Should You Throw Away Your Mattress If You Have Bed Bugs?

Discovering that you have bed bugs is never a pleasant realization. You may have felt bites in the night, noticed marks on your arms, or even seen one crawling on your furniture. 

How will you sleep at night knowing that lurking bed bugs might snack on your skin? Yuck!

Your knee-jerk reaction might be to stuff that mattress into the dumpster and start spraying your home with a heavy-duty insecticide. But this probably won’t be as effective as you hope. Thankfully, you have a couple more options than tossing it in the trash. 

Is it Really a Bed Bug?

Just because you find a bug in your mattress doesn’t mean it’s a bed bug. There’s a chance it could be something else. 

Before you take any extreme measures, find a way to identify the bug and affirm that it’s what you think it is. You can do this by putting a dead bed bug in a plastic bag and bringing it to a professional pest control business. 

Once you have confirmed that bed bugs are causing your troubles, you can start identifying the most effective ways to treat them.

Health Concerns

The place where you rest your head each night should be relaxing, not worrisome. Some people are more sensitive to bites than others and may break out in a rash or hives. Bed bugs may cause an allergic reaction.

To disinfect your sheets, wash all of the fabrics in very hot water. Follow that up with a high-heat drying cycle. 

Take Caution when Purchasing a Mattress

You’ve found a great deal on a mattress and you’ve just brought it into your home. But what if you unintentionally brought something else with it—like a family of bugs?

Be careful when buying a used mattress. Inspect it beforehand for any signs of bed bug skins or eggs within the lining. 

Why Throwing Out Your Mattress Won’t Work

In reality, an infestation is rarely restricted to just your bed. By the time you notice bed bugs in your sheets, they’ve probably spread to other areas, like your living room sofa or a crack in the wall. Throwing away your mattress doesn’t address the root of the problem—bugs will simply pack their bags and find another fabric to hide in. 

Whoever takes your mattress might unknowingly bring bed bugs into their home, which will spread the infestation further.

And what will you do without a mattress? You need a place to sleep, after all. When you purchase a new one, it won’t be long until the bed bugs will find their way to that one, too, if they’re still in your home. A less expensive (and more effective) way to eradicate bed bugs is to call an exterminator. 

Schedule Professional Treatments

Here’s the good news: your mattress isn’t a lost cause. With professional pest control, you can salvage your furniture and exterminate every last bed bug that lurks within it.

You don’t want to be a late-night snack for any bed bugs that have made your mattress their home. Call Gilles Lambert, a bed bug exterminator in Winnipeg. Our same-day removal services ensure that any infestation is treated promptly and efficiently. We’ll make your mattress safe from all creepy crawlies. 

By Clint Rosevear on March 19, 2021
Learn helpful tips for dealing with pest infestations from GL Pest Control experts, including identification, prevention, elimination, and post-elimination measures.
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