What Are Bed Bug Mattress Encasements?
Bed bug mattress encasements are widely thought to prevent and/or get rid of bed bug problems. Unfortunately, mattress encasements are not a treatment or prevention. A mattress encasement can be thought of as a giant cover or pillow case for your mattress. It is sealed, usually with a zipper.
To Encase or Not to Encase?
We get asked this question quite frequently. A mattress encasement can be a good idea to keep a new mattress clean and protected. However/unfortunately, a mattress encasement will not eliminate or prevent a bed bug problem, and can actually interfere with the treatment process.
What are some examples of problems with encasements?
Scenario A: If you have bed bugs, and then put on an encasement before you START treatments.
- While you may be trapping the live bed bugs in, any living bed bugs around your home can still gain access to you and your bedding. Bed bugs can live in night stands, dressers, clothing piles, carpet, bedding and more – Among other areas of your home. Bed bugs can also survive a very lengthy period of time without a meal, so when you take the encasement off, you may let live bugs out. We will always recommend removing the encasement until your treatment process is completed and you are cleared of bed bugs.
Scenario B: You put an encasement on OR took it off DURING your treatment process.
- Once your treatment process starts, it’s important not to ADD or REMOVE a mattress encasement. If you take off a mattress encasement that was treated as part of your treatment process, you are removing the treatment. If you add a mattress encasement after your treatment process has started, you are covering up the treated mattress.
Traps, Gadgets and More
While bed bug traps and CO2 alarms and gadgets can be tempting, they are largely a sales / retail ploy. Almost all marketing for over the counter products, sprays and retail items is aimed at feeding fears and promising results. We do not sell or require customers to purchase mattress covers, traps or anything else. Even in severely infested homes that have bed bug traps at the legs of furniture, we see them empty and bugs are still able to come and go as they please.
While it’s completely understandable to want to do everything possible to streamline the process and get rid of bed bugs as quickly as possible, it’s important to stick to the tried and true methods.
Preparing your home and maintaining organization and basic cleaning tasks like drying bedding on high heat weekly and vacuuming often, are the best ways to get through your bed bug treatment process as quickly as possible.
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