Remove all blankets, sheets, covers, pillows, bath towels, and drapes/curtains from the bed and room and place them into bags for transport to the laundry.

Empty drawers and closets and place belongings into plastic bags. Place all clothing and coats into bags for transport to the laundry. Shoes, pillows, and children’s plush toys should be bagged for the laundry.

Plastic toys, books, electronics, and anything that cannot be washed should be bagged separately for inspection.

The room should be empty of all cloth and plush items, except plush furniture. If possible, the pillows of plush furniture should be removed and laundered.

Move furniture at least 18 inches away from the walls. People may need help with this.

Remove outlet covers and switch plates on all walls.

Picture frames should be removed from the walls and cleaned or treated.

People and pets must leave the area during treatment and wait the stated amount of time before reentering, usually 4 hours.

If there is a fish tank in the household, it should be covered with a towel or plastic, because fish are very sensitive to many pesticides.

All clothing, linens and other items must be cleaned (free of bed bugs) and kept isolated until the client is moved to a new room or location, or until the bed bug problem is eliminated.

Make sure the pest control professional can get to all furniture, closets, beds, and baseboards to inspect and treat.