The time for holiday travel is quickly approaching. The panic, the shopping, and the cooking are all becoming a reality once again and you don’t have time for much else. The last thing you need to add to your ever growing holiday to-do list is a bed bug infestation. The best thing you can do is arm yourself with knowledge to be ahead of the game and use the proven tricks below when returning from your travels!
Things to Know:
Bed bugs are tricky. They are elusive and great at hiding during the day.
They have a method to their madness. Their bites leave behind patterns and clusters. While disturbing, this helps identify an infestation.
Bed bugs are commonly misidentified pests. They are often mistaken for fleas or cockroaches.
They can live for several months without a meal; on top of that, they can survive freezing temperatures of up to -122 degrees.
When travelling back home from your holiday visits, leave suitcases in a garage or driveway and take clothing straight to the laundry room to be washed in warm water. This is especially important for college students coming home for winter break.
Bed bug infestations are very serious and require a thorough inspection and intense treatment. If you suspect that you have an issue with bed bugs, call a licensed bed bug specialist immediately.
Bed bugs are an ongoing problem in the pest industry with no foreseeable changes in the near future. Infestation cases are on the rise and will most likely increase with the upcoming holiday season. So as your family makes plans for traveling, relatives visiting, and students coming home from college, it’s important to know how to keep your home protected from the ultimate hitchhiker: the bed bug.
If you’ve never seen a bed bug, you may have a hard time finding or identifying one. Keep reading to find out what bed bugs look like, where to find them, what threats they pose, and how to prevent and control them.
Bed Bug Identification
Red to brown in color (red after they’ve had a blood meal), six legs, flat and oval in shape, about 1/4″ in size or smaller
Bed Bug Environment
Cracks and crevices close to a human food source – behind baseboards, in furniture, bed frames, mattresses & boxsprings, suitcases, boxes (like shoe boxes or under bed storage), behind electrical switch plates
Bed Bug Threats
Bed bugs are excellent travelers and often go unnoticed since they’re nocturnal. They typically appear at night once you’re sleeping to feed and often leave behind red, itchy welts on the skin when bitten. Although they don’t transmit diseases, bed bugs are extremely elusive and hard to get rid of once an infestation occurs and can’t be eradicated with do-it-yourself treatments.
Bed Bug Prevention
Don’t bring suitcases inside your home after traveling. Remove all clothes first, wash them, and run through a high heat dryer cycle. Bed bugs cannot withstand high temperatures so this ensures you’re killing any that may have travelled back with you from trips, relatives’ homes, school, etc. Vacuum suitcases and leave them somewhere outside your home, preferably in sealed bags or containers, until you need them again. Also, make a habit of inspecting your bed for signs. Dark (blood) spots on sheets, pillows or other bedding is the most obvious indicator of a bed bug infestation. If you’re seeing this, call an exterminator immediately that specialized in bed bug treatment and control.
Bed Bug Control
Because of the elusive nature of bed bugs and their ability to survive in extreme conditions (bed bugs can live for a year or more without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures from nearly freezing to 113 degrees Fahrenheit), they can’t be eliminated through do-it-yourself methods. If you’ve identified a bed bug infestation in your home or business, or suspect bed bug activity, call a professional pest control company. A proper inspection is needed to identify all areas of infestation. After an in-depth inspection, a treatment and control plan can be implemented, usually including multiple chemical and/or heat treatments and inspections over several weeks. As part of the treatment plan, you may be asked by your exterminator to remove or reduce clutter, install protective encasements to your mattresses and/or boxsprings, and launder bedding and/or clothing. You should also be advised not to throw out any infested furniture, clothes or other items; this can cause the spread of bed bugs to other locations. It’s also not recommended to purchase new furniture throughout the treatment process as these items will likely become infested with bed bugs.
Bed bugs are an ongoing problem in the pest industry with no foreseeable changes in the near future. Infestation cases are on the rise and will most likely increase with the upcoming holiday season. So as your family makes plans for traveling, relatives visiting, and students coming home from college, it’s important to know how to keep your home protected from the ultimate hitchhiker: the bed bug.
If you’ve never seen a bed bug, you may have a hard time finding or identifying one. Keep reading to find out what bed bugs look like, where to find them, what threats they pose, and how to prevent and control them.
