Despite plenty of expert advice that says you need professional help to get rid of bed bugs, there are still those who think they can do it themselves. Incorrect and improper do-it-yourself measures usually make bed bug problems worse and definitely interfere with professional pest control efforts. Here are some of the biggest mistakes that residents make in an attempt to rid their homes of bed bugs:

Discarding or replacing infested beds or furniture

This might remove many of the bed bugs, but many more were not in the bed. They were behind molding, in wall voids, and in other hiding places. These remaining bed bugs soon reinfest the replacement furniture. Besides that, bed bugs are spread to other areas as they drop out of the discarded furniture or when the infested beds and furniture are picked up by others.

Temporarily vacating an infested bedroom or even an entire apartment

People figure if they leave for a while, the bed bugs will eventually die out since they will no longer have anyone to feed on. This won’t work. Bed bugs will just migrate to a room or apartment where there are people to feed on. Even with no hosts available, a bed bug can survive for a year without feeding, waiting for your return.

Spraying beds and couches with chemicals

People commonly use products not labeled for bed bugs and not labeled for application to beds and furniture. They may repeatedly apply yard insecticides, agricultural insecticides, and custom-mixed, illegal chemicals. They also mop down floors and walls with bleach, gasoline, kerosene, and alcohol. Don’t do it! These products are not effective and they’re bad for your family’s health.

Many of the so-called bed bug insecticides marketed to the general public do not require registration with EPA and are of questionable effectiveness against bed bugs.

Treating in the wrong places with the wrong method

For insecticides to work effectively against bed bugs, they have to be applied in the proper locations with the proper techniques. Do you know where bed bugs hide during the day and how best to get insecticides into those hiding places? Professional pest control technicians do.

Untrained applicators and ineffective products mean control failures, and may even make the problem worse by dispersing bed bugs into deeper hiding places and into other rooms and adjacent apartments. If you have a bed bug problem, do yourself a favor and call a professional pest management company.