Bed Bugs in My Bed: What to Do Right Now

Last updated: April 9, 2026

By Pest Control Pricing Team

Finding bed bugs in your bed is alarming, and your first instinct may be to throw out the mattress and run to the couch. Do not do either of those things. Both reactions make the problem worse. Here is exactly what to do in the next 30 minutes to contain the situation and protect the rest of your home.

This guide covers the immediate steps you should take tonight, how to confirm what you are dealing with, why common reactions backfire, and what professional treatment actually involves. For detailed pricing, see our bed bug treatment cost guide. For a broader overview of elimination methods, see how to get rid of bed bugs.

What Should I Do Right Now?

The next 30 minutes matter. What you do right now determines whether this stays a one-room problem or becomes a whole-home infestation. Follow these steps in order.

Step 1: Do NOT throw out the mattress

This is the most common mistake homeowners make. The mattress feels contaminated, and every instinct says to get it out of the house. But bed bugs are not just in the mattress. They are in the box spring, the headboard, the nightstand, the baseboards, the electrical outlets, and the carpet edge along the wall. Throwing out the mattress removes one hiding spot while leaving dozens of others untouched. Worse, dragging an infested mattress through your hallway, down the stairs, and out the door drops bed bugs along the entire path. You have just created a trail of infestation through your home.

The mattress can be saved. Professional treatment eliminates bed bugs from the mattress, and a quality bed bug encasement (a zippered cover that seals the entire mattress) traps any remaining bugs inside where they eventually die. An encasement costs $30 to $60, far less than a new mattress.

Step 2: Do NOT spray bug spray

Grab the can of Raid, the bottle of Home Defense, the diatomaceous earth, or whatever pest product is under the sink, and put it away. Over-the-counter bug sprays do not eliminate bed bug infestations. Research consistently shows that store-bought products have a success rate under 10 percent against established bed bug populations. Here is why they make things worse:

• Repellent sprays scatter bed bugs. When you spray the mattress, bed bugs flee to new hiding spots: behind the baseboards, inside electrical outlets, into the walls, under the carpet. You have just expanded their territory.
• Bug bombs and foggers are especially harmful. The aerosol does not penetrate into the cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide. It does, however, push them deeper into walls and into adjacent rooms.
• Chemical residue interferes with professional treatment. If you spray first and then call a professional, the chemicals you applied can interact unpredictably with professional-grade products. Many exterminators will ask what you sprayed and may need to adjust their treatment plan, adding time and cost.
• Many bed bug populations are resistant. Decades of pyrethroid use have created widespread resistance in bed bug populations. The active ingredient in most store-bought sprays simply does not kill them anymore.

Step 3: Do NOT move to another room or the couch

This feels counterintuitive. The bed has bugs in it, so sleeping somewhere else seems logical. But bed bugs track the carbon dioxide you exhale. When you move to the couch, some bed bugs will follow you there. When you move to the guest bedroom, they follow you there too. Within days, you have gone from a single-room infestation to a multi-room infestation, which costs significantly more to treat.

The best strategy is to continue sleeping in the infested room after stripping and washing the bedding. This keeps the bed bugs concentrated in one area, making professional treatment more effective and less expensive.

Step 4: Strip the bed and put all bedding in sealed plastic bags

Remove every piece of fabric from the bed: sheets, pillowcases, blankets, comforters, mattress pads, and decorative pillows. Place everything immediately into large plastic bags and seal them tightly. Do not carry loose bedding through the house because bed bugs and eggs can fall off during transport.

Heavy-duty trash bags work well for this. Seal the tops with a tight knot or twist tie. Carry the bags directly to the washing machine. If you need to set them down, place them on a hard floor surface (not carpet) and away from furniture.

Step 5: Wash everything on hot and dry on highest heat for 30+ minutes

Heat is the single most effective weapon against bed bugs. All life stages of bed bugs, including eggs, nymphs, and adults, die at temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Your dryer is the key tool here.

• Wash on hot. Use the hottest water setting your fabrics can tolerate. Hot water alone does not reliably kill bed bugs, but it helps dislodge them from fabric folds.
• Dry on highest heat for at least 30 minutes. This is the critical step. A residential dryer on high heat reaches 135 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the lethal temperature. Thirty minutes of continuous high heat kills all life stages.
• Items that cannot be washed (stuffed animals, throw pillows, delicate fabrics) can go directly in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes. Or seal them in plastic bags and leave them for at least 6 months to starve out any bugs.

