i saw a bed bug. should i throw out my bed? what do i spray to kill them. help
eviekw is right. If you truly have bed bugs, you have to throw everything out. We had a Professional Pest Service go to one of our properties where the resident had these. We had to leave the unit vacant a little while. Bed bugs feed on a host and die after 24 hours. It is an awful bad situation. They were on the people. You know how they got them? From picking up used furniture that someone else kicked to the curb.....
If you have seen one bed bug, there are lots. You should seek professional help from an exterminator - you may also notify your health department so they can keep track of any large scale bed bug problems. The people that talk about caulking and such don't know what they are talking about. Bed bugs don't search for new places to infect; at some point they are brought into the house passively (clothes, furniture, etc) and then they just happily reproduce and feed on you. I hope you can get rid of them fast! I think that just getting rid of the bed won't help, because they also go in the carpet, clothing etc. and they would just get in your new bed.
If bed bugs are located in bedding material or mattresses, control should focus on mechanical methods of control, such as vacuuming, caulking and removing or sealing loose wallpaper, to minimize the use of pesticides (Frishman 2000). The effectiveness of using steam cleaners or hot water to clean mattresses is questionable. Heat is readily absorbed by the mattress and does no harm to the bed bug in fact the moisture may produce favorable conditions for house dust mites. Pillows should be removed and dry-cleaned or replaced (Snetsinger 1997). For severe infestations, however, pesticides may be used. Care should be taken not to soak mattresses and upholstery with pesticides. Allow bedding and furniture to dry throughly before using.
If you really have bed bugs, you need to throw out the mattress, pillows, carpet. Wash the bedding with very hot water and detergent, and a little bleach.
Inside Tighten, caulk, and screen routes of entry. Store mattresses in protected areas. To prevent mouse nesting, do not fold mattresses on cots when they are not in use. Open protective harborage inside, such as wall voids, or tighten it up completely. Open cabinets. This discourages rodent nesting. Make crawlspaces accessible to predators and light. Outside Move woodpiles away from the structure. Keep weeds and shrubs away from the foundation. Eliminate garbage. Pesticide Application There is no tolerable number of bedbugs in occupied structures. Rodents found inside should be trapped or baited. Several general application pesticides labeled for bedbugs are available. Dust or spray desiccating dusts or labeled insecticides, etc. Use crack and crevice application methods to treat harborage thoroughly. Treat furniture joints. Ensure that treated tufted mattresses or depressed seams dry and are covered with bedding before they are used. Leave time for drift or droplets to settle before bedtime. Do not use space treatments or fogs. They are not effective. Check state regulations. Some laws allow the use of appropriately labeled residual pesticides for cracks and crevices. This reduces the need for repeated applications. I'd probably call a professional pesticide applicator.
