Anyone wants the best for their home. Whether you are a renter or an owner, you likely try to supply your home with the best defense possible. One of the best ways to do just that against a predator like bed bugs is mattress covers. The next problem just becomes finding the best mattress covers. How exactly does one go about doing this?
Bed Bug Mattress Covers
Would you drive down the middle of a bad neighborhood during the night with your doors unlocked or a pocket full of cash? Likely not if you had any choice in the decision. That being said, that is virtually what you are doing when you choose not to defend yourself, your home, and your family with mattress covers. While you’ve likely read about all kinds of bed bug deterrents and traps, this is one that utilizes your existing mattress. It takes your existing mattress and turns it into a veritable jail cell, locking the pests inside where they’ll eventually starve out and die.
What makes the contraption even more impressive is, reports show that 90 percent of bed bugs that infest a home take up residence in or around the mattress. There are several reasons for this, but the most important thing you need to know today is, mattress covers work! As long as you choose the right one, you can safeguard your home and family against a predator like bed bugs. Heck, you can even start your way to eliminating a house infestation.
What Is A Mattress Cover?
So what exactly is a mattress cover? For the next few years, you might hear these products referred to by many different things. Mattress toppers, mattress protectors, mattress encasements, or box spring protectors. Whatever these products are referred to as they all work under the same underlying concept. The concept is to trap bed bugs inside where they’ll eventually starve out and die. And, it might only take a week before you start to see results.
A mattress cover or whatever you want to calls it is nothing more than a big Ziploc bag. It covers your mattress and traps bed bugs inside. Not only a useful tool to deter bed bugs and kill out existing ones, but it can protect you against potential feedings. You just need to make sure you choose the perfect protector for your specific situation.
How To Choose A Mattress Cover
Mattress covers are only referred to by a wide variety of names, but they also come available in a wide variety of designs, created and engineered by a wide range of manufacturers. This just makes the entire situation all that more confusing, but as long as you know how to choose the right protector, you shouldn’t have a problem protecting yourself, your home, and your family to the utmost fullest. How does one do this?
Is The Cover A Full Cover? A Full Encasement?
Your mattress cover won’t offer any protection if it doesn’t cover your entire mattress. Think of a sandwich half sticking out of a Ziploc bag. You can stick the sandwich in the refrigerator, but it still isn’t going to stay fresh if the sleeve doesn’t offer total protection. The same is going to be true for bed bug mattress covers. The product must cover your entire mattress to be effective.
Properly Seal? Do You Get A Proper Seal?
Even if your protector covers your mattress it won’t offer the protection needed if it doesn’t properly seal. Think of it once again like placing a sandwich in a Ziploc bag, placing it in the fridge, and not properly closing the clasp. If not properly sealed, bed bugs will simply crawl in and out. The entire point of the product is to trap them inside where they can’t escape.
Testing Is A Must!
Just like any product available today, a mattress protector must be fully tested. Not only tested in a factory setting but tested in a real-life setting. Bed bug mattress covers offered by the more reputable pest management companies have been put through rigorous testing procedures.
Are They Safe?
Mattress covers are engineered and developed utilizing a wide range of materials. Some of these materials might be harmful to some individuals. Whatever the situation, you want to make sure that all toppers you invest in are chemical-free or toxin-free. If you have specific allergies, you’ll want to make sure that you do a thorough scan to ensure the product you are investing in is safe for use.
Do The Products Work?
There is no denying that mattress covers can be effective. Ask any pest management professional and they’ll all tell you that they are effective tools for fighting bed bugs. The only problem is, you have to make sure that you are using them right. Just because the product is designed right and comes from a highly reputable manufacturer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll work right. You’ve likely heard of something called “user error.”
This is something that can happen with mattress toppers. Make sure you know how to properly use your mattress! All this being said, mattress toppers are best utilized in conjunction with other pest management tools. While effective on their own, they’ll be twice as effective when paired with other available pest management tools.