Step 6: Check mattress seams with a flashlight

With the bedding removed, use a bright flashlight to inspect the mattress thoroughly. Focus on these areas:

• Mattress piping and seams. Run your flashlight along every seam, fold, and piece of piping on the mattress. Bed bugs prefer tight crevices and tend to cluster along these edges.
• Mattress tags and handles. The folded fabric around tags and under handles creates perfect hiding spots.
• Box spring folds and staple points. Flip the box spring if possible. The fabric on the bottom of a box spring is one of the most common hiding spots. Check where fabric is stapled to the wooden frame.
• Headboard crevices. If the headboard attaches to the bed frame, check every joint, crack, and crevice. If it is wall-mounted, check behind it and along the mounting hardware.

What you are looking for: Live bugs (reddish-brown, flat, apple-seed size), blood spots (small rust-colored smears), fecal spots (dark brown or black dots that look like ink from a marker), and shed skins (translucent, light-brown shells). Take photos of anything you find. These will help a professional assess the severity and will serve as documentation if you are in a rental property.

How Do I Confirm These Are Actually Bed Bugs?

Before you commit to treatment, make sure you are dealing with bed bugs and not another pest. Carpet beetle larvae, bat bugs, and swallow bugs look similar to bed bugs but require different treatment approaches. Misidentification wastes time and money.

What bed bugs look like

Adult bed bugs are reddish-brown, flat, and oval-shaped, roughly the size and shape of an apple seed. They are about 5 to 7 millimeters long. After feeding, they swell up and become darker and more elongated, with a visible blood meal inside their translucent body. They do not have wings and cannot fly or jump.

Nymphs (immature bed bugs) are smaller, ranging from 1.5 to 4.5 millimeters depending on their stage. They are nearly translucent when unfed and turn bright red after a blood meal. Nymphs are harder to spot but easier to identify after feeding because the blood is clearly visible through their body.

Bed bug eggs are white or translucent, about 1 millimeter long (roughly the size of a pinhead), and slightly elongated. They have a small cap on one end and are usually found in clusters of 10 to 50 in cracks, seams, and crevices near the sleeping area.

Signs of bed bugs beyond live bugs

Even if you do not find a live bug, these signs confirm an active infestation:

• Blood spots on sheets. Small rust-colored or reddish spots on your pillowcase, sheets, or mattress. These occur when a fed bed bug is crushed during sleep or when a feeding wound continues to bleed slightly.
• Fecal spots. Tiny dark brown or black dots, about the size of a period from a marker. These are digested blood and they bleed into fabric like ink. You will find them along mattress seams, on the box spring, on headboard surfaces, and along baseboards near the bed.
• Shed skins. As bed bugs grow, they molt five times before reaching adulthood. Each molting leaves behind a translucent, light-brown shell that retains the shape of the bug. Finding multiple shed skins indicates a population that has been established for weeks or months.
• A musty, sweet odor. Heavy infestations produce a distinctive smell, often described as musty or like overripe raspberries. This comes from the scent glands on the bed bug's body. If you can smell it, the infestation is significant.

The flashlight test

Bed bugs are most active between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. If you want to catch them in the act, set an alarm for 3 a.m. and quickly turn on a bright flashlight to inspect the mattress surface, seams, and the area around the headboard. Live bugs will be visible on the surface of the mattress, feeding or returning to hiding spots. They move quickly when exposed to light but do not jump or fly.

If you are not sure whether what you found is a bed bug, place the specimen in a sealed clear bag or tape it to a piece of white paper. A pest control professional or your local cooperative extension office can identify it for free. Many exterminators offer free bed bug inspections and can confirm the species during the visit.

For more identification help, see our pest identifier tool or our detailed guide on signs of bed bugs.

Why Does Moving to Another Room Make It Worse?

This is one of the most important things to understand about bed bug behavior, and it runs completely against your instincts. When you discover bed bugs in your bed, every part of you wants to get away from them. Sleeping in a bed you know has bugs in it feels impossible. But moving to another room is one of the worst things you can do, and here is why.

Bed bugs follow you

Bed bugs locate their hosts primarily through carbon dioxide detection. Every time you exhale, you release a plume of CO2 that bed bugs can detect from several feet away. When you move to the couch or a guest bedroom, you are simply creating a new CO2 source in a new location. Bed bugs will follow this trail, traveling along baseboards, through wall voids, under doors, and through any gap that connects the rooms.

