Too many of us have been there: you sleep soundly in your bed all night, but when you wake up in the morning, you’re covered in little red bites. Bed bugs! There aren’t many pests out there creepier and more invasive than the ones that hide in your mattress to suck your blood while you sleep. What’s worse, not only do they invade your most private space while you’re at your most unguarded, these creepy crawlies are just about impossible to get rid of. They breed like crazy, they’ve developed resistance to common pesticides, and they can hide in some pretty astonishing places. Fortunately, there are still some things you can do to avoid bedding down with these buggers.
How You Get Bed Bugs
It’s a common misconception that only people with dirty homes have bed bugs. While it’s true that cleaning clutter and frequently washing sheets can help make your home a more hostile place to these bugs, the reality is that traveling is the single biggest risk factor for bed bug infestation. There are other ways to get them of course, but they’re very common in “hot spots.” These include temporary housing establishments like hotels, hostiles, and Airbnbs, as well as transportation hubs like train stations and airports. If they’re already established in a location, bed bugs can easily hitch a ride to the next. You can pick them up when you sit down on an infested bus seat when you lay your luggage on hotel beds or sofas when you bring secondhand furniture into your home, and even when you use the laundromat.
How You Avoid Bed Bugs
There are a lot of things you can do to avoid picking up unwanted hitchhikers that you weren’t even aware were thumbing a ride in your suitcase. These include:
When you travel:
- Check hotel beds for signs of bugs like blood spots on sheets, pellet droppings, or actual bugs hiding inside creases and under buttons in the mattress.
- Never put clothing or luggage on hotel beds or sofas – use tables and desks instead.
- Always wash clothes in hot water before putting them away after you come home.
- Check your luggage for signs of bugs hiding inside it before putting it in the closet.
When you’re out and about:
- If you do your laundry at a laundromat, dry it on the highest heat possible.
- Never fold laundry in public facilities. Bring it straight from the dryer to the basket to your house.
- Avoid buying hand-me-down or secondhand furniture and appliances.
- If you’re going to bring home this stuff, look for the same signs of bugs you would in a hotel room.
In your home:
- Vacuum frequently to suck up bugs hiding in carpet fibers.
- Wash and dry sheets often, at the highest temperature possible.
- Use a mattress protector to help eliminate hiding spots in your bed.
Remember, bed bugs aren’t microscopic. If they’re hiding somewhere, you will be able to see them if you look hard enough even though they're tiny (5-8mm), tan or brown, and almost round.
Beating The Bugs
Unfortunately, bed bugs are geniuses at getting around even the most stringent of prevention methods. No matter how clean or how meticulous you are, you can still wind up on the business end of a bed bug infestation. If that happens, don’t waste money and energy trying to get rid of them yourself.
Here at Augustine Exterminators, our name alone can scare pests to death! Our quarterly residential programs offer four seasonally specific treatment plans a year, with year-round bed bug services included. Our commercial pest services are great for any facility, from hotels to hospitals to office buildings to apartment complexes. And the best part is we’re a contract-free company, meaning we do everything we can to keep you happy enough to stay with us. If you’re ready to turn the bed bugs into dead bugs, give us a call at (913) 398-3575 or visit our contact page to schedule your service today.