What is your biggest nightmare when you go to sleep? While ghosts and paranormal activities make good reasoning, be assured that bed worms are an even bigger threat. Nobody wants to experience these crawling critters all over their body, making sleeping a difficult task throughout the night. If you are in the same boat, be assured that things aren’t always as complicated as they look.
Knowing how to get rid of bed worms can easily correct the problems and ensure optimal cleanliness and hygiene around the house. But, the problem is that many people either don’t have any idea about these insects or don’t know the steps involved to get rid of them for good from the house.
This article will highlight all that you need to know about bed worms and the easy ways to get rid of them for good.
Also read: How To Get Rid of Head Lice?
Table of Contents
What are the Different Types of Bed Worms?
When it comes to bed worms, you might think that there’s one variety to it. But, that isn’t the case at all. Instead, there are a few different types of bed worms that can easily infest your home. This article will highlight all that you need to know concerning the same.
1. Carpet Beetle Larvae
The carpet beetle larvae are hands down the most common type of bed worm, one that infests home very quickly. They are found in abundance around you and have a staple carrot shape. Although they are quite small in size, they are highly potent and can inflict irrevocable damage in no time at all.
2. Clothes Moth Larvae
Other common types of bed worm that you should look out for are the clothes moth larvae. They are typically transmitted via clothes and multiple at an alarming rate. They will cut and bite through the pieces of clothing, further making them highly susceptible to risks and damages pretty quickly.
3. Pinworms
Last on the list are pinworms. These are very difficult to spot with the naked eye, especially because of their white and transparent appearance. They are intestinal parasites and will affect your health, unlike the other ones that tend to keep to themselves and mostly cause rashes and hives on the skin.
List of Ways to Get Rid of Bed Worms
Once you are aware of a possible infestation of bed worms in your home, the next thing that you need to do is find ways of elimination. Since they divide so rapidly, it isn’t surprising that controlling them is nothing short of a headache. Not only do you need to look into the modes of elimination, but you also need to focus on ensuring that they don’t return and cause an even bigger infestation in the house.
1. Air Out your Dirty Laundry
Typically, we aren’t talking about your gossip and discussions. We are asking you to clean and air out the dirty laundry you have lying around. This is because most of the bed worms entering your home are via the clothes you wear outdoors. You bring the worms inside, lay around the house, and spread it even further. So, while it is not easy to air out your mattress in the open to get rid of the worms, what you can do is clean out the dirty laundry, so it is easier for you to get rid of the same without any issues.
Exposing the dirty laundry in the sun also helps to an extent. Just ensure that you leave it under the direct sunlight for a few hours and then bring it in and put it in the washer directly.
2. Vacuum the Bed
So, now you are tired of the constant bites and ticks from the bed worms. You know for a fact that you have some of these creepers in your bed, around the cracks, and nestled deep into the mattress. However, this is where you need to step up your game.
Vacuuming, especially with steam or an extra hot blast of air, can help you reach deeper into the mattress and kill any of the existing worms that are likely inside and multiply at an alarming rate. The process is quite tedious, but be assured that you can deep clean the mattress with the correct methods and not have to regret the steps you have to take around.
Once you are done cleaning, invest in a good quality waterproof mattress cover to protect and shield the mattress from future infestations, often what happens with most bed worm situations.
3. Be Vigilant About the Cracks
You might not pay close attention to the cracks and crevices around the house, but that is where most of the infestation spreads from. The cracks of your bed and even around the mattress are where the bed worms typically lay their eggs in. Those areas are secured, not to mention that they are hidden, making it safer for the eggs to hatch without getting destroyed.
However, finding these cracks and crevices with an infestation is crucial. It helps you tend to the problems with better vigilance and ease.
Once you find these infested cracks, what you can do is spray them down with a blend of essential oils like peppermint or cedarwood. The strong aroma from these essential oils is potent enough to eliminate the infestation and prevent the bed worms from frequenting these spots to lay their eggs. Just ensure that you keep these out of your pet’s reach since essential oils are often harmful to some pets.
4. Find the Host Infestation
Like any other kind of insect infestation in your home, the same applies to bed worms too. They typically infest the areas around the bed, and that’s where they start from. They find the initial spot and then rapidly multiple and create an infestation.
When getting rid of bed worms, your primary aim would be to find these areas of infestation around the house. It could be in your bed, on your mattress, or even the sofa that you have lying around in the living room.
We’d recommend checking all the major pieces of furniture that you have in the house. Once you find the most infested area, it is fair to assume that’s where most of the infestation is localized. Eliminate the infestation from the root right from there.
5. Wash Your Clothes & Bed Sheets with Hot Water
If the worms are prevalent in your laundry or the bedsheets that you are using, we’d recommend that you find all those infested fabric pieces and then clean and wash them rigorously using hot water. Hot water kills the larvae and ensures that your clothes and bed sheets are clean of the worms and won’t return.
Once you are done washing them, dry them out under direct sunlight for extra measure. If there are any remnant worms present, the sunlight will further get rid of the same without you needing to put in more of the extra effort.
6. Get Rid of Moisture Traits
We often don’t pay attention to damp walls and cabinets, not thinking much about it. However, this is where the infestation stems from. The accumulated moisture around these spots leads to crucial risks of infestation, making it very difficult for you to control the pests and insects from infesting inside your home.
Dampness will also lead to damage and even contribute to excess food supply to the infesting colonies of the bed worms.
So, to get rid of them, we’d recommend that you find these moisture-prone spots around the house and then clean them accordingly.
7. Clean the Entire Bedroom
You must think that they are in your bed ONLY because they are called bed worms. That isn’t the case. They can create and expand the infestation to the adjoining areas too. Your task would be to ensure that you find all of these spots around the bedroom and then clean them out thoroughly.
It is quite an easy task but makes a lot of difference in the long run. Pick out every part of the bedroom and deep clean each spot. Look in the cracks too.
Also read: How to Get Rid of Fleas from your House?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why Do Bed Worms Appear?
Bed worm infestation happens when you get them on your clothes and bring them inside the home. They multiple quickly in warm and moist spots in the house.
Can I Get Rid of Bed Worms Using Vinegar?
Yes, vinegar has potent benefits in getting rid of bed worms due to its acidic properties and pungent smell.
What Smell Do the Bed Worms Hate?
Essential oils can easily repel bed worms and kill them in the process. The strong scent from essential oils like peppermint and cedarwood is ideal.
If you were wondering how to get rid of bed worms, we hope this article gives you all the insights that you need to get going. Just ensure that you follow the steps we have mentioned for ideal results. Also, keep your dirty laundry in an isolated spot or wash them immediately to control the further spread of these bugs inside your home. Sometimes, the small steps get the most done.
