How to Kill Bed Bugs in Upholstered Furniture

In this age of worldwide travel and an increase in goods coming from other countries, the bed bug problem has escalated. Bed bugs can come into your home attached to your suitcase or even on new clothes purchased from a reputable store. When bed bugs infest your upholstered furniture, the problem is a little bit harder to control. Getting rid of bed bugs takes persistence and attention to fine detail.

Vacuum cleaner
Hot steam machine
Wood putty

Instructions

- 1
  Vacuum all upholstered items. Use the attachments to get in all the crevices. Pay special attention to folds in the fabric and areas behind buttons. If there is wood on your furniture, vacuum in any crack or crevice areas.
- 2
  Empty the vacuum immediately. Do it outside, and if your vacuum has a bag, seal the bag and put it in your outside garbage.
- 3
  Put all small pillows from your upholstered pieces in the dryer on hot for 20 to 30 minutes. Larger pillows that do not fit in the dryer may be taken to a dry-cleaner. Bag the pillows and be sure to tell the establishment that they are infested. Some dry-cleaners may refuse to clean the items, so you may want to check before you take your pillows in.
- 4
  Use a hot steam machine on your furniture. The steam will have to reach a temperature of 125 degrees to be effective. Repeat this process in another week to be sure you have killed all the eggs. Steam all areas -- even wood -- but test in an inconspicuous area to make sure that wood will not be damaged by the steam.
- 5
  Fill any cracks in the wood with wood putty. Bed bugs may hide in these tiny areas and lay eggs.
- 6
  Call a pest control company to intervene if these steps are not successful. If this does not solve the problem, you may have to get rid of the infested piece.

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