Do I Need To Wash and Containerise All My Clothes If I Find Bed Bugs?

Did you recently find bed bugs in your home? This can send anyone into a panic. What should you do if this happens? A lot of people think they need to immediately wash their clothing and place it into containers. This is a lot of hard work, but is it really necessary?

What to do if you find bed bugs in your home

Washing and containerising your clothes is one of the actions you are recommended to take when you have an infestation. Not everyone does this though. You see, getting rid of bed bugs is a difficult task which requires many steps. If you find bed bugs and are trying to quarantine your home, then washing and containerising your clothing is just one of the steps required.

What you should also understand is that, in the greater scheme of things, it’s not very useful. The problem is that bed bugs do not usually live on your clothes. These pests like to stay as close to their food source, which is you.

That’s why you’ll mostly find bed bugs close to your bed. These pests hide in cracks around the bed. They also hide on mattresses, behind headboards, beneath bedside tables, and in electronics. Basically, they want to live as close to you as possible.

Can containerising be part of a plan to eliminate them?

This is why, if you find bed bugs, washing clothes on a hot wash and using a tumble dryer, then containerising clothes might help, but other actions are needed so you can be around others safely. You can also freeze items that are too delicate to be washed on a hot wash. In the case of bed bugs, what you’ll first want to do is wash your bedding. Do this at high heat for at least an hour. This helps to kill any bed bugs that are hiding in your sheets and pillow cases.

You’ll also want to vacuum and clean around and beneath your bed. It’s also important to closely inspect the area around your bed. Look in places where the bugs could be hiding. This includes the areas we have mentioned above. Remember, bed bugs are extremely small. They are only about the size of an apple seed, so use a torch and look over everything carefully.

Ultimately, washing and containerising your clothing is something you can do for bed bugs in the home, although it has limited effect by itself. That being said, it can help to prevent the spread of these pests. Placing clean clothing in containers stops the bugs from getting onto your clothing and being deposited elsewhere. If you’re concerned about contaminating other people with these bugs, then this is something that you may want to do. Whenever you leave the house, you can put on fresh clothes that have been in a sealed container. After all, you don’t want to spread the bugs to other places. Ultimately, you will need to eliminate the bugs, using professional help if necessary.