Escape From Bed Bugs With a Hammock Bed

If you’ve had the unfortunate bad luck of getting bitten by bed begs in the night you’ll likely do anything to get rid of them. And this process can be very expensive. One of the cheapest, easiest things you can do right away, however, is to throw away your current mattress and buy a hammock bed. Here’s what to do in 4 easy steps.

1. Assess The Severity of the Problem

If you only found a couple bugs you may not need to get rid of your bed. If you found several however, they’re likely living in your mattress. Just killing a few on the surface and hoping you’re good is not a great plan as bed bugs can survive up to 550 days without food. If the infestation is minor, you can buy a bug proof mattress cover to trap any current bed bugs inside and prevent others from hiding in the mattress. If it’s bad however, you’ll want to cut your losses and toss out the bed all together.

2. Buy a Hammock Bed

A hammock works as a great bed replacement for an infested household for a few reasons. First, it’s not connected to the ground – so it makes it nearly impossible to get bit as a bug would have to scale the wall and then your support strings to get at you. Second, unless you buy a cotton hammock you can easily wash you hammock to kill off any insects. Or better yet, simply tie the ends together (dry) and throw it in a “high heat” dryer cycle for 10-15 minutes. The sustained heat will kill bed bugs along with any other insect you can think of. A nylon hammock is a great option here as the fibers are more durable and resistant to heat and moisture than a cotton hammock. Lastly, they’re incredibly comfortable. A few nights sleep in a large, woven hammock and you might not ever want to go back to your mattress.

3. Spread Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) Along Door Entries and Edges of Room

Forget all the poisonous chemicals or “bait” traps. This cheap, safe to eat/ingest (seriously, not that you’d want to) is incredible. D.E. is essentially a chalky white powder that kills bed bugs, cockroaches, and other insects by drying out their exoskeleton until they eventually die. All they have to do is walk over the powder once and within 10 days maximum, often within 2 or 3 days they will die.

4. Caulk Holes and Outlets

Bed bugs are sneaky creatures and love to hide out for long periods in mattresses, walls, and any crevice they can find. So while you’re busy chalking the floors with D.E. prevent their escape by sealing any cracks you might have in the walls, floor or even the tiny space between an outlet cover and the wall. That way they’ll have nowhere to go and will eventually be trapped and die.

Bed bugs suck. But with the right steps and a little hammock escape you can get rid of them and keep your sanity at the same time. Best of luck!