You carry them on your clothing and belongings

Beyond the bugs that follow your CO2 trail, you may physically carry bed bugs with you. They can cling to pajamas, robes, blankets, and pillows. If you grab a pillow from the infested bed and bring it to the couch, you have just introduced bed bugs to a new piece of furniture. If you sit on the couch in your pajamas before showering, any bugs on your clothing now have a new home.

A multi-room infestation costs far more to treat

A single-room bed bug treatment costs $400 to $900 for heat treatment or $200 to $400 for chemical treatment. A whole-home treatment costs $1,500 to $4,000 or more. By spreading the infestation to two or three rooms, you have potentially tripled the treatment cost. Professional exterminators charge per room or by total square footage, so every additional infested area increases the price.

What to do instead

Stay in the infested room. After stripping and washing your bedding on high heat, place clean sheets on the bed and sleep there. The bed bugs that are left in the room will continue to feed on you, but they will stay concentrated in one area. This concentration makes professional treatment faster, more effective, and less expensive.

If the thought of sleeping in the bed is unbearable, at minimum do not sleep in another bedroom. If you must leave the room, sleep in a hard-surfaced area (a recliner in the living room, for example) and place bed bug interceptor cups under the legs. These are small plastic traps that catch bed bugs trying to climb up furniture legs. They cost $15 to $25 for a set of four and provide both protection and monitoring.

Why Does Throwing Out the Mattress Make It Worse?

The mattress is the most visible location for bed bugs, but it is rarely the only location. In an established infestation, bed bugs are hiding in multiple spots throughout the room. Throwing out the mattress gives you a false sense of progress while leaving the actual infestation intact.

Bed bugs are not just in the mattress

A typical bed bug infestation involves bugs hiding in all of the following locations:

• Box spring. The fabric folds and wooden frame of the box spring often harbor more bed bugs than the mattress itself. The dark, undisturbed environment underneath is ideal for egg-laying.
• Headboard. Every joint, crack, and screw hole in the headboard is a potential hiding spot. Wall-mounted headboards have bed bugs behind them, between the wall and the headboard surface.
• Nightstands. Drawer joints, the undersides of drawers, and the back panels of nightstands are common harborage areas, especially if the nightstand is within arm's reach of the bed.
• Baseboards. The gap between the baseboard and the wall provides a long, narrow hiding spot that runs the entire perimeter of the room. Bed bugs enter this gap and can travel along it to reach multiple areas.
• Electrical outlets. Outlet covers provide access to wall voids, and bed bugs use these spaces extensively. This is also how they spread between rooms and between apartments in multi-unit buildings.
• Carpet edges. Where carpet meets the baseboard, there is often a gap that bed bugs use as a harborage area. They can travel under the carpet edge along the entire room perimeter.
• Picture frames and wall hangings. Anything hanging on the wall near the bed can harbor bed bugs behind it, between the frame and the wall surface.

Dragging the mattress spreads bugs through the house

To get the mattress out of your home, you have to carry it through doorways, down hallways, around corners, and possibly down stairs. Every surface the mattress touches, every bump and jostle along the way, can dislodge bed bugs and eggs. You are essentially creating a trail of infestation from your bedroom to your front door. Bed bugs that fall off in the hallway can crawl into the nearest room and establish a new colony.

If you set the mattress on the curb, bed bugs can crawl off and re-enter your home through the foundation, window frames, or door gaps. They can also infest neighbors' homes, spreading the problem beyond your property.

You still have the infestation

After the mattress is gone, you still have bed bugs in the box spring, headboard, baseboards, outlets, and furniture. You will buy a new mattress, bring it into the infested room, and the bed bugs will colonize it within days. You have spent $500 to $2,000 on a new mattress and solved nothing.

Professional treatment can save your mattress. After treatment, a bed bug encasement ($30 to $60) seals the mattress completely, trapping any surviving bugs inside where they will die without access to a blood meal. The encasement also prevents new bugs from infesting the mattress interior.

What Should I Do with My Bedding Right Now?

Your bedding is the one thing you can take immediate, effective action on tonight. Heat kills bed bugs at all life stages, and your washing machine and dryer are powerful tools.

