Status: 17.10.2023, 20:30 PM
By: Anne Hund
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The small parasites are extremely unpleasant. Stiftung Warentest explains what helps in the case of bed bugs in your own four walls.
Nobody wants bed bugs in the apartment. However, as an unpleasant souvenir from vacation, the parasites could get into the house – for example via the suitcase that was in the hotel room. In this case, quick action is required if you want to make sure that the small bloodsuckers that find shelter in the bed frame or in cracks in furniture, for example, disappear quickly. This is because when the animals suck blood, they secrete an anticoagulant secretion that triggers severe itching, as reported by the German Press Agency (dpa). Scratching can lead to inflammation at the injection sites. Frequent stings can lead to allergic reactions.
Bed bugs in the apartment – most home remedies do not work
However, if you think that you can easily get rid of bed bugs with simple tricks and home remedies, you might be disappointed. For example, some people wrap the bedposts in plastic bags and then place them in bowls of water to prevent more bedbugs from crawling into the bed. According to Stiftung Warentest, however, this is of little use. Because most of the time the animals would lurk in the bed frame. On double-sided tape around the bedposts, "only rarely bugs get stuck," according to Test.de. Some would also "blow dry" the bed frame or use steam cleaners – the hot air could "actually kill some animals", reports Stiftung Warentest; but the air vortices could spread the bugs around the room. In addition, wood in particular is a poor conductor of heat and the bugs can still survive right next to the heated area. The conclusion of Stiftung Warentest: Most home remedies do not work.
Getting rid of bed bugs at home is not so easy. (Symbolic image) © perspektive/Imago
Stiftung Warentest: What helps with bed bugs
"In the case of a bed bug infestation, only an exterminator can help," according to the Test.de. But it can sometimes take a while to get an appointment with a professional pest controller. Until the professionals arrive, you can "at least contain" the parasites - here are some tips from Stiftung Warentest on what measures you should take in the meantime.
- According to Test.de, duvet covers, mattress covers, towels, curtains and clothes should be "washed at 60 degrees or run through the dryer".
- If you find bed bugs in your home, Stiftung Warentest also recommends freezing heat-sensitive textiles, books or bedside lamps in tightly closed plastic bags for three days "packed as airy as possible".
- Items that do not tolerate strong heat or extreme cold should also be stored in garbage bags or plastic boxes with lids, according to the advice Test.de. "The smooth walls of the boxes prevent bedbugs from crawling out."
- The bed should also be moved far enough away from the wall so that the parasites do not "migrate". By the way, the bed bugs can also be found in the smallest columns of wallpaper, behind pictures, in alarm clocks or behind light switches.
- The vacuum cleaner could be used to get bedbugs and eggs out of the cracks, according to the article by Stiftung Warentest. However, the vacuum cleaner bag should then be "packed in a plastic bag, frozen or thrown away just outside the apartment".
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No more mold spores: How to recognize bed bugs
Bed bugs are quite easy to recognize: They are rusty red to dark brown, as dpa describes, but their legs and antennae appear "rather yellowish". Her body is "extremely flat and only four to six millimeters long." Bed bugs also can't fly. From a distance, they might initially be mistaken for mold spores.