The Truth About Mattress Covers For Bedbugs Protection
It can feel like you’re living in a horror movie when you wake up to bedbug bites and see the pests scurrying across your mattress. So, can mattress covers for bedbugs protection put an end to your nightmare? In this article, we’ll find out how they work and what else you need to do to keep the creepy-crawly pests from biting your family.
What Exactly Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small brown insects that suck blood when their hosts sleep, and they are known for hiding in crevices, especially in mattresses/beds, bed frames, and head boards. These pests are difficult to see as they only come at night to feed.
How Bed Bugs Get into Mattresses
Heat and the carbon dioxide we breathe attract bed bugs. Once they’ve found a living host, they typically hide in close proximity of their host, such as in mattress seams, bedding, or furniture. Mattresses are perfect hiding spots for bed bugs because the fabric and filling offer so many cracks and crevices to wedge themselves into and lay their eggs.
How Do Mattress Covers Protect Against Bed Bugs?
Mattress covers, or encasements as they are also known, are basically bug proof zipper covers that protect beds. Some of their versions are made exclusively to keep bedbugs in the mattress and prevent others from going in.
Bed Bug Proof Encasement’s
To really be effective in combating bed bugs, it is important to use a mattress cover that is specifically marked as “bed bug proof,” made of tightly woven fabric that bed bugs cannot bite through and with zippers designed to securely trap and keep bed bugs from escaping or entering.
How Encasement’s Trap Bed Bugs
If there are already bed bugs in your mattress, using an encasement will keep them trapped inside. The bugs that get trapped will eventually die from starvation since they won’t be able to reach the surface to bite you. And, if your mattress is already free of bed bugs, the encasement will help protect it from new infestations.
Can Mattress Covers Completely Stop Bed Bug Infestations?
A mattress cover is good when it comes to the war against bed bugs but it should not be considered as a complete solution. This is the case for several reasons.
Mattress Covers Only Guard the Mattress
Mattress encasements are designed to protect the mattress, but bed bugs can infest many other hiding spots such as bed frames, furniture and carpets. If the encasement is successful in keeping the bed bugs away from your mattress, they will still be free to live and breed in other parts of your bedroom.
Not All Covers Are Bed Bug Resistant
Not every mattress cover is made to keep bed bugs at bay. It’s important to choose a cover that is specifically labelled for bed bug protection. Inexpensive generic mattress covers may not be tightly woven enough or might have zipper gaps, that let bed bugs sneak through.
Bed bugs may live for months without consuming food.
One of the major challenges with bed bugs is that they can go a long time without feeding—as much as a year. If your encasement traps them, they won’t immediately die. In order to make sure that all trapped bugs die, an encasement must be left on for an extended period (ideally 18 months to ensure you catch any late hatching bed bugs).
Selecting a Mattress Cover for Bed Bug Protection
Selecting the right mattress cover is required to avoid bed bugs effectively. Some of the points that can help you in selecting a mattress cover are:
- Close-woven Fabrics
The encasement fabric has to be woven tightly with no space for bed bugs to pass through. Bed bugs are very small creatures, so even a small opening can give them access inside.
- Bed Bug-Proof Zippers
But the most important element of the mattress cover is the zipper. A zipper that closes tight and seals itself completely is what makes sure bed bugs cannot get in or out. Some mattress covers have even added zipper guards or locks to insure there is no gap in the closure.
- Waterproof Protection
A lot of mattress covers that are bed bug-proof have the bonus of being waterproof, too. That way, your mattress is totally covered from spills and stains and other possible damages that could happen.
- Bed Bug Protection Certified
Look for mattress covers that say that are certified by entomologists in the pest control industry. That’s going to work for you if you can verify that it’s been tested against bed bugs.
Other Ways of Protecting Your Home from Bed Bugs
In addition to a bed bug mattress cover, there are a few ways you can make sure your home doesn’t become infested with bed bugs.
1.Check Your Furniture Regularly
Since furniture can harbor bed bugs, it is prudent to examine any bed, couch, or chair that you regularly sleep or sit in for signs of bed bug infestation. You can suspect that bed bugs are present if you notice a tiny brown stain on the sheets, the molted skins, or the minuscule eggs.
- Wash Bedding Frequently
Hot water washing of the sheet, pillowcase, and blanket will kill bedbugs. Bedbugs are sensitive to temperature. Regular washing at 40 degrees C and drying for 30 min (in a dryer) on high heat kill all bedbug life stages.
- Vacuum regularly.
This may seem strange to you if you have never heard about it before, but vacuuming even your bedroom, including carpets, furniture, and mattress seams, can be a good approach to getting rid of bed bugs and their eggs. Do not forget to empty the vacuum bag or container after using it promptly since bed bugs may survive in it.
What to Do If You Already Have Bedbugs
Mattress covers alone don’t do the trick if bed bugs have already infested your home. Here are some other steps you may want to take to get rid of bed bugs.
- Call A Pest Control Professional
There is no doubt that the best eradication method to tackle them correctly would be connecting with professional pest control bedbug exterminator. Professionals have the gear and use the best treatments for bed bugs. These include sprays, heat methods, or freezing techniques.
- Declutter Your Living Space
These bugs may seek shelter in a mess so cleanliness and orderliness of the house is a must. You reduce their places for hiding in return, and you can also easily see if there is an infestation.
- Seal Cracks and Crevices
They will want to hide in any crack and groove in your home. For that matter, seal any gap in the walls, floors or furniture. That is to prevent the bed bugs from spreading further and also make handling the bed bug infestation easier for you.
Final Thoughts From Maximum Team
Mattress covers are an investment in the fight against bed bugs, but not a cure. A mattress cover designed to prevent bed bug infestations can help isolate and protect you from the bed bugs that are already hiding in your mattress.Plus, hopefully they can keep any new ones from making a home there as well.
However, it is important to use other preventive measures, such as keeping things clean, in order to be protected throughout your dwelling. Enlist the help of pest management professionals as part of a multi-faceted strategy to help prevent bed bugs.
