Bed Bugs on Wood – Do They Prefer Hiding in Wooden Furniture?
Many people wonder if bed bugs hide in wood. It is a common question for most homeowners and tenants as there are many cases with pieces of wooden furniture in an infested home. Some also wonder if bed bugs prefer using certain materials over others as their hiding spots.
Mainly, bed bug infestation doesn’t depend on the material of your furniture in your home. Bed bugs hide wherever they can, as long as they are near their host. As long as they can reach you, they will hide in any narrow space and stay there to feed from you regularly.
Essentially, if you find bed bugs on wooden furniture, then it is likely that you will also find them anywhere else in your home. Bed bugs can use dark and narrow spaces as hiding spots and take advantage of the opportunity to stay near you.
Is It More Frequent to Find Bed Bugs In Wood Furniture than in Other Materials?
The answer to this commonly-asked question is no. Regardless of the materials of your furniture, bed bugs will use it as a hiding place, especially if it has cracks and crevices. This means that you don’t necessarily have to throw your wooden furniture away and replace it with metal furniture. If the surface is smooth, it will be difficult for bed bugs to climb on it and reach you. Also, not all metal posts or legs are smooth. Most of the time, they have grooves that allow these pests to climb up and reach you. It is best that you know how to protect yourself from bed bugs whether you have metal or wooden furniture at home.
Bringing home second-hand pieces of wooden furniture is a different scenario, however. If you bought it from a garage sale or got it because it was left out by its owner, there is a high risk that it is infested; thus you are effortlessly bringing home bed bugs. This can cause an infestation and bed bugs can spread in your home without your knowledge.
How to Stop Bed Bugs from Hiding in Wooden Furniture
If possible, bed bugs will hide in wood, but one way to stop them from hiding in any of your wooden items is making it unliveable. The following are a few of the basic things you should do:
- Inspect all old and new furniture
If you suspect bed bugs in your home, one way to tell if your wooden furniture is infested is to simply inspect it. This is the same when bringing in new or used furniture. A thorough inspection is required to ensure that not a single spot is left unchecked prior to bringing it inside your home.
- Consider caulking
If you know that your wooden furniture has small cracks, it is best to fill up the spaces to prevent bed bugs from using it as a hiding spot. Similar to what you do when preventing ants from getting inside your home, you can caulk all possible entrances and narrow spaces where bed bugs can hide and breed.
These are a few of the things you can do to keep your wooden items free from bed bugs and prevent them from finding a space to build a colony in your home:
How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs On Wooden Furniture
If you notice bed bugs on your wooden headboard or any pieces of wooden furniture in your home, there are several ways you can get them out of the wood. The first thing that you should know is where exactly they are hiding, so that your chosen treatment will be more effective. Once you have located them, you can choose from the following treatments:
- Steam cleaning
You can get a powerful steam cleaner and use it to go over all infested areas. All bed bugs and bed bugs eggs that will come in contact with it will die, making it easier for you to simply vacuum them once done.
- Heat treatment
There are various bed bug heat treatment tools and equipment that you can use for all furniture. However, you must be careful when heat treating wooden items as it may cause damage. This can kill bed bugs in all life stages as it can penetrate mattresses and box springs and reach other areas that a common bed bug treatment may not do.
- Bed bug sprays
There are many bed bug sprays that you can choose from; some which directly spray the insecticide on the areas where these pests are hiding. Observe precautionary measures when using these sprays around your children or pets.
It may be difficult for you to find them during the day, but knowing where to look for bed bugs is one way to successfully get rid of them little by little.
