Can Bed Bugs Live in Wood Dressers
Bed bugs are most commonly found in and around mattresses, but they can also make their home in other locations that are near a bed. Essentially, they’re just trying to find a safe location that’s near their food source. Their food source is generally you while you’re sleeping at night.
If there are enough cracks or crevices to hide in, bed bugs will hang around. Most bedrooms have plenty of wood furniture in the area where bed bugs would be comfortable. You may want to think about how to keep bed bugs out of your dresser. Do you know what to look for or how to keep bed bugs away?
How Did Bed Bugs Get Into Your Dresser?
You may be shocked to notice that there are bed bugs inside of your dresser. While the drawers may also be closed nicely when not in use, there are still plenty of places for a bed bug to enter. Most dressers will have an option space underneath the furniture where bugs can easily pass from drawer to drawer.
Even leaving a drawer open a tiny fraction can allow bed bugs to get inside. Even if your clothes are clean and neatly folded, you’re still at risk of them coming around.
What Attracts Bed Bugs to Dressers?
Bed bugs don’t burrow into the actual wood of your dresser like other bugs will, but they like the darkness and protection that a wood dresser provides. While the drawer itself doesn’t provide enough protection, there could be gaps in the construction that they can utilize. You probably have items inside the drawers that allow them to hide.
They essentially are trying to stay out of the sight of humans. You don’t have to head out to the store to replace your wood furniture with something that will repel the bed bugs, but take the steps necessary to keep them at bay. Your dresser could be as inviting as can be, but if you don’t have bed bugs in your home, you won’t have a problem in your dresser drawers.
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in a Dresser?
Wood provides a lot of hiding spaces for bed bugs, but you can take certain steps to detect them and remove them. Because this is where you keep your clothing, you probably want to avoid using chemicals to kill and prevent the bed bugs. Before doing anything, you’ll want to carefully remove your clothing items and transfer them to your washing machine. Wash them with hot water and dry them completely.
You can use a vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool to vacuum out all the different areas inside the drawers where the bugs might be located. Take the vacuum cleaner outside immediately when you’re done so it can be emptied away from your home.
You may need to repeat this process periodically if any bed bugs were away from the dresser when you were doing the cleaning. You might also miss an egg or two.
A diluted vinegar spray can be used to wipe down the insides of your dresser drawers. If you don’t mind the scent, add a few drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil to the mixture. These oils can act as a natural repellent for bed bugs. You can even use a wood caulk to seal up any cracks or gaps in the dresser drawers that you’re concerned about.
If you feel you need to call in an exterminator to take care of an excessive bed bug issue, this might be a wise idea. Bed bugs can multiply at a pretty fast rate. If they’re in multiple locations in your home, this might not be something that you can handle on your own. Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged with a bed bug problem.
Depending on how long they’ve been around, it may take a little bit of time to get rid of them. You have to disrupt the life cycle in order to make it impossible for them to thrive. Throughout this process you may have to repeat your process for cleaning the area.
