You would think we’d get a break from having to worry about cockroaches in the winter, right? As cold-blooded insects, shouldn’t they go dormant or die in the colder months? Unfortunately, cockroaches are a year-round pest because they find places to survive the cold. Like most pests in the winter, they look for food and water. Additionally, they look for warm, moist dark places to take shelter from the cold. Just like mice and squirrels, they need warmth to survive!
Tips to Avoid Getting Bed Bugs
Let’s talk about how to avoid getting Bed Bugs.
Do you love to travel? Most people do. It’s the excitement of seeing and experiencing new places. Travel can also connect you with family and friends and bring you together for holiday gatherings. For others, it may be required for work. No matter the reason, travel comes with both rewards and risks. Unfortunately, one of those risks is bed bugs.
Bed bugs can travel home with you on your luggage, laundry, pillows, or any other fabric surface. Because they love dark, tight spaces, they are very difficult to see or detect. Adult bed bugs reproduce every two weeks, which is a very fast lifecycle to keep up with when working to remove them. You may have bed bugs and don’t even know it until it becomes an infestation. Bed bug infestations can happen quickly, so you need to know how to avoid getting them.
How can you avoid getting bed bugs?
As wonderful as it is to travel, when you stay in a hotel or rental (or even a family member’s home) it is wise to take precautions. Our bed bug experts have put together this list of tips to use to avoid getting bed bugs. Nothing will ruin your travel more than realizing you unwittingly brought home bed bugs from your vacation!
Tips to protect yourself against getting bed bugs while traveling.
Luggage
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- Use hard luggage versus soft upholstered luggage. A hard-case suitcase is much less appealing to bed bugs than a soft-sided suitcase or canvas bag. They are also easier to clean.
- Don’t bring your luggage inside until you’ve inspected the hotel room or rental.
Inspection
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- Always inspect the room/space before bringing in your belongings and unpacking. Look at the sheets, mattress, and box spring, especially in the corners and crevices. Check behind the headboard and picture frames, and don’t forget to look in the drawers and check the upholstery. If you see dark spots, blood spots, or actual bed bugs, leave the room immediately and report it to the management.
Unpacking
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- Keep your clothes in the suitcase or hang them in the closet. Avoid using the drawers or furniture, as those are more likely to hide bed bugs than the closet.
- Put your suitcase on a hard surface. Do not put it on the floor, against the wall, on the bed, or on anything with fabric. If a hard surface is not available, you can use the tub or shower. Hotels clean the bathrooms more frequently and thoroughly than they clean the mattress, and the hard tub is less likely to attract bed bugs.
- Store your luggage in a sealed plastic bag. This will keep your suitcase safe from any wandering pests, including spiders and roaches.
If you do have to move rooms
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- Do not stay in the rooms above, below, or next to the infected space. If you are able, you may want to get a refund and go elsewhere!
Avoid using shared laundry facilities
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- With other peoples’ sheets, clothing, and towels being washed, you should avoid using public facilities. If you can’t avoid it, make sure you first clean out the lint trap. If you see evidence of bugs, go elsewhere. If not, then make sure to dry everything for at least 30 minutes on high.
How can you avoid bringing bed bugs home with you?
Bed bugs are sneaky hitchhikers and love to travel home with you. They can hop onto your suitcase, pillow, blankets, sleeping bag, or clothing and take the trip home. Even if you haven’t been on a wonderful trip, your kids can bring them home on their backpacks. Your vehicle’s upholstered seats can also be a potential breeding ground for bed bugs.
It pays to be careful and avoid getting bed bugs in your home! Once you return from a trip, take the following precautions to make sure you do everything you can to keep bed bugs out of your home.
Tips to avoid bringing bed bugs into your home.
- Inspect your luggage, clothing, and other objects before bringing them in the house. If you see any bed bug activity, dark spots, blood spots, or other warning signs, do not bring anything inside.
- Even if you do not see evidence of bed bugs, never put your suitcase or bags on the bed or upholstered furniture. If you do, you run the risk of them transferring from your luggage to a new breeding ground in your home.
- Bring clothing back in plastic bags either in your suitcase or separately. Plastic wrapping creates an additional barrier between your soft wearables and any lurking bed bugs.
- Wash and especially dry your clothes as soon as you get back home, even the ones you didn’t wear. Soft luggage or other items that cannot be washed and dried can be dry cleaned to remove any fear of bed bugs. At the very least, place them in the dryer or steam them so the heat can kill any residual traces of bed bugs or their eggs.
- Shake out clothing over the tub if you suspect there may be bugs in your clothes. Never shake clothing out over a carpet, rug, bedspread, or other soft material where a dislodged bed bug could hide and stick around!
We hope these tips will help you avoid getting bed bugs. Because adult bed bugs reproduce every 2 weeks, they can quickly become a serious problem that affects both your health and home. They lay eggs and leave blood stains, and more importantly, they bite and cause itching. This can affect both humans and pets.
At Mosquito Elite Pest Control, we are experts at detecting and getting rid of bed bugs!
If you suspect bed bug activity, reach out to our team right away for an inspection, bed bug treatment, and guaranteed results. Where there is one bed bug, there are more and even more eggs. Don’t hesitate! Call (757) 689-0640 if you need help with bed bugs. We are pest’s worst enemy, and we can get your home bed bug free.
For more information about our bed bug treatment and removal process or the other pest control services we offer, check out our website and make sure you take every precaution to avoid getting bed bugs!
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