Bedbugs

• Bedbugs will climb on the fabric of your couch and hide within crevices.Brian Kersey/Getty Images News/Getty Images
  
  Bedbugs are parasitic insects about 3/16 of an inch long that have made a furious comeback in the United States after being nearly wiped out by the popularity of insecticides like DDT in the 1940s. They have small, flat bodies often colored dark brown or dark red, and colonize within fibrous materials like beds and couches. Bedbugs are active at night and will bite anyone sitting on the couch, engorging themselves with blood using specialized mouth parts. Itching or swelling may develop in the region of the bite.
  
  

Bedbug Elimination

• Professional exterminators may use chemicals to treat begbug infestations.Brian Kersey/Getty Images News/Getty Images
  
  Bedbugs can be prevented by keeping the couch clean and frequently vacuuming. Use the vacuum hoses to clean crevices within cushions. Steam-cleaning the cushions can also be effective. Bedbugs will die at temperatures exceeding 120 F after a day, and die in temperatures below 32 F after two to three days. Wrap the couch in plastic and place it outside during temperature extremes if infestations are too severe to curtail with vacuuming. Professional pest exterminators are the most reliable option and will employ chemicals to eliminate infestations.
  
  

Fleas

• Fleas are biting insects that use fibrous material and crevices as breeding grounds, making the couch an infestation hotbed. They provide a danger to both humans and animals and account for roughly half of all skin conditions in pets. Adult biting fleas spend most of their time as pet parasites; however, they store their eggs and larvae on carpets and within couch cushions.
  
  

Flea Extermination

• Daily vacuuming is the most effective measure against flea populations. Thoroughly vacuum carpets and individual couch cushions. Powdered insecticides based on the chemical borate can keep fleas at bay for upward of a year, provided it is applied properly and vacuumed up several days later. Professional exterminators may use insect growth regulators as well as various pesticides to destroy populations. Insect growth regulators prevent the flea larvae from developing naturally, interfering with the life cycle.