Guides
All guides
Every guide on the site, in one place. If you’re not sure where to begin, start with the step you’re at right now.
Start here
- Top Signs You Have Bed BugsThe top signs of bed bugs: blood droplets on your sheets, bugs caught in spider webs, bugs crawling in daylight, and live or dead bed bugs in your laundry.
- How to Get Rid of Bed BugsHow to get rid of bed bugs: treatment options for homes, furniture and clothing (chemical, heat and cold), what each involves, and what can't take them.
- Getting ready for bed bug treatmentPreparing for bed bug treatment? Follow your pest control company’s prep list first, then these tips for bedding, clothes, clutter, family and pets.
- After bed bug treatment: keeping watch and getting back to normalYour home has been treated for bed bugs. How to keep watch, unpack clean things, keep follow-up visits, and know when to call the professional back.
- Keeping bed bugs outTravel, furniture and laundry habits that help.
By situation
- Renting an apartment with bed bugs: what to do and what to askRenting and found bed bugs? What to ask before you move in, how to tell your building in writing, and how to work with treatment in an apartment.
- How to Prevent Catching Bed Bugs in a HotelAvoid bringing bed bugs home from a hotel: check reviews before you book, use the luggage rack, leave extra bags in the car and seal your dirty laundry.
- Saving Stuffed Toys from a Bed Bug CurseCan you save your child's stuffed toys from bed bugs? Washing small ones in hot water, why big ones can be too heavy, and choosing what to keep.
- How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs from Delicate ClothingSave designer dresses and delicate clothes from bed bugs: wash regular clothes hot and bag them, then use a freezer for delicates, shoes and purses.
- Preventative Measures for FurnitureKeep bed bugs out of your furniture: skip curbside finds, encase new mattresses and box springs, use bed bug interceptors and keep the bed off the walls.
- Laundry and Bed BugsBed bugs are drawn to dirty laundry. What to check in your bedding, wash cloths and towels, and how laundry helps you spot an infestation early.
More guides
- 4 Surprising Places That Might Have Bed BugsBed bugs go where people are: offices, university libraries, movie theatres and airplanes. Why these busy places get bed bugs, and why they can come back.
- A Pill to Kill Bed Bugs?Could a pill, like ivermectin, one day help against bed bugs? Why the research is still early, and the steps, like mattress covers, that matter now.
- A Possible Garlic Remedy?What one night with garlic water made me wonder.
- Bed Bug Infestation Has Reached Epidemic ProportionsWhy bed bug infestations are on the rise in cities: easier travel, fewer pesticides, tough genetics, and survival traits that help them hide and spread.
- Bed Bugs – An Unfortunate, Horrific ExperienceFinding bed bugs in our apartment: a bug on the couch, blood droplets on the sheets, bugs in spider webs, and the morning there was no more doubt.
- New Bed Bug Checks They Should Make Mandatory at All HotelsWhy hotel housekeeping staff should be trained to spot bed bugs, and what to check yourself as a guest: mattress edges, headboard, bed frame and smells.
- The Spread of a Bed Bug Curse in an Apartment BuildingHow bed bugs spread from one apartment to the units beside and below it, what draws them to people, and why treating one apartment alone won't solve it.
- What Attracts Bed Bugs?What attracts bed bugs to people and homes: dirty laundry and our scent. Where to look, and how a smooth laundry bin helps keep them contained.
My story
This guide shares my own experience and general tips. I’m not a pest control company. If you think you have bed bugs, a licensed pest control professional can confirm it and treat your home.