How to Remove Bed Bugs from Carpets 

Dealing with bed bugs in carpets can be a frustrating and challenging task, as these pests hide deep within fibers and along edges. Fortunately, there are effective methods to eliminate them – from natural powders like diatomaceous earth and borax to heat treatments, steaming, and thorough vacuuming.

This guide explores five proven ways to eradicate bed bugs from your carpet, ensuring a pest-free home. Whether you prefer DIY solutions or professional help, these strategies will help you tackle the infestation effectively. Let’s dive in!

How to Remove Bed Bugs from Carpets

1. Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous Earth is a safe, affordable and easy to use powder that can be conveniently used to get rid of bed bug in carpets. It’s a natural ingredient mined from decomposed organisms known as diatoms.

• The microscopic diatoms in the diatomaceous earth are sharp fragments which can easily penetrate into the body of insects including bed bugs. Once in contact with the bed bug’s body, DE powder gets through the exoskeleton and dehydrates the insect of its internal fluids causing it to die.
• To use diatomaceous earth, apply a thin layer on the top side of the affected carpet and along the space between the carpet and baseboard. The substance works within a few hours but you can allow a few days to enable more bed bugs to interact with it.

Vacuum the carpet to remove the dead bed bugs and the remnants of the powder. If you have a large infestation you may have to apply the powder several times.

I recommend using only food grade DE powder because it is safe around your kids and pets.

2. Borax Powder

Another effective treatment for bed bugs in your carpet is the borax powder and boric acid. It kills bed bugs in a mechanical action like the diatomaceous earth powder. Once in contact with the bed bug, it rips the outer shell and gets inside. This dehydrates the insect, eventually causing it to die.

• To use borax powder on bed bugs, sprinkle a sufficient amount on the carpet and the space between the carpet and the baseboard or wall. This will ensure that bed bugs that hide under the carpet get into contact with the powder as they come out.

Vacuum the carpet after a few days to remove dead bed bugs and the remains of the powder. As a precaution, do not use borax powder around kids and pets since it can cause skin irritation.

3. Heat Treatment and steaming

Treating your carpet to certain temperatures will kill bed bugs together with their eggs. One advantage of this treatment is the ability of heat to penetrate anywhere bed bugs may be hiding.

• Heat treatment will kill bed bugs even in the gap between your carpet and baseboard or wall. However, heat treatment comes with high cost for equipment and energy used.
• For this reason, you need the services of professional pest exterminators who will utilize specialized equipment to treat your carpet.

Heat treatment involves raising the temperature inside the house to levels which bed bugs, larvae and their eggs cannot survive. Before the treatment, all individuals, pets and everything that is sensitive to heat should be evacuated.

4. Steam Treatment

Steam treatment can effectively kill bed bugs and their eggs when used with a carpet shampoo and a compound that kills bed bugs. The compound of choice should however not react with the cleaning agent or stain your carpet.

• You need a heavy-duty steamer for this task. This treatment utilizes at triple action to kill bed bugs, larvae and eggs. These bed bug Steamers will be a great addition to your DIY store.

Apart from the steam and the compound, bed bugs will be crushed to death by the physical movement of the steamer brush.

5. Vacuuming Bed Bugs From Carpet 

Can I use a vacuum cleaner to remove bed bugs in my carpet? This is a common question that I encounter as a pest eradication expert.

Well, while vacuuming can help reduce the number of bed bugs in your carpet, it will not give you a permanent solution to the problem. However, vacuuming can help you achieve the following:

• Remove clusters or groups of bed bugs in a short time.
• Minimize the use insecticides in heavily infested areas that may require several treatment cycles.
• Remove bed bugs that are resistant to insecticides
• Remove isolated bed bugs.
• Eliminate bed bugs in cluttered or hard to reach places.
• Convenient removal of bed bugs from areas where it is not safe or practical to use insecticides.
• Clean the area of dead bed bugs, feces and other debris to allow easy inspection for bed bugs or proper use of insecticides.

The effectiveness of vacuuming depends on the extent of the bed bug infestation. If the infestation is severe, vacuuming will only reduce the number of bed bugs.

If no chemicals are used alongside vacuuming, new infestations will develop shortly afterwards. Thus, most pest exterminators use vacuuming as a supplement to other bed bug control methods.

A vacuum cleaner can’t just suck all bed bugs or even dislodge their eggs for your carpet. There are high chances that many bed bugs will be left on your carpet and will continue reproducing.

Even so, vacuuming is a great remedy for bed bug control. Here are some tips to help you achieve the best results when vacuuming your carpet.

• Make use of a handheld vacuum cleaner with a powerful suction. A special attachment can be used to suck the bed bugs that hide along the space between the carpet and the baseboard or wall.
• The brush of the cleaner should press gently on the carpet. Pressing too hard might brush bed bugs off the carpet without sucking them.
• You can sprinkle some diatomaceous earth powder on the carpet so that the bed bugs are picked up together with the powder. DE powder will kill the bed bugs when they mix up in the attached bag or canister.
• When you’re done, take the vacuum cleaner outside and make sure no bed bug escapes through the hose. Remove the vacuum bag carefully and seal it in an airtight plastic bag for later disposal.
• If you’re using a bagless vacuum cleaner, put the debris in a plastic bag and damp them in trash. The canister should then be cleaned with hot water and soap to kill any remaining bed bugs and their eggs. Care should be taken not to short circuit the electrical components.

Conclusion

For better results, regular vacuuming is inevitable. Usually bed bugs will cluster in their usual favourite locations. These are the areas to concentrate on during subsequent vacuuming. Plus you can keep checking your carpet regularly for any signs of bed bugs.

Experts recommend using vacuum cleaning in conjunction with heat treatment, freezing or steaming to eradicate bed bugs. This improves the overall effectiveness of your vacuuming efforts. To minimise infestation, keep your house free from cluttered stuff. Bed bugs take advantage of this mess to hide and breed.