Ready for that next vacation or business trip and are concerned about all the news lately about the rapid growth of bed bug activity in hotels and other buildings across the country? Knowing your enemy can lower the risk or even prevent bedbugs from attacking you or hitching a ride home with you.
Bed bugs are generally active at night, with a peak activity period about an hour before dawn. Attracted by warmth and carbon dioxide, the bug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place. The bites cannot usually be felt until minutes or hours later. Bedbugs can live for up to 18 months without feeding.
Leave your luggage by the door when you arrive. Luggage is one of the known ways that bed bugs are moved from place to place. So try to avoid picking up any hitchhikers. Another option is to put your luggage in the bathtub. Inspect the luggage rack if there is one before setting your luggage on it. Inspect the room. Pay special attention to the bed, bed frame, and any headboard. These are the prime spots you’ll see signs of an infestation. Bed bugs hang out near their food source which usually is found by the bed.
Take things apart. Start by pulling the bed away from the wall, if possible. A flashlight is handy for shining behind headboards and under beds. Strip the bed, right down to the mattress and bed springs. You have to see what’s underneath the clean sheets and mattress pad to know what’s been there. Lift the mattress and box springs up and look underneath. If it’s a platform bed, inspect carefully under the springs and around the base. Pay special attention to the seams of mattresses and the box springs. These are spots the bugs like to hide in. Bed stands near the bed are another place to look, as well as any couches, drawers, furniture, and other items that are near the bed. Bed bugs can live in any tiny crack and crevices.
After feeding, bedbugs leave brown stains of your clotted blood. You typically won’t see the bugs–they are fairly tiny and can move quickly. There are some great bed bug monitors on the market to set out under the bed to detect the insects quickly. Call us if you would like more information or would like to purchase