionals to treat your home, here are a few ideas to help you manage the bed bugs while you work on eradicating the problem:

  • Vacuum and encase your mattress
  • Install insect indicators
  • Put clean bedding on your bed
  • Wear pajamas; and
  • Wash and dry your bedding and pajamas daily

If you’ve got bed bugs, Pure Environmental can help. We are bed bug experts and can get the bed bugs out and have your house back to normal in less than 24 hours. Give us a call today to learn more and to get a free estimate.

 

how to sleep with bed bugs

 

Vacuum and Encase the Mattress 

Vacuuming your mattress can help get rid of the bed bugs you can see. But keep in mind that for every bed bug you can see, there are probably two more you can’t see. 

Once you vacuum your mattress, apply a mattress encasement. This is a mattress-sized zip-up bag that fits snugly around your entire mattress. 

Using a mattress encasement is one of the best ways to keep the bedbugs from nibbling you in the night. 

And while encasing your mattress is a great interim solution, it is important to know that bed bugs can live inside mattress casings for months, so encasement is not meant as a long-term solution. 

Purchase and Install Insect Indicators

These small dishes go beneath the feet of your bed. They have a double ring in them which traps the bedbugs inside them keeping them away from you.

They also serve the secondary purpose of indicating the direction the bugs are coming from. If you find them in the external ring then you know those bugs were trapped coming to get you!

Wear Pajamas

While we probably don’t need to tell you, if you are sleeping in a bed with bed bugs, it is not the best time to sleep au naturel. 

If you are sleeping with bed bugs, you will definitely want to wear pajamas – the kind that covers you from head to toe. 

Thankfully, bed bugs are unable to bite through clothing, so the more skin you have covered, the less there is for bed bugs to snack on. 

However, bed bugs can burrow, so make sure your jammies are nice and snug.

Wash and Dry Bedding and Pajamas Daily

If you are continuing to sleep in the room with the bed bugs, you will, of course, be going in and out of the room each morning and evening while you’re waiting for the exterminators. 

It’s important to try to keep the bedbugs from spreading to the other parts of your home. 

The best way to do this is to wash your bedding and pajamas each day and dry them in the dryer. 

And be careful not to remove other items from the room that may contain bed bugs. 

 

how to sleep if you have bed bugs

 

Alternative Option: Sleep in Another Room

If you decide you just can’t take sleeping in a room full of bed bugs, we get it.

And although we don’t recommend it, you can choose to sleep in another room of your home while you await treatment. 

But be forewarned – you risk bringing the bed bugs right along with you.

Because of the huge risk of transporting bed bugs to a new location and out of courtesy to others, we don’t recommend staying in a hotel. 

Precautions To Take

If you do decide to sleep in another bedroom (or on the couch) you will want to take the following precautions to ensure the bed bugs don’t decide to tag along.

Vacuum and Encase the Mattress

As we mentioned above, vacuuming and encasing your mattress can help keep the bed bugs contained until the pest control specialists arrive to treat your home.

Avoid Removing Items and Heat Your Clothing and Bedding in the Dryer

If you can possibly avoid it, don’t take items in and out of the bed bug-infested room. 

If you absolutely must remove an item from the affected room, be sure to run it through the washer and dry it in the dryer on a hot setting. 

Limit Entering and Exiting the Room or Seal It Off

Coming and going from the bed bug-infested room should be limited. 

An even better option than going in and out is to isolate the infested room by using painter’s tape to seal the door.

Even if you do seal the room, you will still want to treat your entire house. Be especially careful if you are leaving the house and getting in your car. Bed bugs can easily infest the seats of your vehicle, which means you would be bringing them right back into your home or the home of friends and family — which can put even the best relationship to the test.

At Pure Environmental, we treat your entire home to ensure the demise of every last bed bug. 

 

how to sleep knowing you have bed bugs

 

Why It’s Better To Stay in the Infested Room

Limits the Chance of Spreading

Bed bugs are hitchhikers. And the number one thing to worry about if you are moving from room to room is the chance of the bedbugs sneaking a ride, laying eggs, and spreading throughout your home. 

Staying in the bedbug-infested room helps keep the little beasties contained, limiting their opportunity to take over other locations. 

Early detection and early reporting are key. The more bed bugs you have, the greater the chance of spreading them. Catching them early and contacting a reputable pest removal service helps you limit the chance of spreading them to other areas of your home. 

No Matter What You Choose, Treating Your Home Is a Must

Whether you decide to stay in the room with the bed bugs or not, in order to ensure complete eradication of the pests, your entire home must be treated.

Most people don’t realize they have bed bugs until two or three months after infestation, so there is a high chance the critters may be in other rooms of your house. 

At Pure Environmental, we specialize in bed bugs, and we understand the importance of treating your entire home. Our team of experts can let you know the best plan for eliminating the bed bugs in your home. Contact us today for your free estimate.

Contact Pure Environmental for Bed Bug Eradication in Tacoma, WA and Portland, OR

Founded in 2010, Pure Environmental focuses on providing top-quality service for the eradication of bed bugs, indoor air quality restoration, and odor removal.

We keep on top of the current research and use environmentally friendly, 100% green technology. 

Bed bugs feed on human blood and are often found in sensitive locations where traditional chemical treatment is out of the question. 

That’s why we use a heat treatment renowned for its effectiveness. This natural process of extermination uses convection to force heat into your mattresses, walls, furniture, and other hard-to-reach spots. Our treatment kills bed bugs in every stage of their life cycle, including eggs, nymphs, and adults – all without the use of chemicals. 

We eradicate bed bugs in a single six to ten-hour treatment — so you can be back in the comfort of your bed bug-free home within a day. 

And our heat treatment process is 100% guaranteed. 

If you’re ready to be rid of bed bugs once and for all, call Pure Environmental today for your free estimate. 

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how to sleep with bed bugs