Hot wash and hot dry protocol

All washable bedding items should go through the following process:

1. Bag it first. Place bedding directly into sealed plastic bags at the bed. Do not carry loose sheets through the house.
2. Transport to the washing machine. Carry the sealed bags to the laundry area. Open the bags directly into the washing machine and immediately dispose of the bags in an outdoor trash can.
3. Wash on the hottest setting. Use the highest water temperature your fabrics can tolerate. For cotton sheets and pillowcases, this is typically the "hot" or "sanitize" setting.
4. Dry on highest heat for at least 30 minutes. This is the step that actually kills the bed bugs. Dryer temperatures on the high setting reach 135 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Thirty minutes of continuous heat at these temperatures kills adults, nymphs, and eggs. Do not pull items out early, even if they feel dry.

Items you cannot wash

Some items are too large for the washing machine or too delicate for hot water. For these items:

• Dryer only. Items like stuffed animals, throw pillows, and small blankets can go directly into the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes without washing first.
• Seal in plastic bags. Items that cannot go in the dryer (large comforters, delicate fabrics, items with foam filling) should be sealed in plastic bags with as little air as possible. Leave them sealed for at least 6 months. Bed bugs inside will eventually die from starvation, though this takes far longer than heat treatment.
• Dry cleaning. Inform the dry cleaner that the items may have bed bugs. Many dry cleaners will accept these items, and the dry cleaning process kills bed bugs. Some may charge extra or refuse, which is within their rights.

Isolate the room

After handling the bedding, take steps to isolate the infested room. Close the bedroom door. If there is a gap under the door, place a rolled towel along the bottom. This is not a perfect barrier, but it reduces the chance of bed bugs traveling to other rooms before professional treatment. Do not move furniture out of the room. Every piece of furniture that leaves the room could carry bed bugs with it.

Can I Get Rid of Bed Bugs Myself?

This is a question most homeowners ask because professional treatment is expensive, and the DIY instinct is strong. The honest answer is: almost never, if the infestation is established.

Why DIY fails against bed bugs

Bed bugs are among the most difficult household pests to eliminate, and they have evolved specific traits that make DIY control ineffective:

• They hide in inaccessible places. Bed bugs live inside wall voids, behind electrical outlet covers, inside furniture joints, and in cracks as thin as a credit card edge. Consumer products cannot reach these areas.
• Eggs survive most chemicals. Bed bug eggs have a protective coating that resists most insecticides. Even if you kill every adult and nymph you can reach, the eggs hatch 6 to 10 days later and the cycle starts over. This is why professional chemical treatment requires multiple visits spaced 2 to 3 weeks apart.
• Resistance is widespread. Bed bug populations in most U.S. cities show significant resistance to pyrethroids, the active ingredient in most store-bought bed bug products. A product that kills bed bugs in a lab test may have little effect on the resistant population in your home.
• You cannot match professional equipment. Professional heat treatment uses industrial heaters and fans to raise room temperature to 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and maintain it for several hours. A household space heater cannot achieve or sustain these temperatures. Professional chemical applicators deliver products to cracks, crevices, and voids that consumer sprayers cannot reach.

DIY success rate

Studies on DIY bed bug treatment consistently show success rates under 10 percent for established infestations. "Established" means the bugs have been present for more than a few weeks and have spread beyond the immediate mattress area. If you caught a very early introduction (a single bug on a suitcase, for example, before it laid eggs), immediate laundering and inspection may prevent an infestation from establishing. But if you are seeing multiple bugs, blood spots on sheets, and fecal dots on the mattress, DIY methods will not resolve the problem.

What DIY steps are still worth taking

While DIY alone will not eliminate an established infestation, certain steps reduce the population and support professional treatment:

• Laundering all bedding and clothing on high heat kills bugs on those items
• Vacuuming mattress seams, box spring, and carpet edges removes some bugs and eggs (empty the vacuum into a sealed bag immediately after)
• Encasements on the mattress and box spring trap bugs inside and prevent new ones from entering
• Interceptor cups under bed legs catch bugs trying to climb up and provide ongoing monitoring
• Reducing clutter near the bed eliminates hiding spots and gives professionals better access for treatment

These steps are preparation for professional treatment, not a substitute for it. For a full breakdown of DIY versus professional options, see our guide on how to get rid of bed bugs.

What Does Professional Bed Bug Treatment Involve?

Professional bed bug treatment uses one of two primary methods, or a combination of both. Each has distinct advantages depending on the severity and location of the infestation.

