Some pests are unavoidable and move their way into your home regardless of how careful you are. There are other pests that you can avoid and prevent from infesting your home. You don’t have to be a victim of bed bugs this holiday season. Traveling can always put yourself at risk. You want to be sure to reduce your risk of exposure or brining them home unknowingly. Following this simple guide will ensure that you don’t being more than presents home from the holidays.
What do bed bugs look like?
Here is a photo of what a typical bed bug looks like.
How to be sure a bed does not have bed bugs.
Whether you are staying at a hotel, family members house or a friends house you are at risk of exposing yourself to bed bugs. Once you are exposed your risks of bringing them back into your home are very high. Know what bed bugs looks like and how to inspect for them.
The first thing you want to do is remove all the blankets to expose the bed sheets. blood from victims leaves splotchy brown stains in the sheets. Now that the sheets don’t show any signs of stains you next want to check the mattress. Remove the sheets and mattress cover from the bed. You want to check the seams where the mattress is sewn together. Be sure you pull back on the seams, and look for blood spots or other signs shown in the images above. You can also inspect the headboard and the floor around the bed for insects or other signs. If you see any signs at any of these stages we highly recommend seeking accommodation elsewhere.
How to prevent bedbugs from getting in your clothes
Always keep your dirty clothes completely separate from fresh clothes. In case you slept in a bed or sat in a couch with bedbugs this will prevent them form further spreading or harboring. You want to be sure that the bag that stores your dirty clothes is a sealed plastic bag. This will suffocate any bed bugs you may have and will ensure that they do not spread into other areas of you luggage or home when you get back from your holiday travels.
When you get home from the holidays
Ensure that when you unpack all of your luggage either outside of your home on the driveway or in a room with tile floors. Outside is best. Make sure you launder all the clothes you took on the trip on hot water, even the clean ones you didn’t wear. Bed Bugs drop dead at about 117 degrees so washing in hot water ensures that you won’t have any invaders besides Santa on Christmas eve.
Leave you luggage outside for a few days before bringing it inside. We always recommend storing luggage in a garage or shed instead of a closet or a bedroom.
So goes my favorite Christmas song:
♪ ♫ ♩ ♬
You better watch out, inspect the mattress right, you want to find out you can sleep through the night, because little bed bugs are coming to town…
♪ ♫ ♩ ♬