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Traveling for Thanksgiving? Tips to Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home
11/14/13
The holidays are times for celebration and family gatherings, not the time of year to deal with problem pests. Try as we might to avoid them, pests are invasive and they will do anything to locate a source of food, shelter or water. Bed bugs are one of the most rapidly rising pest problems throughout the world. These blood sucking pests are able to travel effortlessly from destination to destination by attaching themselves to luggage, backpacks, and even people. These small, flat, reddish brown insects can easily adapt to new environments and tend to only venture out at night from their hidden nests to feed on human and other mammal blood. Their nocturnal instincts and elusive tendencies are why people are often unaware that they are suffering from a bed bug infestation until the problem has escalated out of control.
Some of the most common places bed bugs will infest are hotels, retail stores, apartment and condo complexes, hospitals, university dorms, movie theaters, public transportations, and homes. Within these locations some of the most frequent areas bed bug migrate to are in mattress and box springs, behind wall hangings and pictures, under floorboards and in carpeting, in crevices sofas and chairs, and even behind outlets and in electronics.
With all the hustle and bustle of thanksgiving coming up there are some bed bug prevention steps we recommend you take to help prevent an infestation from occurring in your home. When traveling, use a suitcase that securely seals or better yet, use a hard cased suitcase. Before you bring your luggage into a hotel room, carefully inspection it for signs of bed bugs by looking in all the common places bed bugs can be found. You should also keep all your clothing stored in your suitcase during your stay. Never should your suitcase or backpacks be placed on hotel floors, beds, sofas or chairs, instead place them on bureaus, tables or better yet, in bathroom tubs. Upon returning home after a trip, do not bring your luggage indoors until you have thoroughly inspected it for bed bugs. Wash all clothing you brought with you on your trip (even clothing you did not wear) on the hottest temperatures possible for the garments.
Sometimes, even after following these bed bug prevention tips, you may still have one or two bed bugs that have found their way into you home after the Thanksgiving holiday. If you have found itchy red welts on your skin, seen shed bed bug skins, found dried blood spots on your linens, or noticed a sweet musty odor similar to over-ripened raspberries saturating a room, do not hesitate, contact Moyer Indoor | Outdoor and schedule an appointment immediately with our trusted exterminators for a bed bug inspection and home pest control services to remove your pest problem today!