Heat treatment

Heat treatment is the most effective single-visit option for bed bug elimination. Here is what happens during a professional heat treatment:

1. Preparation. The homeowner removes heat-sensitive items (candles, aerosol cans, certain electronics, vinyl records, medications). The treatment company provides a detailed preparation checklist.
2. Setup. Technicians bring in industrial heaters, fans, and temperature monitoring equipment. They place temperature sensors throughout the room or home to ensure every area reaches lethal temperatures.
3. Heating. The room is heated to 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and held at that temperature for several hours (typically 4 to 8 hours). Fans circulate the hot air to reach inside walls, furniture, and other hiding spots.
4. Monitoring. Technicians monitor temperature readings throughout the process, adjusting heater placement and fan direction to eliminate cold spots where bed bugs could survive.
5. Verification. After treatment, the technician inspects the treated area and may place monitoring devices to confirm elimination over the following weeks.

Heat treatment kills all life stages of bed bugs, including eggs, in a single visit. There is no chemical residue left behind, and the home is habitable the same day after it cools down. The primary downside is cost: heat treatment runs $400 to $900 per room or $1,500 to $4,000 for a whole home.

Chemical treatment

Chemical treatment uses professional-grade insecticides applied directly to bed bug hiding spots. This approach requires multiple visits because chemicals do not kill eggs. Here is the typical process:

1. Inspection. The technician identifies all harborage areas, determines the scope of the infestation, and develops a treatment plan.
2. Initial treatment. The technician applies a combination of products: a contact kill spray for visible bugs, a residual insecticide for cracks and crevices, and an insect growth regulator (IGR) that prevents nymphs from maturing. Dust formulations are applied to wall voids and electrical outlets.
3. Follow-up visits. The technician returns every 2 to 3 weeks for follow-up treatments. These visits target newly hatched nymphs that emerged from eggs that survived the first treatment. Most chemical treatments require 2 to 3 visits over a 4 to 6 week period.
4. Verification. After the final treatment, the technician inspects for any remaining activity and may place monitoring devices.

Chemical treatment costs less upfront ($200 to $400 per room) but requires more time and multiple appointments. It is effective when done correctly, but the extended timeline means you are living with a declining but active infestation for several weeks.

Combination treatment

Some pest control companies offer a combination approach: heat treatment for the primary infestation areas followed by residual chemical application in surrounding areas to prevent reinfestation. This is the most thorough option and is particularly effective in multi-unit buildings where reinfestation from adjacent units is a concern.

For detailed treatment pricing, see our bed bug treatment cost guide and bed bug heat treatment cost guide.

How Much Does Bed Bug Treatment Cost?

Treatment cost depends on three factors: the treatment method, the number of rooms affected, and the severity of the infestation. Here is what homeowners typically pay in 2026.

Heat treatment vs. chemical: which is the better value?

Heat treatment costs more upfront but resolves the problem in one visit. Chemical treatment costs less per visit but requires 2 to 3 appointments over 4 to 6 weeks. When you factor in the cost of multiple visits, time off work for appointments, and the extended period of living with bed bugs during chemical treatment, heat treatment is often the better value for single-room or two-room infestations.

For whole-home infestations, chemical treatment may be more cost-effective if budget is the primary constraint. However, the longer treatment timeline means more weeks of disrupted sleep and ongoing stress.

Getting quotes

Get quotes from at least three pest control companies before committing to treatment. A reputable company will offer a free inspection and provide a written estimate. Be wary of companies that quote over the phone without inspecting your home, as they may be overcharging or underestimating the scope of treatment needed.

Ask each company about their guarantee. Most reputable bed bug treatment companies offer a 30 to 90 day warranty: if bed bugs return within that window, they retreat at no additional cost. Some companies offer extended warranties for an additional fee.

For a detailed pricing breakdown by treatment type, home size, and region, see our bed bug treatment cost guide.

What If I Am in a Hotel or Apartment?

Bed bug situations in hotels and apartments involve additional considerations beyond treatment. Liability, legal obligations, and multi-unit dynamics all come into play.

Hotels

If you find bed bugs in a hotel room, take these steps immediately:

1. Notify the front desk. Report the problem right away. Ask to speak with a manager if the front desk staff does not take it seriously.
2. Request a room change. Ask for a room that is not adjacent to, above, or below the infested room. Bed bugs can travel between rooms through wall voids, plumbing penetrations, and electrical conduits. A room on a different floor and a different wing of the hotel is ideal.
3. Document everything. Take photos of the bugs, bites, blood spots, and fecal stains. Note the room number, date, and time. This documentation is important if you need to file a claim for damaged belongings or medical expenses.
4. Inspect your luggage before leaving. Before packing up, inspect every item. When you get home, unpack directly into the washing machine and wash everything on hot. Inspect the suitcase outside before bringing it into your home. Vacuum the suitcase thoroughly and store it in a sealed bag for a few weeks.
5. Request compensation. Most hotels will offer a refund for the night, move you to a new room, or both. If the hotel is unresponsive, document the situation and consider filing a complaint with your state's health department or consumer protection office.

