Q. How do I get bedbugs?

Via hitchhiking, bedbugs can hitch-a-ride on clothing and personal items or items you purchase.

Some people pick them up while on vacations and business trips in hotels, Airbnb’s, airplanes, buses, taxis or other means of traveling.

You may pick them up at a busy office setting, a friend’s house, work, school, or any place you visit that has them.

They also can be brought into your home by guests.

For those who live in multi-unit properties with shared walls, your next-door neighbor may have them and they navigate through the wall voids into your unit.

In rare but possible cases, a maintenance worker can bring them in as well.

Q. What are the physical signs of bedbugs?

Bites are a strong indicator that bedbugs might be present, but it’s not always the best way to identify whether you have bedbugs.

Other than finding a live bedbug, these are the tell-tale signs of their presence:

Fecal Stains (Poop) – Bedbugs leave fecal (poop) droppings and stains. The larger the infestation, the more stains and droppings you’ll find. They appear as tiny “ink dots,” such as from a black marker or pen, and can be found just about anywhere. On hard surfaces that are impervious to moisture, such as tile, hard plastics, the droppings may bead up on the surface.

Cast Skins (Shed Skins) Bedbugs outgrow and shed as they grow through each stage of development and leave the old ones behind. These normally look like paper-thin, opaque duplications of bedbugs. Depending on how long you’ve had an infestation, you may find different sizes of cast skins. Each growth stage before maturity is slightly larger than the previous one.

Blood Spots (Blood Smears) In addition to bite marks, you may find rusty-colored blood spots on your sheets, furniture, and surrounding walls. After a blood meal and they retract from your skins, a small drop of blood may stain fabrics like pajamas or sheets.

Peculiar Odor (Smells) You may notice a peculiar, rusty sort of odor. It comes from the bedbugs’ defecated blood and the oxidized iron in the digested blood. These odors are usually associated with greater amounts of bedbugs and longtime bedbug infestations. However, like any scent, if you regularly spend time in the room you may become accustomed to the smell and not notice it.

Q.  How do I know if I have bedbugs?

Other than finding a live bedbug, the first indicating of bedbugs may be bites. Some people discover small bites and rash like marks when they wake. But others are not affected by their bites and can take weeks to months to realize they have them.

Again, bedbugs will leave tell-tale signs of their existence in your home. Once established, you will find shed skins, fecal stains, and blood stains. Be on the look-out for these and if your being bitten, check often.

Q. How long before I have an "infestation"?

One bedbug is not an infestation. Infestations don’t happen overnight, they take time to build. Once eggs are laid, the eggs hatch in 7 to 10 days. The new baby (nymphs) bedbugs have to go through 5 stages of development before they reach breeding adult size. This takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks.

If they are not discovered within that time, the new adults will begin breeding. Each breeding cycle yields more and more, until around six months, they now grow exponentially.

Early detection is very important to get rid of them as promptly as possible.

Q. Where are they hiding?

Bedbugs are shy, not very social, and want nothing to do with you unless they’re hungry. They prefer undisturbed hidden areas closest to their host. It’s rare to find them walking out and about unless they are searching for food or unless you have a very large infestation.

The female will normally lay her eggs as close to the host blood meal as she can. This is a survival mechanism. Her babies are very small and in order for them to survive and not dehydrate, they need to be close to a food source. They are mainly are found in edges of mattresses, boxsprings and bedding in the early or introduction stages.

However, as infestations grow, they can be found in bed frames, and headboards, night stands, dressers, tack strips and carpet edges, under or behind baseboards, window and door frames, pictures, electrical outlets, you name it.

And if you move to sleep in another room, they can wander off to find a “safe place” close to a blood meal anywhere in your home. So, stay put.

Q. Are they only active at night?

They generally feed when your deep asleep between the hours of 1:00-6:00 am but will adjust their feeding time according to hosts sleeping times. So, if you work at night and sleep during the day, they will feed during these times.

Q. I never feel them bite, is this normal?

Yes, just like mosquitos, bedbugs inject an anti-coagulant to help with the flow of blood, and an anesthetic, so you don't feel their bite.

Q. Ewe, I found a bedbug, should I throw my bed out?

Throwing your mattress out, won’t solve the problem. And certainly, do not go out and purchase a new one. If you don’t get rid of all the bedbugs in all their hiding places, you will just re-infect your new furniture.

EXCEPTIONS: (In serious infestations, or if the mattress is old, soiled or torn, -and needs replacement anyway- it might be wise to remove it from your home – however, if you do, make sure that you wrap it tight with plastic and mark it BEDBUGS before you attempt to remove it from your home. And don’t replace it until you know ALL BEDBUGS are gone).

People have been known to toss their beds on first sight of a bedbug. The problem with this is, if bedbugs are hiding in a place outside your mattress or boxsprings like the frame, headboard or night stand, they will find their way into your brand-new mattress in no time at all.

Q. My daughter won’t sleep in her bed and moved to the living room to sleep, is this bad?

Because bedbugs are drawn to our hormone odors, our warmth and the CO2 we breathe, when hungry, will wander and seek us out even if we move to another room. This is how people spread bedbugs to other places in their homes.

Stay put and install KiltronX™ products to create a barrier and kill what you have.

Q. We have bites, do we need to go to the doctor?

We’re not doctors and certainly are not giving any medical advice, but if after a few days you still have more serious reactions from the bite, we advise you to see your medical specialist.

Most bedbug bites are similar to any other parasite bite and will go away on their own. A doctor can’t tell if it is from a bedbug or another bug.

