If you have bed bugs, you will need the services of a pest control company but you will also need to do a number of things on your own.

Lots of info online, with this from Harvard especially clear and detailed. It's a thorough overview of bed bugs with lots of photos to help you confirm their ID.
http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/pes_bedbug.shtml

One of the links on that page goes to this brochure for students and the public; it's an excellent summary of the facts:
http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/enviro/bedbug_brochure.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: bed bug info at Harvard

We had bedbugs a few months back and we first noticed it when we would wake up with small red bites (on the legs mostly for some reason). At first we didn't bother too much about it but it got worse and at one point we could see some small blood spots on the mattress. We then realized we were dealing with bedbugs and kind of freaked.

We tried a number of "cheap" ways of dealing with the bugs - didn't want to spend on an exterminator and after a few ineffective approaches we used bed bug powder that is supposedly harmless to humans and it worked! We followed the instructions on the videos on the page below (somewhere around the middle of the page).

It was actually a rather creepy feeling knowing that when you were going to sleep these little critters were going to come out an make a meal out of you. Getting rid of these things has made us sleep a little easier but they are surprisingly resilient. We originally thought just doing some basic room cleaning and washing would work. We were wrong. I suggest trying the powder.

Here is a link that might be useful: Getting rid of bedbugs videos

Bed bugs are making a comeback, so be leery of buying/accepting used furniture.

I have read that chrysanthemums are used as a holistic way to get rid of bedbugs as well as Diatomaceous Soil. Please let people know about this and share your experience. We do not need to hear DDT like fixes. Where were they hiding all this time by the way?

I believe that you are referring to pyrethrum, which is a pesticide derived from a type of chrysanthemum. Synthetics pyrethrins have been used (and still are) for bed bug control, but are not particularly effective. Mixing them with other chemicals apparently improves their efficacy, but they have proven to be more and more resistant.

Bed bugs haven't been hiding at all. There have been other severe population outbreaks in the past, but they've managed to squelch them by the use of very powerful (and deadly) pesticides....which are now off the market in much of the world. So, this is just their time again!

Dry steam treatments have proved fairly good at control, but probably best left in the hands of professionals who have the right equipment. Moist steam can cause mold to start growing.

I have family members who own a B$B in upstate NY. Many of their visitors are from NYC. I've been afraid to ask them about bed bugs, but I sure will before my next visit! Eeeek!

greenorganix ... it has to be a specific species, and the powder loses effectiveness quite quickly.

One of the better remedies is the DIY carbon-dioxide based trap. They use CO2 to track where the person is, so you lure them into the trap with a tiny bit of Dry ice.