Can Bed Bugs Live In Wood Furniture
If you have a wooden furniture, one of your main concerns is about bed bugs possibly using furniture items as a hiding place in your home. This is a major concern for people who are looking into purchasing second-hand or used furniture because bed bugs usually enter houses this way. But the question is, can bed bugs live in wood furniture?
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are reddish-brown and flat insects and have the same size as a grain of rice. It is true that wood pieces make it easier and faster for bed bugs to hide, but eliminating a wooden furniture will not prevent nuisance bed bugs.
The fact is that bed bugs are visible, and adult bed bugs are color brown to reddish-brown, flattened, oval-shaped, and 1/4 to 5/8-inch long. Also, bed bugs usually leave reddish- brown spots on furniture and mattresses with a distinct smell.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs Infestation
Bed bugs do not chew through wood, they actually depend on corners, cracks, and small spaces as their hiding spots. That’s why it is important to be meticulous when choosing a new furniture, most especially second-hand or used furniture. Choose wooden furniture pieces with flat and hard surfaces. Check for any cracks. Intricate details usually make spotting bed bugs harder.
Be aware on how to identify bed bugs so you search them quickly and prevent their proliferation. In fact, there are some bugs that appear like bed bugs, and you need to be wary. When purchasing new pieces of furniture, or if you’re concerned about bed bugs that are already present in your furniture, you need to search thoroughly.
Break down any furniture piece that can be disassembled, clean each piece separately, and take out drawers. The signs of nuisance bed bugs include molted skins and black spotting. Inspect and cleaning items before bringing them into your home is very important.
To answer the question, can bed bugs actually live in wood furniture? Yes, absolutely! They can live in wood furniture pieces and any hiding place that they can fit and squeeze themselves into. Now, if you are concerned about your household bed bugs, consider contacting an expert or a pest management professional.
How to Get Rid of Nuisance Bed Bugs
Here are the things you’ll need to help get rid of bed bugs: flashlight, magnifying glass, very hot water, and bed bug killer spray. The first part is a proper investigation. Pay close attention to areas where people sit or sleep for relatively long periods of time.
Check all areas of the room by using a magnifying glass and a bright flashlight. Do not leave anything unturned when you’re doing your bed bug inspection. Do not ignore any site that can be a potential hiding place for bed bugs such as wall sconces, behind wall posters, behind electrical switch plates, between magazines and books on shelves and also in racks.
Check all the places near the sleeping areas, which means taking your bed frames apart. Bed bugs can also migrate to other rooms and some even travel with people. Clean all premises to make your bed bug control efforts more effective. As much as possible, strip all the beds down to their bare sleeping surface.
How to Clean and Treat Beddings and Wood Furniture
All bed sheets, bedding, comforters, covers, shams, and blankets should be washed properly in very hot water (120°) to kill the bed bugs. Your personal items like stuffed animals, blankets, and soft toys should be removed, properly cleaned with using a vacuum cleaner, and all bagged in a plastic for several weeks. Remove all clutter from bed stands and furniture tops.
Open up your phone and clock radio because bed bugs can also hide in these things. Vacuum all surfaces like dresser cavities, closets, and walls of affected bedrooms. Clothes should be removed from chests and drawers in severe infestations.
Use the crack and crevice vacuum tool for removing bed bugs from deep corners and edges such as around switch plates, under carpet edges, and under baseboards. Treat all beds by applying natural bug killer spray. Apply the bed bug spray on the folds, tuffs, and seams of your mattresses. You can also spray the underside of the box spring.
Conclusion
The shape and size of bed bugs allow them to hide in many crevices and cracks, so they can stay nearer their host during the day and search for a quick blood meal at night. Bed bugs can live in wood furniture but there are ways to prevent and get rid of them. We hope that this article was able to answer your questions about bed bugs living in wood furniture pieces. You may want to like and share this post and also comment below.
Sources
https://www.orkin.com/ask-the-orkin-man/do-bed-bugs-live-inside-wooden-beds/
https://www.arbico-organics.com/product/how-to-kill-bed-bugs/
https://get-rid-of-pests.info/where-do-bed-bugs-live-wooden-furniture/
