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Preventing Bedbugs and Kissing Bugs

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To eliminate bedbugs and kissing bugs:

  • Remove debris, such as wood and paper trash piles, where these bugs may hide.
  • Wash, vacuum, or clean all furniture and bedding. Be sure to vacuum cracks in wood doors or floors where bugs may hide.
  • Put small things that may have bugs on them in a dark plastic bag and leave it outside in the hot sun for 2 to 3 days.
  • Wash clothes in hot water and dry them on the hot cycle of the clothes dryer.

If you can't get rid of the bugs yourself, you can call an insect control company for treatment choices. Make sure that the product the company uses has been shown to be effective against bedbugs and kissing bugs.

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By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Last Revised August 16, 2012

Last Revised: August 16, 2012

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine

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