Can Bed Bugs Return After 2 Years?
If you have been successfully rid of bed bugs in your home, you may wonder if they can return after two years. After all, they can reproduce quite rapidly and can continue to feed on your home’s bedding for many years. Fortunately, there are several ways you can keep them from coming back. For starters, try reducing clutter, which will keep the bugs from finding new hiding places. If you’re able to, get rid of any encasements that might be attached to your mattress.
You can try keeping a light on, but bedbugs will not be disturbed by it. This is because they are nocturnal. They don’t feed during the day. The temperature in your room also impacts their activity. If the temperature falls, they’ll enter a dormant state to conserve energy. Similar to how mammals hibernate, bedbugs can go months without feeding.
Another way to keep bed bugs from coming back is to monitor your house regularly. It’s impossible to get rid of them completely, but regular checks will help keep them at bay. It is especially important to monitor the larger your home is, because larger homes tend to hide more bugs. A simple DIY treatment may kill a bedbug infestation, but it may not completely get rid of them.
If you want to get rid of bed bugs once and for all, you can buy plastic encasements to cover your box springs and mattresses. Make sure to buy one that has a bedbug-proof zipper. These covers are made to close too tight for bedbugs to go through, so it’s important to make sure they stay on your mattress for at least a year to be effective. In addition, you should perform regular inspections and vacuuming to keep your home free of bedbugs.