Bed Bug Treatment

If you are waking up with itchy bites and finding small rusty spots on the sheets, you may have bed bugs, and they do not go away on their own. Michael Gerbino of Cypress Critters & Pests inspects the bedrooms and furniture, confirms what is there, walks you through the preparation, treats every place they hide and comes back to check the result. He serves Houston, Cypress, Spring and the towns around them. To have him look, call
713-775-8799.

Bed bugs have nothing to do with how clean a house is. They ride in on luggage, used furniture, a guest’s bag or a child’s backpack after a sleepover. A spotless house gets them as easily as any other. What matters is catching them early and treating them all the way, because a half treatment spreads them to other rooms.

How do I know it is bed bugs?

Bites alone do not prove it, since other bugs bite too. Michael looks for the signs bed bugs leave behind, and you can check for them yourself before you call.

What to look for	Where to look	What it tells you
Small rusty or dark spots	Sheets, mattress seams, pillowcases	Bed bugs feeding at night and leaving droppings
Pale shed skins	Mattress tags and seams, the box spring, headboard joints	Bugs growing; they shed as they get bigger
Tiny white eggs	Tight cracks in the bed frame and nightstand	A population that is settling in
Live bugs about the size of an apple seed	Seams and corners, behind the headboard, under the box spring cover	An active problem, confirmed
Bites in a line or cluster	Arms, neck, shoulders after sleeping	A reason to check the bed, not proof on its own

Where do bed bugs hide besides the mattress?

Bed bugs stay close to where people sleep or sit for a long time, and they fit in any crack as thin as a credit card. That is why spraying the top of the mattress never works. On a typical inspection Michael checks:

The bed itself. Mattress seams, piping and tags, the box spring and its fabric cover, the bed frame joints and the headboard.
Furniture near the bed. Nightstand drawers and joints, dressers, and the back of picture frames hung over the bed.
The room. Baseboards, carpet edges, outlet covers, curtain folds and the gap behind loose wallpaper.
Couches and recliners. Seams, cushions and the frame underneath, especially where someone naps or sleeps.
Bags and clothing. Suitcases, backpacks and piles of clothes on the floor next to the bed.

What do I need to do before the treatment?

Bed bug work goes far better when the house is ready. Michael gives you a list for your home before the visit, and it usually includes these steps.

Strip the beds and wash the bedding and clothes from the affected rooms, then dry them on the hottest setting the fabric can take.
Bag the clean clothes and keep them sealed until after the treatment.
Clear the floors and under the beds so the edges of the room can be reached.
Vacuum the mattress, the carpet edges and the furniture, then throw the vacuum bag away outside.
Do not move furniture, bedding or clothes into other rooms. That is how one bedroom becomes three.
Do not throw a mattress away before he sees it. Dragging it through the house drops bugs along the way.

How Michael handles it

The first visit is the inspection. Michael confirms that it is bed bugs, finds every room involved and shows you what he found. Then he treats the bed, the furniture, the seams and the cracks where they live, room by room, and tells you how long to stay out of each room and when kids and pets can go back in. He does not treat one bedroom and hope; if the couch or the next room has them too, that is part of the plan.

Bed bug eggs can survive the first treatment, so a follow-up check is part of the job. Michael comes back after the eggs would have hatched, looks again at the bed and the hiding places, and treats again where he still finds activity. You will know the problem is over when the follow-up shows nothing and the bites stop.

To ask about your house before a visit, call Michael at
713-775-8799.

One more thing he checks: what else is getting in. Bed bugs come in on belongings, not through the walls, but a house often has more than one problem. If you are hearing scratching overhead at night, that is not bed bugs. It may be rodents, and rat and mouse control covers that. Noise in the attic during the day is more often squirrels. Roaches and ants in the kitchen are part of regular pest control. If you see mud tubes on the slab, read about termite treatment. Hotels, apartments and offices with bed bugs are covered by commercial pest control.

Why is treatment not the same as keeping animals out?

Bed bug treatment clears the bugs that came in on your things. It does nothing about the roofline gaps and vent holes that let animals into the attic. If the inspection turns up those openings, Michael will tell you, because sealing them is a different job called animal exclusion, where he catches the animals alive and closes every entry point so the next one cannot get in.

Where Michael does this

Michael treats bed bugs in homes, apartments and businesses across the north and northwest Houston area.

What decides the quote?

Michael quotes after the inspection, because no two bed bug jobs are the same size. What changes it is how many rooms are involved, how much furniture is in them, how long the bugs have been there, whether couches and other rooms have them, and how many follow-up visits it takes. A single bed caught early is a much smaller job than a whole house. He tells you plainly what yours needs before he starts, and you can also reach him through the contact page.

Found the signs in your bed? Call Michael at
713-775-8799.

Questions people ask about bed bug treatment

How did I get bed bugs when my house is clean?

Clean has nothing to do with it. Bed bugs hitch a ride on luggage after a trip, on used furniture, on a visitor’s bag or a backpack after a sleepover. They live on people’s blood, not on dirt or crumbs. Any home can get them, and catching them early keeps the job small.

Do I have to throw out my mattress?

Usually not. The mattress, box spring and frame get treated along with the rest of the room. Throwing a mattress out before treatment can spread bugs through the house on the way to the door. Wait until Michael has seen it, and he will tell you if anything is past saving.

Can I just treat the bedroom with a store-bought spray?

Store sprays tend to scatter bed bugs rather than finish them. They move deeper into the walls or into the next room, and the problem gets bigger and harder to find. A full treatment reaches the seams, cracks and furniture where they hide, and a follow-up check catches the ones that hatch after.

Why does bed bug treatment need a follow-up visit?

Bed bug eggs are hard to reach and some survive the first treatment. Once they hatch, those young bugs can start the problem over. The follow-up visit is timed for after they hatch, so Michael can find and treat them before they grow and lay eggs of their own.

Do I have to leave the house during treatment?

You will need to stay out of the rooms being treated for a while, and Michael tells you how long before he starts. Most families stay in the house and keep to the untreated rooms. He also tells you when kids and pets can go back into each room.

Can bed bugs spread from one bedroom to the rest of the house?

Yes. They move on clothes, bedding, bags and furniture that get carried from room to room, and they can travel along baseboards. That is why moving your bedding to the couch or a guest room is a bad idea. Keep things where they are until the inspection shows where the bugs are.

Contact Us Anytime

Michael handles raccoons, opossums, squirrels, rats and snakes day or night. He inspects the whole house to find every way in, catches the animals alive, and seals the openings so they cannot come back. He also repairs the damage they leave behind.

Call or Text Michael

(713) 775-8799

Cypress Critters & Pests

Cypress Critters & Pests is owner-operated by Michael Gerbino: humane wildlife exclusion, live trapping and pest control around Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston.