Preventing bedbugs in your own home
Let me be honest: preventing bedbugs is not easy. They are small, clever and can get in anywhere. But with the right measures, you can significantly reduce the risk. I'll explain what I always advise my clients.
Regular Inspection: Your Best Defence
I advise everyone to inspect the bed every few months. Sounds excessive? Perhaps. But if you detect bedbugs early, you prevent a major infestation. And believe me, it will save you thousands of euros and months of misery.
What do you check? Lift your mattress and inspect the seams on both sides. Look closely at all folds and creases. Check the underside of your mattress (they are often there). Inspect the headboard, especially if it is upholstered or made of wood. Look in the cracks of your bed frame and slatted base.
Look for black dots (their poo), blood spots, molting skins or the critters themselves. See anything suspicious? Call me immediately.
Bed bug-free covers: Your Best Investment
This is my tip number one for prevention: buy a good bed bug-free mattress cover. Note: it should be a FULL cover that completely encloses the mattress with a zip. Those cheap toppers or simple covers won't work.
Why does this work so well? If you already have bedbugs (without knowing it), they cannot escape from the cover to bite you. They die in the cover within a year. And if you don't have bedbugs, new bedbugs cannot hide in your mattress.
A good cover costs between 30-80 euros. Sounds expensive? A professional bedbug control costs 500-2000 euros. You do the maths.
Tidying up and vacuuming
Clutter is your enemy with bedbugs. Because the more stuff you have lying around, the more hiding places bedbugs have. I see it often: bedrooms full of boxes, clothes on the floor, piles of magazines. Perfect for bedbugs.
My advice: keep your bedroom as minimalist as possible. Vacuum regularly, including under the bed. Store clothes in closed cupboards. Use plastic storage bins instead of cardboard boxes.
And another tip: move your bed a bit away from the wall. Bedbugs often climb to your bed via the wall. If there is space in between, you make it harder for them.
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Travel tips: This is how to check your hotel room
You know what I often hear? “Johan, I just got back from holiday and now I have bedbugs.” Travelling is by far the biggest cause of bedbugs in the Netherlands. And it does not matter whether you sleep in a 5-star hotel or a budget hostel - I have seen bedbugs everywhere.
Check your Hotel Room: My 5-Minute Routine
ALWAYS do this when you arrive at a hotel, before unpacking your bags:
Step 1 - Parking suitcases safely: Do NOT put your suitcase on the bed or floor. Use the luggage rack (check that first too) or put them on the tiles in the bathroom. Bedbugs do not like to climb over slippery surfaces.
Step 2 - Bed inspection: Remove the sheets from the bed. Check the mattress seams - especially at the headboard. Lift the mattress and check the bottom and the box spring underneath. Look carefully in all the folds. Look for black specks, blood stains or the bugs themselves.
Step 3 - Headboard check: Lift the headboard off the wall (if possible). Check the back and fixing points. Look in all the cracks and seams of the headboard.
Step 4 - Furniture all around: Check bedside tables (especially the back and bottom). Look behind paintings by the bed. Inspect the chair or armchair in the room.
Do you see ANYTHING suspicious? Immediately ask for another room. And not a room next door - bedbugs spread between rooms. Ask for a room in another part of the hotel, or book another hotel.
When you get home: The Critical Moments
This is where many people go wrong. You get home, tired from the trip, and throw your suitcase on the bed to unpack. STOP. Do this:
Put your suitcase in the bathroom, garage or on a hard surface (not on carpet). Unpack over a smooth floor where you can see everything clearly. Wash EVERYTHING you had with you immediately at at least 60 degrees. This kills all life stages of bedbugs. Stuff that can't be washed? Put them in the dryer on high (30 minutes), or put them in the freezer (at least 4 days at -18 degrees).
Inspect your suitcase thoroughly - inside, outside, all the compartments, the wheels, the handles. Vacuum out the suitcase. Leave the suitcase in the garage or shed for a few days before storing it.
Second-hand furniture: watch out for this
I get it - a nice sofa for a few tens on Marketplace is tempting. But second-hand furniture is a major risk for bedbugs. Just last week: a customer bought a vintage armchair. Two weeks later, she had a full-blown bedbug infestation. Learn from her mistake.
The Complete Inspection Checklist
If you buy second-hand furniture, inspect it GRUNDY before bringing it inside. And I mean really thoroughly:
Check all seams and creases: For upholstery: inspect every seam, crease and crack. Use a torch and look in all dark corners. Check under all cushions and in the crevices between cushion and armrest.
Bottom and back: Turn the furniture over. Check the underside - this is a favourite hiding place. Remove the dust protector at the bottom if there is one. Look behind the furniture if there is dust or cardboard stapled to it.
Wood parts: Check all cracks and holes in the wood. Bedbugs like to hide between wood joints. Pay attention to screw holes and fixing points.
Look for traces: Black specks (droppings) on the fabric or in cracks, reddish-brown spots on the upholstery, small brown sheaths (shedding skins), the bugs themselves (especially in folds and seams).
Treatment Before Bringing it In
Even if you don't see anything, are you playing it safe? Here are your options:
Heat: If you can (summer, good weather), leave the furniture in full sun for a week. Wrap it in black plastic - this intensifies the effect. Within 48 hours at 50+ degrees, all bedbugs die. Or hire a heat blower and treat it in an enclosed space (garage/barn).
