Escape from bed bugs with a hammock bed
If you’ve had the unfortunate bad luck of being bitten by bed begs at night, chances are you will do anything to get rid of them. And this process can be very expensive. However, one of the cheapest and easiest things you can do right away is ditch your current mattress and buy a hammock bed. Here’s what to do in 4 easy steps.
one. Assess the severity of the problem
If you only found a couple of bugs, you may not need to get rid of your bed. However, if you found several, they are likely living on your mattress. Just killing a few on the surface and hoping you’re okay isn’t a great plan, as bed bugs can survive for up to 550 days without food. If the infestation is minor, you can purchase an insect-proof mattress cover to trap the bed bugs inside and prevent others from hiding in the mattress. However, if it’s bad, you’ll want to cut your losses and throw the bed all together.
two. Buy a hammock bed
A hammock works as an excellent bed replacement for an infested home for a number of reasons. First, it is not connected to the ground, so it is almost impossible to get bitten, as a mistake would have to scale the wall and then the support ropes to catch you. Second, unless you buy a cotton hammock, you can easily wash it to kill any insects. Or better yet, just tie the ends (pat dry) and place on a “high heat” drying cycle for 10-15 minutes. Sustained heat will kill the bed bugs along with any other insects you can think of. A nylon hammock is a great option here, as the fibers are more durable and resistant to heat and humidity than a cotton hammock. Lastly, they are incredibly comfortable. Sleep a few nights in a large woven hammock and you may never want to go back to your mattress.
3. Spread diatomaceous earth (DE) along doorways and room edges
Forget all the poisonous chemicals or “bait” traps. This cheap, safe to eat / eat (seriously, not you want to) is amazing. ED is essentially a chalky white powder that kills bed bugs, cockroaches, and other insects by drying out their exoskeleton until they finally die. All they have to do is walk on the dust once and within 10 days at the most, often in 2 or 3 days they will die.
Four. Caulking of holes and outlets
Bed bugs are sneaky creatures and love to hide for long periods in mattresses, walls, and any crevices they can find. So while you’re busy chalking floors with DE, keep them from leaking by sealing any cracks you might have in the walls, the floor, or even the small gap between an outlet cover and the wall. That way they will have nowhere to go and will eventually get trapped and die.
Bed bugs suck. But with the right steps and a little hammock escape, you can get rid of them and keep your sanity at the same time. Best of luck!