So, be kind to yourself. Avoid scratching them so that you don’t get an infection. Don’t take HOT bathes or showers, this exacerbates the itch. Use a calming lotion like calamine to soothe the itch.

Q. What’s the best prevention for my home?

Early detection of bedbug activity is the best way to protect yourself from bedbugs taking over and we find that being proactive in anticipation of it happening is best.

First - remove all clutter – bedbugs thrive and LOVE a cluttered environment. It gives them plenty of hiding places. By removing clutter and organizing items by placing them in zip lock bags, and plastic totes, will help you find bedbugs easier should you get them and keep them out of your possessions.

Repair cracks in walls, separations in wall paper, caulk spaces between baseboards and carpet and walls, and caulk windows and doors.

To avoid bedbugs in your closet: Remove hampers from closets or place a plastic trash bag in it with a twist tie to close when you put dirty clothes in it. Bedbugs are drawn to human smells and may find their way into your dirty clothing hamper in your closet.

Again, be mindful of what you bring home from second-hand stores or items friends may give you. Inspect everything before you bring them into your home.

If your have children that go to school, check their backpacks when they bring them home. And certainly, if they have overnight guests, do your due diligence.

Q. How do I keep bedbugs from getting into my clothing and luggage when I travel?

Be mindful of how you pack BEFORE your trip. You don’t want bedbugs taking up shelter in your belongings.

Obtain some large disposable bags to put your luggage in. This protects from bedbugs crawling on them while in transit. Especially ones that are placed in overhead bins in air planes.

Women, place you purses in a bag before placing them under your seats in the plane as well.

We suggest that you arrange each of your outfits separately in zip lock or any sealable bag before placing them into your luggage. This way, you can take one out at a time and when you’re done wearing them, place them into a separate bag you brought for only soiled clothing.

You can use all sizes of bags to store your luggage or other belongings in so that bedbugs cannot end up going home with you.

Q. What’s the best way to avoid hotels/motels that have bedbugs?

Great question, and one that deserves to be asked by many!

Keep in mind: any place where there is a high turn-over of people, especially sleeping, you may find bedbugs. A hotel room can be treated one day and have bedbugs the next; they are on the foot or luggage of the very next person that may rent the room.

It wouldn’t hurt to check online to see if there are “complaints” about the hotel or place you are considering going. Speak to the hotel/motel manager or the person booking your trip. If they avoid answering questions or giving you a straight answer, consider that a risk sign and seek another hotel. Make sure the place you stay is creditable and takes bedbugs seriously. [In our experience, extended stay facilities have more lasting problems].

Inspect the room thoroughly before you bring anything into the room. Place your luggage outside the room or in the bathtub while you do this. Using a LED flashlight, and a 10X magnifying glass. Pull down the bedding, checking for any signs of bedbugs including, fecal stains, skin molting’s and blood smears. Bedbugs love undisturbed headboards attached to the wall. Run a credit card between the headboard and the space between the wall to see if anything crawls out. Don’t put items inside drawers or enclosed closets unless bagged (see below for best policy instructions).

Keep bags as far away from the bed as possible. Avoid placing luggage on upholstered furniture, the floor or under the bed or the bed next to you. Inspect the luggage rack before putting your luggage on it and hang clothing in the middle of the clothing closet.

If you are only using one bed in a two-bed room, and you place your luggage on the second bed here’s what happens: After a long day of fun or business meetings, you change your clothing for dinner and place your used clothing on the second bed. If there are any hungry bedbugs, they will smell your soiled clothing and find their way to it. When you pack to leave, you place all your clothing items into the luggage. (with the hitchhikers). This is how so many people wind up bringing home bedbugs.

Q. What about when I get home?

When you return home, change your clothes and place them in a sealed bag ready for the laundry. To be extra precautionary, unpack your luggage in the garage or outside your home. Don’t bring anything into your home!

Take only soiled clothing to the laundry and leave the luggage in the garage. Wrap or place your luggage in a large garbage bag with KiltronX™ to make sure if anything made it on or in your luggage it will be efficiently killed and ready for your next trip.

As you can see, there is no way a bedbug can be brought in if you don’t bring them in!

Q. I’m on a tight budget and found beautiful furniture at my local secondhand store, should I buy it?

We suggest avoiding purchasing secondhand furniture – but if it’s too good of a deal for you to pass up - leave them tightly wrapped with KiltronX™ products in your garage for a while. Some favorite hideouts are inside dowels and screw holes of headboards and other wood furniture.

The same goes for couches and chairs. Vacuum or steam clean all parts thoroughly and wrap them in KiltronX™ and let them sit for a while before you introduce them into your home. If pillows or cushions can be removed from couch or easy chairs and can be washed, use the hottest water possible and dry on high heat.

Q. How long after spraying your product is it safe to let cats into the room?

If product is sprayed in liquid form, then it is safe for cats when the product is dry. It can take up to 4 hours to dry. Product will be a gray earth color once dry. The dry powder is water soluble and can be cleaned with a wet rag. We recommend leaving it untouched for 60 days.

Q. Does the product contain any natural oils that are toxic to cats?

No, our active ingredient is a protein and not a poison.

Q. Is it really safe to spray cat beds and let them sleep in them later? Or would it be recommended to wash the cat beds after spraying?

Yes, our products contain no poisons and are safe for animals. There is no need to spray an entire cat bed. Just spray in cracks only where bed bugs will generally hide between blood feedings.

Q. Can I use more than one discount code on my order?

Sorry, discount codes are limited to one per order.

Q. Do you ship Internationally?

Sorry, we do not ship outside of the United States at this time.