Getting your home ready for bed bug treatment
Bed bugs hide in seams, cracks and clutter close to where people sleep and sit. Getting your home ready lets the treatment reach them. Please do these steps before the visit on [DATE].
Before the visit
- Strip all bedding (sheets, blankets, pillowcases, mattress pad). Put it in plastic bags, tie them shut, and wash and dry on the hottest settings the fabric allows. Keep clean items sealed in new bags.
- Bag clothing from closets, dressers and the floor the same way. Dry-clean-only items can go in a sealed bag for the technician to look at.
- Leave the mattress and box spring on the bed frame unless you are told otherwise.
- Clear the floor, especially under and around beds and sofas, so the technician can reach baseboards and furniture.
- Pull beds and furniture a few inches away from the walls if you can.
- Do not move furniture, bedding or clothes to another unit, a car or a friend's home. That can spread bed bugs.
- Do not throw out furniture without asking the office first. If something must go, the office will tell you how to wrap and remove it.
- Do not use store-bought bug bombs or sprays before the visit.
On the day
On the day of treatment, people and pets must be out of the rooms being treated until the technician says you may go back in.
After the treatment
Keep using your bed. Tell the office right away if you see bugs or new bites after treatment. Follow-up visits are part of the job.
If you need help
If you cannot do any of these steps yourself because of age, disability, illness or anything else, tell the office before the visit. Help may be available. If you react to pesticides, tell the office too.
From the Multifamily Pest Reference (multifamilypestreference.org). General guidance; follow your property's and pest professional's instructions where they differ. · Trenton S. Frazer, M.S., BCE #B3413 · Version 1.0, October 13, 2026