To bed bugs, your bed is the dinner table and you are the main course! They hide inside your mattress and once you fall asleep, they begin to feed.
Throughout this site, you’ll find a ton of visitors explaining how they finally discovered bed bugs inside the mattress, but only after tearing it apart – a bed bug mattress cover can prevent that. It’s the first step to a good nights sleep!
You need an encasement that covers the entire mattress, not just the top. It should not have any holes and should zip tight to prevent escape. Sense you are getting an encasement, you might as well get one that is waterproof and blocks allergens also.
A mattress cover is just one step in getting rid of bed bugs, you also need to use bed bug spray or/and create a perimeter around your bed using bed bug dust.
We have a great list of places these bugs like to hide out in, so make sure to visit our bed bug checklist before treatment.
The most important step is to get a bed bug mattress cover that completly seals the mattress. It’s unrealistic to think you can keep your mattress without one! Most important step in getting rid of them!
Hi GK,
It is a nightmare and yes, the mattress covers will help keep the bed bugs from entering or leaving your mattress. Over a period of many months, the bugs trapped inside the cover will begin to die, so you’ll only have to worry about those around your sleeping area. You can get inexpensive mattress covers at Wal-mart and other big chain stores, the key is to look for covers that prevent dust mites and seal completely; it’s like buying a t-shirt, both made in the same place, but one has a brand name on it, so it’s more expensive yet both do the same thing!
As for the rest of you house, use food grade diatomaceouse earth (called DE) along with cleaning. Read the Do It Yourself success stories on this site and you’ll see that DE, Mattress encasement and cleaning were key to being bedbug free!
The bed bugs are not contagious but they can get on your cloths and make their way into your home. Once there, they multiple, fast! Sorry to hear the pest control guy is so laxed about the whole thing!
Your best bet is to spend some time reading the success stories on this site!
Hi all- is there anyone out there that has a foolproof plan of treatment for bed bugs? we discovered them 3 days ago on 2 mattresses in the house, called an exterminator known for treating bed bugs straight away, he sprayed chemicals & said those 2 beds were infested so we chucked those 2 mattresses & box springs.
The pest control guy seems to be very lax about the whole thing, i haven’t seen it anywhere else in the house, but there seems to be a big hype about them being highly contagious and getting onto clothing, right now i have all clothes & linen from the entire house (not that big lol) in garbage bags.. what should i do next???
I was told to get bed bug mattress protectors but i’m not sure which ones to get & all these things are very costly so i wanna know if we’re shelling out the $ for it that they are good, any recommendations? this whole thing is one big nightmare!
Please help.
Thanks
gk
we found out we had bed bugs at the end of August, and we called an exterminator right away, he first set a bug bomb off then came back for multiple treatments and for four months no one has been getting bitten until yesterday. I found a bed bug on my sock. WHEN WILL THIS NIGHTMARE END???
My husband and I moved in a home where the last tenants had a dog & left a mattress in the home that was infested with bed bugs. After throwing out the mattress and cleaning the house up & down my kids seen 3 in their room where the infested mattress was. Well we freaked out immediately, throw out 2 good mattresses & box springs and called Orkin. Orkin gives free estimates, the found them in 2 rooms, had us bag all worn clothes in zip bags after putting them in the dryer, then charged $600 just for the 2 rooms. Well after wasting $600 on Orkin and still not allowing our children to go into the 2 rooms.
We were finding bites on everyone in the house, either coming from the living room or the master bedroom where us and our 5 kids were sleeping until we were able to buy more beds for the children. Orkin charge to come back out no warranty! I called a recommended pest control who charges $150 to treat the whole house, carpet, & furniture who was kind enough to charge $100 cause we just got screwed out of $600 he sprays the house & come back out 2 weeks later sprays again then every 2 months for 4 more treatments at $30 each with a warranty. We also got mattress covers. Its been ok so far, let’s keep our fingers crossed cause the thought of them biting my kids/babies at night was making me have emotional breakdowns, extremely depressed. Remember, brush and flip your mattresses every 3 months, if possible get a mattress cover, and until you finish treatments everything you and your kids wear, wash or put in the dryer immediately.
Don’t waste your money on the big names small pest control companies will do more for less & will get the job done especially for recommendations to get their name known, big companies don’t care they are already known, and will charge u a arm & leg with no warranties on things they know may come back.
When you put the plastic mattress cover on, also put a washable mattress pad 16.00 over the plastic cover for comfort. I recommend putting a zipper plastic cover on the base after treating it. use tape to secure and check for any holes since the plastic cover can rip whether cheap or expensive. I bought some for 7.50 each at a store in NJ called Marburn Curtains, they even have plastic and cloth zippered covers for pillows. If you cant afford a mattress pad then used a second fitted sheet and an extra comforter. Put the legs of the bed in a small container or those small furniture coasters/gliders with food grade DE. or secure duct tape with the sticky side out wrapped around the legs of your bed . I use only white or very light colored fitted sheets now.
In August 2011 I went against everything I believed in and bought a used sofa and even though I was skeptical and said to the guy,”I hope I am not buying a chair with bedbugs.” I didn’t even know what to look for b/c I never saw a bed bug before but heard that they are a big big nuisance. He delivered the sofa and in about 3-4 weeks maybe earlier we started seeing what looked like mosquito bites on my 2yr old twin and my oldest daughter. I kept praying that it wasn’t bedbugs.