Cold: In winter? Leave the furniture outside for a week in the freezing cold (at a minimum of -18 degrees). Four consecutive days of freezing is enough.
Steam: Hire a professional steam cleaner. Treat ALL surfaces, seams and cracks with hot steam (at least 80 degrees).
Professional: The safest option? Call me. I can treat the furniture before you bring it inside. Costs a fraction of what a full bedbug control would cost.
Furniture to avoid
Some second-hand items are extra risky. I advise against buying second-hand: mattresses (NEVER DO THIS), beds and headboards, upholstered sofas and armchairs from unknown sources, furniture from student houses or flats with a lot of turnover.
Safer are: solid wood furniture without upholstery, metal or plastic items, new mattress and bed frame (invest in these).
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If your neighbours have bedbugs
This is a common question, especially from people in flats: “My neighbours have bedbugs, can I get them too?” Short answer: yes, definitely. Let me explain how that works and what you can do.
How Do Bed Bugs Spread Between Homes?
Bedbugs are surprisingly good travellers. In flats, they spread through shared walls (through cracks and holes), electrical wires and sockets, heating pipes and radiators, and even through the corridor (they crawl under doors).
I have seen buildings where one infected flat led to problems in eight other flats. It starts slowly, but once it starts, it goes fast.
Preventive Measures
If you know neighbours have bedbugs, take these steps:
Seal all openings: Seal all cracks and holes in partitioned walls. Take extra care around electrical sockets - remove the cover plate and fill holes with insulating material. Check pipe penetrations (heating, water) and seal with sealant or steel wool.
Create a barrier: Move your bed away from the shared wall. Use bed bug-proof covers on mattress and pillow. Consider bed bug traps under the bed legs (this catches them if they try to climb to your bed).
Inspect regularly: Check your bed and bedroom weekly. Pay extra attention to the wall you share with the infected home. Find early detection means easier control.
Cooperation With Neighbours and Landlord
This is important: you don't solve a bedbug problem in an apartment complex alone. You need cooperation.
Discuss it with your neighbours - without shame or recrimination. Bedbugs are no disgrace. Report the problem to the landlord or HOA. They have duty to take action. Ask for simultaneous control of several properties. If only one property is treated, the bedbugs will come back from the neighbours.
Consider joint action: hire one professional pest controller for the whole building. This is often cheaper and more effective than individual treatments.
When there are many bedbugs in a building, I always advise: treat at least the immediately adjacent houses, even if there are no problems there yet. Preventive treatment is cheaper than fighting an infestation later.
Frequently asked questions about Bedbug Prevention
I often get these questions about preventing bedbugs. Want to know more? Feel free to call me for personal advice.
Yes, provided you buy the right one. A good bed bug-free cover should enclose your mattress COMPLETELY with a zip that closes properly. Those cheap covers or toppers that only go over the top won't work. What does a good cover do? If you already have bedbugs in your mattress, they cannot get out to bite you and die within a year. If you don't already have bedbugs, new bedbugs won't be able to hide in your mattress. Note: buy covers that are specifically 'bedbug-proof' or 'allergen-proof'. Normal waterproof covers do not work - bedbugs are not moisture.
My advice: yes. It takes you 5 minutes and can save you months of misery. I know it feels annoying, but bedbugs are everywhere - from budget hostels to 5-star hotels. They have nothing to do with hygiene or price. What I do: put suitcase in the bathroom, take sheets off the bed, check mattress seams, inspect headboard. Do I see anything suspicious? Other hotel. Don't see anything? Only then do I unpack and enjoy my holiday. That 5 minutes of prevention is worth it.
Not always, but you have to be careful. The risk depends on the type of furniture and where it comes from. High risk: mattresses (NEVER buy second-hand), upholstered sofas and armchairs, beds and headboards, furniture from student houses. Lower risk: solid wood furniture without upholstery, metal or plastic items, furniture from trusted sources (family/friends). My advice: always inspect thoroughly, treat the furniture with heat or cold before bringing it in, and if in doubt: ask me to inspect it. Costs much less than a fight afterwards.
Yes, absolutely. And this is how it often goes: you stay with someone who has bedbugs, a bedbug crawls into your bag or clothes, you come home and put your clothes on the bed or in the closet, the bedbug settles in your bedroom. Therefore my advice after staying with others: wash all clothes immediately at least 60 degrees, empty your bag/backpack completely and inspect thoroughly, items that cannot be washed? Tumble dry on high (30 min) or freeze (4 days). This is especially true if you know or suspect your host has bedbugs. But this is also wise after staying in hostels or with strangers.
Then you need to be alert, because bedbugs spread between homes through walls, pipes and sockets. What can you do? Seal all cracks and holes in shared walls with sealant. Take extra care around electrical sockets and pipe penetrations. Use bedbug-proof covers on your mattress. Inspect your bedroom weekly, especially near the shared wall. Talk to your neighbours and landlord - you won't solve this on your own. Ask for simultaneous control of the whole building. And consider a preventive inspection by a professional. I often visit flats where neighbours have bedbugs, even when there is no problem myself. Early detection is worth its weight in gold.
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