There are few things as embarrassing as waking up covered in red blotchy bites that take weeks to fully go away.
If you have recently acquired second hand furniture, moved into a new residence or if you work in the hospitality industry, you could have been exposed to something without realizing it and brought this into your home accidentally.
We're talking about bed bugs.
These little devils were pretty much eradicated in the 1950s but as populations increase and more people turn to second hand furniture as the economy struggles, there has been a significant boom in their population.
This isn't limited to areas you think bugs are more likely to be like warm, heavily populated cities.
Minnesota, where the weather isn't particularly great all year and the population isn't enormous, has recently been massively infested in various cities.
They can and will strike anywhere.
It only takes a few minutes to determine whether or not you have bed bugs and aren't having a reaction to new laundry soap or being attacked by other insects.
Peel off your sheets and use a flashlight to inspect your mattress closely.
Bed bugs are flat and brown/yellow/red in color and fairly easy to spot.
You can also find their droppings, little yellow/brown smears, where there should be just clean cloth.
If you see them, it's time to take action immediately.
You can often stop an outbreak before it starts even if you've been bitten more than once recently.
Best Bed Bug Treatment Choices Treatment comes after identification and is easier than you think.
This isn't like cockroaches or ants and you can usually do at home treatments of various types over the course of a couple weeks before you decide to take more drastic steps.
You can usually choose what will work for you depending on a few factors.
The level of infestation and your personal views.
Not everyone likes to spray chemicals around and some people might not like certain products so the best choice can vary quite a bit.
Sprays and Chemicals Naturally when we think of any insect, we think of a nice can of spray that will annihilate them instantly.
While this can work, some sprays don't really work for this type of creature.
Before using one, consider family and pets and read all warning labels completely.
There are some "organic" sprays that may work just as well as harsher types.
Powders should also be thoroughly checked out.
Natural Treatments Believe it or not, natural treatments for bed bugs work very well.
There's certain plants that repel them, kill them and mess up the way their senses work.
These can block these pests from finding you, living in certain places, breeding or even feeding.
They become confused and often abandon your home.
This can be great but if you live in an apartment complex, keep in mind they are going somewhere.
Alert neighbors and landlords.
Traps Yes there's actually traps for little critters like this.
You set them around your bed legs or furniture legs and they try to crawl up, get trapped and starve.
The issue is some insects won't starve for months so you'll need to dispose of them.
They can be unsightly too but they do work.
They won't get rid of bugs that have already established a "residence" in furniture but combined with a repellent product, they work well.
The Professionals The odds of you needing a professional exterminator are very slim unless you're a landlord or have a large home that's infested completely.
You can probably have your landlord or apartment manager take care of this for free if you're just renting.
This can be very expensive and will require repeated treatments.
Don't let bed bugs become part of your life, get rid of them now!