Bed Bug Solutions: Set Up Bed Bug Traps?

by | Mar 28, 2016 | Bed Bug Treatment

bedbugs

Bed bugs can quickly become a scourge on your household.  Once you have them, it can be extremely hard to get rid of them.  Devising a plan to get rid of the little blood-suckers can be quite taxing.  It’s often difficult to reach every nook and cranny of your home, which is exactly what you must do if you ever hope to extinguish this terrible menace. Can you set up bed bug traps?

bed bugs on skinWhile there are tried-and-true techniques (albeit time-consuming and painstakingly difficult at times), some people have wondered if bed bug traps exist, and whether or not these can be considered true bed bug solutions.

Should you set up bed bug traps?

The Use of Traps to Determine an Infestation

First and foremost, bed bugs traps are an effective way to find out if you have any.  Once the trap is set, your job is very simple.  All you have to do is wait.  Even if you find only one in a trap left out overnight, at least you’ll know to be on the lookout for others and begin to strategize what do do next.  Capturing a live beg bug can even help a doctor determine the type of bite you’ve experienced, if that has been an issue.

Do Traps Work as Effective Bed Bug Solutions?

Many homeowners turn to bed bug traps as a way to dispose of a bed bug infestation.  Bed bugs are attracted to the carbon monoxide and heat that we give off and traps take advantage of this.  Once a bed bug has been lured into a trap, it emits pheromones to bring other bed bugs, and then more are trapped.

There are two types of traps that offer bed bug solutions, passive and active:

  • Passive — These traps are designed to catch bed bugs as they travel between their hiding spots in the nooks and crannies of your home and your bed.  They consist of two small bowls, one inside the other.  You place a trap under each leg of your bed and as the little blood-suckers make their way either on of off the bed (remember, they can’t fly), they become trapped.
  • Active — The idea behind these traps is to lure the bed bugs out of their hiding places rather than wait for them to come out on their own accord.  Small amounts of carbon monoxide and heat are emitted from the traps, and once the bed bugs have climbed up the shallow sides, they become trapped.

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