Bed bugs continue to strike hotels, apartment buildings, homes, and businesses across the country. What does this mean for you? It is time to learn all the ways to prevent bed bugs from making their way into your home and risking infestation and the dreaded bed bug bites. Although infestations are hard to control and certainly will require a professional pest control company for eradication, there are ways to avoid this all together. The NY bed bug control experts at Parkway Pest Services would like to share some important bed bug prevention tips so residents in Long Island and throughout our region can stay bed bug free.
First it is important to identify the signs of a bed bug infestation. This could be in your home, hotel room, on the airplane, or anywhere else that bed bugs may be hiding. If there is an infestation present you may see:
Dark spots of blood or excrement that is left behind after the bed bugs feed on human blood
Light brown colored skins which are shed as they molt and grow into adults
Live bugs themselves which will be about the size of an apple seed as adults
To prevent bed bugs from becoming your problem to worry about, here are some tips for your next vacation or trip:
Before you leave, pack all of your clothing in plastic, sealable bags then put it into your suitcase. This will ensure that even if a bed bug hops onto your luggage, it cannot get into your clothing and hide.
Check your surroundings before sitting for a long period of time. Look for any signs of a bed infestation as listed above. This includes a long taxi cab ride, on a bus, or on an airplane.
Once you arrive at your destination, thoroughly inspect your hotel room before bringing any of your belongings inside. Again, looking for the signs of bed bugs, you want to search the mattress, headboard, nightstands, under carpet, behind hanging art work, even around electrical outlets. Bed bugs are great hiders which means you need to inspect very carefully.
If the room is free of any bed bug activity, go ahead and bring your belongings inside but make sure to keep luggage up off the floor on luggage stands just to be safe. Also work out of your luggage instead of unpacking as using hotel bureaus and furniture only increases the risk of running into a bed bug.
When you arrive home, immediately wash your clothing in the hottest water permitted by the fabric to kill off any eggs or bugs that may have made the trip home.
Vacuum out your suitcase before putting it away for the next trip.
Continue to monitor your home just to be sure that any hitchhikers from vacation did not land a spot in your bed.
By following these tips during your travels, you should be in the clear of any bed bugs coming home with you. But if they do happen to make it and you are finding signs of an infestation in your home, contact Parkway Pest Services right away. With a large service area including Long Island, Brooklyn and metro New York as well as parts of Connecticut and New Jersey, these pest control pros will have you back to a bed bug free home in no time with their trusted bed bug removal services.