In order for these techniques to work, you cannot let down your guard. You have to keep at it so that any bed bugs you didn’t clear in your initial cleaning (yes, you missed some. It’s virtually impossible to completely clear a house on the first try) will get eradicated in the follow up.

Here’s how you do it.

• Don’t let clutter accumulate anywhere. Continue washing and drying your clothing on hot – then sealing the dry clothing in Ziploc bags. Anything that can’t be washed on hot has to be dry cleaned, or tossed in a hot dryer for one cycle.

• Keep dirty laundry in a sealed plastic container until you wash it. Don’t pile dirty laundry on chairs, the floor, or the bed.

• Vacuum the floor, furniture, baseboards, carpet every few days.

• Check your white bedsheets for any signs of spotting or blood.

• Check the isolation of your bed every few days. That means making sure the double sided tape is still sticky, replenishing the petroleum jelly, making sure the bowls still have soapy water in them, and sprinkling a new, light layer of DE inside your perimeter.

• Continue to sprinkle DE along the edges of your carpet, baseboards, and around furniture.

• Don’t accept any used furniture or clothing. I know it’s hard to resist a great deal at a garage sale or thrift store. But used items are a great way for bed bugs to travel, and you don’t want to risk them in your home.

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