Bedbugs are sinister parasites that often live in mattresses and other bedding, waiting for human victims to come and snooze. Once the person is asleep, the insects pierce the unsuspecting person’s skin with their mouthparts and suck out blood. An effective bedbug trap can be made at home using about a dollar’s worth of common household items.
Before treatment is done, it’s necessary to make sure bedbugs are present. Inspections require turning over box springs and mattresses, removing bed linens, looking for bedbug droppings, and bed bugs.
The following instruction can help you to deal with bed bugs at your property, however it is better to call your local bed bug exterminator Toronto service.
- What you’ll need for this trap A plastic pet dish – look for a divide pet dish with flat bottom food bowls • Talcum powder (baby powder)
- A 1/3 gallon thermos/cooler – it should be insulated well and has a spout on the top
- A small paint brush, make-up brush or cotton ball
- Glue or masking tape
- Some fabrics
- Dry ice cubes
Turn the dish upside down and look at it. This inverted pet dish is going to be your trap. At night, the bedbugs are going to crawl up the inverted dish sides and fall down into the trough that surrounds the two round flat areas. The thermos containing dry ice is going to sit in the middle of the inverted dish straddling the flat areas.
Since the outside of the plastic is too smooth and slippery for bedbugs to climb, you should provide friction to help them climb. Cut small strips of fabric equal to the dish sides ofand glue them to the dish or completely cover the edges using the masking tape. Ensure the entire side from top to bottom is covered and also make sure there are no small spaces for bedbugs to hide under the fabric. Let the glue dry overnight or for several hours. If any glue dripped on the inside of the trap, you’ll need to clean it off.
Setting the Trap
- Use a brush or cotton ball and coat a very thin layer of talcum powder on the bottom of the grooves. Talcum powder insures the bedbugs won’t crawl up the sides and get out of the trap.
- Take the thermos to your dry ice supplier and buy dry ice. Dry ice is so cold and will burn your skin. Use gloves to pick it up, if you accidentally spill it.
- When dry ice warms up, it turns to carbon dioxide gas and pressure will build up inside the container.
Screw the thermos lid on tightly, but open the spout just a little bit to release the pressure.
- Assemble the trap. Put the inverted pet dish near the bed or sofa you think might be infested. Place the thermos on the flat areas making sure it does not touch the front or back of the dish. During bedtime or around 9 or 10 p.m., open the thermos spout to release carbon dioxide.
- In the morning, remove the thermos and see if you have caught bedbugs. Adult bedbugs are % inch and are easy to see. This trap will catch even the tiniest bedbugs that are about the size of a head of a pin. They are pinkish in color and very hard to see. If you find bed bugs, you can put the pet dish in the freezer for a few hours to kill the bedbugs.
Use Caution
Dry ice is so cold that it can damage skin, make sure you wear gloves when handling it.
Dry ice when warm releases carbon dioxide, which could cause asphyxia. Use only one trap per room and place it in a well-ventilated area.
Do not store dry ice in a confined space such as walk-in freezer or closet.
Keep out of children