I was unable to sleep b/c something was also biting me at nights in the said sofa and kept searching the house for any signs of bedbugs. On the morning of 9/10/11 about 5 am I went in to my daughters room and saw a brownish reddish bug trying to run away , Man I freaked ,I knew right away it was a bed bug. We bombed the entire house and sprayed the furniture/mattress , but further research made me aware this was not going to be effective, so I read several forums of other experiences and decided to order food grade DE which I received 9/16. I vacuumed , wash and put what I couldn’t wash in the dryer for 1 hr and then tied them in plastic garbage bags. I put DE down and vacuumed after 48 hrs and put more DE down. I got little plastic containers and put DE in it and put the legs of the bed in it. I put plastic zippered bed covers on both the mattress and the base of every bed in the house and taped the zippered area as a precaution. I of course threw out the sofa immediately.
No on has gotten bite since 9/10. I found 3 bugs 2 days after putting down DE they died within 24hrs of coming in contact with the powder. Around 5:30 am 10/1 a bedbug crawled up on the beige sofa I was sitting in (I had moved another beige sofa that I had to the same spot the infected couch was in , after treating the area ) I caught it and put it in some DE. It crystallizes and dies within 24 hrs. On 10/13 another bug covered in powder crawled up on the couch and unto a pillow by my head 1 am (I am always using my laptop in that room while watching the girls and fall asleep there most nights at about 3am.) I caught it and it also died within the 24hr time frame. I still vacuum and wash and dry daily but the DE made it easier for me to relax a little. No One has gotten bitten since 9/10/11.
I strongly recommend Food Grade DE for bed bugs.
Will never feel comfortable sleeping again, sitting in a movie theater or basically anything since they are everywhere!!!! Have only seen three bugs but have found several larvae looking things in shoes under my bed, in shoe boxes under my son’s bed and in a board game under my other son’s bed.
Tore everything apart and have used lots of spray and bombs. The bombs did not kill the larvae under bed and I feel like I will forever be spraying poison all over our beds and floors. Plan to get diatomaceous earth and pray that it works. They say everything has a purpose but I would really love to know what is the purpose of bed bugs and all the other blood suckers because they make my skin crawl.
I have bought vinyl mattress covers for my son’s beds but am not sure what I can do for mine and my husbands $3000 sleep number bed!!!! Really freaked and annoyed!! Any ideas for future protection for our mattress? Feel like if any of my friends find out that no one will want to be around us for fear of getting them. Would rather die from poisoning than have bugs!!!!
Hi Mark,
I don’t sell anything here, I simply point out the best deals found on eBay that have free shipping – most stores sell their products on eBay for cheaper or the same price that you would find them at the store.
By the way, you DO NOT need a new mattress for a bed bug infestation, simply a bed bug mattress cover which prevents them from getting out or in!
I would like to know if you carry king size mattress of 76 inches wide by 80 and the spring box? I need a price range of $800 or $900 per one and i need 2 sets. I prefer a firm bed bug proof mattress. How much do you charge including tax? Also, do you accept credit card as mode of payment.
Thanks
As everyone else I need all info on how to rid of these suckers… I am a mother of 3 and lived in same house for 4 yrs now not sure what was the source of getting them only thing i can think we got new was puppy who also brought..ticks and have never had a problem with them either. Its sucha scary thing and i cannot afford an exterminator and i also heard that most cannot treat them unless they specialize in “bed bugs” I am freaked out and discusted!!!! They say hygeine doesnt effect it but i cannot help trying to clean everything and well of course no luck…I also got a new couch yesterday from a friend moving and afraid it will get them becaus ei have no where to store it until i get rid or lower chances…ADVICE PLEASE!!!! will any mattress cover work I will tape seams JIC dont care about comfort my bed already sucks haha :) I was hopeing to replace it with income tax but wanna get rid of this stuff before it ruins that too I have small storage shed and i am bagging item not used to put in there to gather heat and kill any that may be in items.. I dont believe i have them severe but dont want it to go that far
When you’re searching for a mattress cover, consider a barrier cover made from tightly-woven 100% certified organic cotton and closes with a heavy duty zipper. Unlike similar synthetic products, covers like these are soft, breathable cotton barriers and offer a more healthful sleep.
i have found “zippered” matress covers just this past weekend at wal-mart for 9.95$ there is hope promise. i do not make a lot of money and this was the cheapest way to do it. i did however put tape all along the zippers because i wasnt sure if they could get out of there.
Pls help i am an unemployed single mother of two my kids sleep with me 1yr&5yrs old they wake up withnew littlle black marks on them daily ,i cant afford most treatments mentioned are there any charitable exterminators out there willing to help?
Why would anyone want to sleep on a vinyl cover?
Talk about fixing one problem, but end up with having another problem, sweating to death!
hi my name Sarah l Binnick and I have a serious case of bed bugs.
I can not afford the mattress covers and need help please! I get bites on my legs and it seems I can’t do anything about it. I live in apartment.
yours truly,
Sarah
Hello I am independent dealer which was founded in 1999, originally focused on providing mattress sanitizing services, We did so after discovering that the mattress cleaning and sanitizing business was a mature industry in Europe which began in the 1980′s. Our further market research revealed that there were no similar, dry and chemical free services being performed anywhere throughout North America. The only somewhat related services targeting the problems of mattress contamination was being done by a few carpet cleaning companies and only in very rare instances did they promote this service due to the inherent problems encountered when using the same equipment used on carpets to clean and sanitize the mattress. Please get back with me if you need further information about going “Green”!