Bed Bug Prevention
Want to know how to prevent bed bugs? The best way is to learn where they live out in your community so you can stop them from hitching a ride back to your house.
How Do You Get Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs flourish in places where a lot of people sit or sleep for extended periods of time—like public transportation, libraries, day care centers, and college dorms.
They're especially problematic for hotels and motels. Used furniture, notoriously box springs and mattresses, are often implicated in home infestations as well.
But the little bloodsuckers easily attach to anything in motion, like backpacks, purses, and luggage.
Where Do Bed Bugs Come From?
In 2015, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) surveyed professional pest control service providers about their bed bug treatment activity. From the responses, we can see that homeowners and rental managers drove most of the demand, followed by the hospitality industry.
- 90%: Apartments, condominiums, single family homes
- 74%: Hotels and motels
- 58%: Nursing homes
- 45%: Office buildings
- 43%: Schools and day care centers
- 36%: Hospitals
- 33%: Doctor’s offices and outpatient facilities
- 29%: Public transportation
- 20%: Retail stores
- 16%: Movie theaters
These numbers demonstrate how easy it is to bring home bed bugs. In fact, 29% of pest control companies noted that their employees had brought bed bugs back to the office or to their own homes after treating an infestation!
How to Protect Yourself When Traveling
Bed bugs are infamous for being picked up by travelers. Here are some tips to prevent bed bugs by taking precautions when traveling:
- Luggage: Use hard-cased luggage.
- Packing: Put your clothing in re-sealable plastic bags. Bring extra bags for clothes to be laundered and for items you may purchase on your trip.
- Flashlight: Bring a small, bright flashlight to inspect your room upon arrival.
- Upon Entering the Room: Place your unopened luggage on a hard elevated surface or in a dry bathroom. Don't put it on the bed, floor or upholstered furniture. Keep luggage closed.
- Learn How to Check for Bed Bugs: Know what bed bugs and their eggs look like. Get familiar with their markings (blood stains, sheddings and droppings).
- Inspect the Room: Using your flashlight, check the bed mattress and box springs. Use a credit card or similar thin object to dig into sheet seams and creases. Don't forget to check behind the headboard, bed spreads, pillows, upholstered furniture and inside drawers.
- Bag the evidence: If you find bed bug debris or an actual bug, put the evidence in a plastic bag to share with hotel management, and ask for a new room.
- When You Get Home: Unpack luggage in a bathroom. Shake out clothing over a light-colored surface (shower or tub) so you can see if any bed bugs fall out.
- Immediately Launder Clothing: If you suspect bed bugs, use hot water and dry at highest setting for at least 20 minutes. Dry cleaning will work for delicate items that can't be cleaned in high temperatures.
- Vacuum Luggage: Use a hand-held vacuum or attachment to get into all the crevices.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs in a Rental Property
Rental properties can be cleared, thoroughly cleaned, painted and readied for a new tenant, and all the while these little insects are hiding in the wall outlets, drapes, baseboards, behind wallpaper, and in air vents. The nymphs or juveniles are so tiny they are easily overlooked. Adults are masters of concealment.
Once an infestation has taken hold, it can be costly to successfully eradicate it. Moving a tenant to another unit will not resolve the problem.
It's best to be proactive when it comes to these bloodthirsty invaders. Having a professional pest control contractor as part of your routine rental management team is financially beneficial for you, and a comfort for your tenants.
Professional Pest Control
Bed bugs have simple needs; a warm body and a dark place to hide. You may never be able to determine exactly how the bed bugs got into your house. But the most important thing is getting them out!
If you're concerned that you may have brought home bed bugs, call us for an inspection. Our technicians will help you to develop a plan of action to eradicate the bed bugs and restore your peace of mind.
Keeping families safe and comfortable is always a top priority at Croach® Pest Control.
Free Pest InspectionCroach® Bed Bug Treatment Service Area
Seattle, WA (with branch offices in Mukilteo, Sumner, Kirkland, Tacoma, and Mount Vernon. Tri-Cities, WA (located out of Kennewick). Portland, OR (with a shop in Beaverton). Spokane, WA (headquartered in Post Falls, ID). Kooskia and Lewiston, ID. Boise, ID. Denver, CO with offices in Aurora and Frederick.
Salt Lake City, UT (operating out of Sandy). Columbia, SC and Greenville, SC.