Apartments and rental properties

Bed bugs in rental properties involve landlord-tenant law, and the rules vary by state and city. Here are the general principles:

• Notify your landlord in writing. Send an email or written letter documenting the bed bug problem. Include photos if possible. A phone call is not sufficient because you need a paper trail.
• Most states require the landlord to pay for treatment. In the majority of states and many major cities, the landlord is legally responsible for pest control in rental properties, including bed bugs. Notable examples include New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Florida. Check your state's specific tenant rights.
• Do NOT treat the apartment yourself. In a multi-unit building, bed bugs can spread between units through shared walls, plumbing conduits, and electrical outlets. Treating one unit without treating adjacent units often fails because bed bugs simply move to the untreated unit and eventually return. Professional treatment of the entire building or at minimum the infested unit and all adjacent units is necessary.
• Cooperate with treatment preparation. The landlord is typically responsible for the cost of treatment, but the tenant is usually required to prepare the unit according to the pest control company's instructions (laundering bedding, decluttering, moving furniture away from walls).

For more on tenant rights and landlord responsibilities, see our guide on pest control for apartments and pest control for rental properties.

Does Insurance Cover Bed Bugs?

In almost all cases, no. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover bed bug treatment. Most policies specifically exclude pest infestations under the "maintenance and wear" exclusion, treating pest problems as a homeowner maintenance issue rather than a covered peril.

Homeowners insurance

Standard homeowners policies from all major insurers (State Farm, Allstate, Geico, USAA, Liberty Mutual, Farmers, and others) exclude bed bug treatment from coverage. This applies to both the cost of treatment and any property damage caused by the infestation. Some policies also exclude damage caused by an attempt to treat bed bugs (for example, a DIY heat treatment that causes a fire).

Renters insurance

Renters insurance does not cover bed bug treatment either. In most states, the landlord bears the treatment cost for rental properties (see the apartment section above). Renters insurance may cover personal property that is damaged or destroyed due to a bed bug infestation (clothing, bedding), but this varies by policy and deductible. Check your specific policy language.

Commercial insurance

Hotels, hostels, and other hospitality businesses can purchase commercial pest insurance riders that cover bed bug treatment and liability claims. These policies are increasingly common in the hospitality industry, where a single bed bug incident can result in significant treatment costs and reputation damage. If you are a business owner, talk to your commercial insurance provider about pest coverage options.

What you can deduct

Bed bug treatment costs are generally not tax deductible for homeowners. Landlords can typically deduct pest control costs as a rental property expense. If you are unsure about your specific situation, consult a tax professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Do Next

If you found bed bugs in your bed tonight, here is your action plan for the next 24 hours:

1. Tonight: Strip the bed, bag and wash all bedding on high heat, inspect the mattress with a flashlight, and sleep in the same room (not the couch or another bedroom).
2. Tomorrow morning: Call at least three pest control companies for free inspections and quotes. Ask about heat treatment vs. chemical treatment, guarantees, and timeline.
3. This week: Schedule treatment. Prepare the room according to the pest control company's instructions. Purchase mattress and box spring encasements.
4. After treatment: Keep encasements on for at least 12 months. Place interceptor cups under bed legs. Inspect the mattress monthly for 3 to 6 months to confirm elimination.

The most important thing you can do right now is stay calm and avoid the two biggest mistakes: throwing out the mattress and moving to another room. Both reactions feel right but make the problem worse and more expensive to solve. Bed bugs are treatable. Professional treatment has a success rate above 95 percent when done correctly. The sooner you call a professional, the faster and cheaper the resolution will be.

For more information, explore these related guides:

• Bed Bug Treatment Cost: 2026 Pricing Guide
• How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs: Complete Treatment Guide
• Signs of Bed Bugs: How to Tell If You Have Them
• Bed Bug Heat Treatment Cost
• Bed Bug Bites: Identification and Treatment
• When to Call an Exterminator
• Pest Identifier Tool
• Pest Control for Apartments
• Pest Control for Rental Properties