Bed bug infestation is a prevalent issue in many households. These small and brownish insects are a nightmare for homeowners.
You can find bed bugs in many places, from floor to wall to ceiling, due to their small sizes and flat bodies. It can even live in clothes and luggage under favorable conditions. But can they live on an air mattress?
These little pesky insects can bite our skin and absorb the blood when we sleep. So it is important to ensure that your sleeping air mattress is clean and free of bed bugs.
Continue reading the post to find out about bed bugs on air mattresses!
Can Bed Bugs Exist On Air Mattresses?
Bed bugs cannot live on air mattresses due to their special material. However, they can cling to the item by hiding in the tight crevices and seams.
In fact, this little species will normally draw tiny holes to hide and lay eggs on regular mattresses. Most air mattresses are made from PVC or rubber.
These materials are not ideal for the bed bugs to live on, but they can still spread in the tight spaces of the mattresses, such as folds or crevices.
As long as the temperatures are not so extreme and the bed bugs feed on blood, they thrive anywhere near the mattresses. Also, pay particular attention to your blankets and pillows, the ideal places for them.
Where Do Bed Bugs Come From?
Bed bugs may crawl directly on your clothes or luggage and start laying eggs. When you come home with infested clothes, these annoying insects will start to spread out in all corners and continue to produce more generations.
Their thin and flat body is ideal for living in very tight spaces (even the width of a card). They do not build the nest but usually live in groups and hide in dark, tight spaces like cockroaches.
Their ideal places are around our bed, including mattresses, clothes, and box springs, so that the bed bug bites us easily when we sleep. Without any measures to kill these insects, they will continue to spread out in the room.
Contrary to what people think, bed bugs can live in any place in the presence of humans as long as they can feed on our blood. The place doesn’t necessarily have to be dirty or small.
How To Know If Your Mattress Has Bed Bugs?
Hiding And Spawning Place
Do you usually sleep soundly in bed and wake up feeling itchy and uncomfortable? Then it is a sign that the insect had gotten on the air mattress and bit you the night before.
What is your common sleeping posture? The bed bugs usually crawl directly from the mattress and other nearby areas to bite you. So the most obvious sign of bedbugs is the tiny red welts on the body, especially the back and arm.
Here are some other common signs to notice:
- Stains of blood on the mattress, pillow cover, and blanket.
- Dark and tiny spots of excrement on the surface are more noticeable on white mattresses and blankets.
- Red and itchy welts from the bedbugs bite on your arm, leg, and back.
- The insects’ fecal spots, dead bodies, or eggs are in tight areas like folds or crevices.
- The unpleasant odor of the bedbugs is quite similar to the scent of coriander.
How To Check?
The first thing is to check the pillow and blanket for stains of blood. Then, flash the light into tight spaces like folds or crevices. Also, check the clothes, luggage, and dark corners of the room.
However, once the bedbugs have found their ideal hiding spot, they will stay there as long as possible. Check the folds, box springs, and surface of the mattress carefully. Don’t forget the fabric blanket and pillow.
Lastly, the bedbugs may be transported from the infected area to your home through folded clothes, luggage, or any items with small spaces to hide. If you usually go camping or travel a lot, remember to check your items.
Should I Dispose Of My Air Mattress If Infested?
Commonly, throwing away mattresses infected with the huge bedbug population is the simplest and easiest way to get rid of this annoying insect. It is very hard to kill all the bedbugs thoroughly on old beds.
Even just a few insects remaining can quickly multiply in number. Even if you can deal with bed bug infestation, the methods to kill the bedbug are also costly and time-consuming. But the story is very different when it comes to airbeds.
As I have mentioned above, the air mattress is not an ideal place for the bedbugs to live due to its special PVC material and the air cover. The sides of the item are pretty smooth and hard for the bedbugs to climb.
Also, they cannot chew the PVC material and dig tiny holes to hide. So it is very unlikely that there are bed bugs living inside the mattress. So it is a waste to rip up or throw away your air mattress.
A more efficient solution is to check the surrounding areas and kill the bedbugs rather than dispose of the air mattress. You can use a flashlight and search for the signs of bedbugs like tiny excrement, eggs, or dead bodies.
Read more: How To Clean An Air Mattress
How To Kill The Bed Bugs On An Air Mattress?
Here are some efficient ways to kill bed bugs and get a good night’s sleep. These methods are applicable for bedbugs living in all places, so ensure that you follow them correctly.
Clean Pets
Do you have a dog or a cat? The pet’s thick fur is an ideal place for the bedbug due to the warm temperature. Your pet moves around and can get infected.
If you don’t wash your pet’s fur regularly, the bed bugs will form a colony on its fur and cause inflammation. The insects will also spread to the clothes and mattress when you hug the pet.
For these reasons, wash your pet regularly, two or three times a week, after you take it out for a walk.
Read more: Vibe Mattress Review
Vacuum
Vacuuming mattresses and other furniture is a common method many people choose. However, it can only kill a part of the bed bugs, so it is best to combine vacuuming with other methods to thoroughly eliminate them.
Remember to vacuum the tight spaces on the mattress like cranks and edges at high power. Recheck the carpet thoroughly to see any eggs or bed bugs left.
Steam Carpets And Floor
Steaming is a more effective method to deal with bedbugs. Heavy and powerful steamers are the best choice to generate high temperatures. However, bed bugs can withstand extreme temperatures for a long time.
So, be patient and steam for as long as you can. Then use the vacuum to remove the dead insect bodies and eggs.
Encase Cover
The last method you can do is to cover your air mattress with an encase cover.
Ensure that your mattress is clean of bugs and eggs before covering it. Some special encase covers are designed specifically for dealing with bedbugs.
Their smooth and flat surface is impossible for the insects to live on or hide. They also increase the aesthetic appearance of the mattress, giving it a cleaner and softer cover.
Conclusion
Can bed bugs exist on air mattresses? The answer is they cannot live on air mattresses, but they can crawl on them from nearby areas. Therefore you should clean the rooms and kill the insects thoroughly instead of removing the mattress.
I hope that you are satisfied with the information provided in this post. Have you successfully gotten rid of the annoying insects? Feel free to share with me your difficulties and questions.
Thank you for reading!