Bed Bug Identification
Red to brown in color (red after they’ve had a blood meal), six legs, flat and oval in shape, about 1/4″ in size or smaller
Bed Bug Environment
Cracks and crevices close to a human food source – behind baseboards, in furniture, bed frames, mattresses & boxsprings, suitcases, boxes (like shoe boxes or under bed storage), behind electrical switch plates
Bed Bug Threats
Bed bugs are excellent travelers and often go unnoticed since they’re nocturnal. They typically appear at night once you’re sleeping to feed and often leave behind red, itchy welts on the skin when bitten. Although they don’t transmit diseases, bed bugs are extremely elusive and hard to get rid of once an infestation occurs and can’t be eradicated with do-it-yourself treatments.
Bed Bug Prevention
Don’t bring suitcases inside your home after traveling. Remove all clothes first, wash them, and run through a high heat dryer cycle. Bed bugs cannot withstand high temperatures so this ensures you’re killing any that may have travelled back with you from trips, relatives’ homes, school, etc. Vacuum suitcases and leave them somewhere outside your home, preferably in sealed bags or containers, until you need them again. Also, make a habit of inspecting your bed for signs. Dark (blood) spots on sheets, pillows or other bedding is the most obvious indicator of a bed bug infestation. If you’re seeing this, call an exterminator immediately that specialized in bed bug treatment and control.
Bed Bug Control
Because of the elusive nature of bed bugs and their ability to survive in extreme conditions (bed bugs can live for a year or more without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures from nearly freezing to 113 degrees Fahrenheit), they can’t be eliminated through do-it-yourself methods. If you’ve identified a bed bug infestation in your home or business, or suspect bed bug activity, call a professional pest control company. A proper inspection is needed to identify all areas of infestation. After an in-depth inspection, a treatment and control plan can be implemented, usually including multiple chemical and/or heat treatments and inspections over several weeks. As part of the treatment plan, you may be asked by your exterminator to remove or reduce clutter, install protective encasements to your mattresses and/or boxsprings, and launder bedding and/or clothing. You should also be advised not to throw out any infested furniture, clothes or other items; this can cause the spread of bed bugs to other locations. It’s also not recommended to purchase new furniture throughout the treatment process as these items will likely become infested with bed bugs.
We talk a lot about how NOT to get bed bugs. By now you know to take precautions when traveling – ask hotels before booking if they’ve had a history with bed bugs, check for signs of bed bugs after check in (around mattress edges most common), and don’t leave luggage or clothing sitting on beds that aren’t your own. You also know it’s not a great idea to bring your luggage into your home right after a trip. Instead, leave in your garage and wash all the clothing before bringing inside, if possible. Store suitcases in an outdoor closet if available. Even if you’ve done all of the above, bed bugs are great travelers and CAN find their way into your home – maybe in that second-hand piece of furniture you recently purchased, from overnight house guests’ luggage, or even your kids returning home from college with a few extra “friends”. Bed bugs are made to survive in the most extreme conditions, making it hard to get rid of them once they’re in your home.
Finding and identifying bed bugs doesn’t have to be hard, though. Typically they like to live only a few feet away from their food source – any living person or pet in your home. So most likely you’ll find them in and around your bed. So how will you know when you have bed bugs? The most obvious sign is bites. You may see them on your skin or experience itchiness. Or you may not feel or see bites at all. In this case, bed bug infestations can worsen since you don’t know they’re there until it’s too late. To avoid this, check for bed bugs often. When changing bedding, check for signs – dark spots (fecal matter) on mattresses, box springs, pillows, on bed skirts, and headboards. You may also see bed bugs if you’re heavily infested, in any of their life stages – from eggs to nymphs to adults. In the adult stage, bed bugs are relatively flat, small, round, and a reddish brown color (this coloring is darker after a feeding). You can see the different life stages of bed bugs in the photo below.
So now what? While it may be hard to stomach, continue sleeping in your bed until the bed bugs have been eliminated. Moving to other areas of your home, such as a guest bedroom or the sofa, could cause the bed bugs to travel with you and infest other areas. If you want to change your bedding, wash everything in hot water. Bed Bugs can’t survive in extremely hot conditions so this will kill any hiding out in pillows, comforters, etc. While some exterminators may suggest otherwise, it’s usually best to leave everything else as is until you’ve had a professional inspection. Again, you don’t want the bed bugs to migrate to other areas of the house.
Next, call a pest control company that specializes in bed bug treatments. There are several methods of treatment available and an experienced exterminator will know which solution is best for your situation. This will also ensure you’ve correctly identified bed bugs. In the meantime, while waiting for your inspection, resist the urge to throw beds, bedding and furniture out. This will only worsen the infestation, since they could be in areas of your home you’re unaware of, therefore will infest any new items your purchase. And you also risk spreading the pests to others, by leaving infested furniture untreated.
