Bed Bugs

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Don’t let the bed bugs bite — or hitch a ride home with you!

It’s the start of our busy summer travel season, which could mean unintentionally bringing some unwanted guests into your home: bed bugs. Bed bugs are not choosy and will hitchhike with anyone, in your luggage, in books, on your clothes, or on other travelers clothes… Here are four tips you can follow to enjoy a stress-free vacation and avoid bringing bed bugs into your home.

1.Inspect your hotel room. Check out your hotel room before settling in. Pull the sheets back or off the bed and, where possible, remove the headboard. Look for fecal spots (which are black spots that look like mold or ink spots), skin casts (which are the shed skins of bed bugs), or the bugs themselves. If you discover any of the three, notify the hotel’s front desk and ask to be assigned to a new room, one that is not adjacent, above or below the infested room.

2.Pack a powerful flashlight. A bright flashlight will help in the inspection of your room, lighting up dark crevices and hard-to-see places.

3.Store your luggage in the hotel bathtub. When you first enter your room, put your luggage in the bathtub. Bed bugs can’t hold onto the slick, curved surface of a bathtub, so your luggage will be safe there. It is also recommended that you not pack or unpack your suitcase on the bed where bed bugs can get into it. Instead, use the luggage rack or desk. When you pack to leave for home, put your clothes in a sealed plastic bag inside your suitcase.

4.Unpack immediately. When you return home, head straight to the laundry room, carefully empty all of your clothes from the plastic bag into the washing machine — and turn up the heat! The high temperatures from the washer and dryer will kill any bugs and eggs that may have hitched a ride home with you.

Carefully examine your luggage for any signs of bed bugs and once cleared, store them away from your bedroom. Don’t keep them under your bed!

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Bedbugs measure just 5 millimetres across, which is smaller than a pencil eraser. These bugs are smart and tough, and they reproduce quickly.

Bedbugs know where to hide to avoid detection and can live for months between meals. A female can lay 500 eggs in her lifetime. It’s no surprise that these tiny bloodsuckers can cause a lot of trouble in your home. If they get into bed with you, they can leave red, itchy welts all over your body.

Removing bedbugs often takes some time, effort and patience.

If you’ve got bedbugs, you want to find them early before they start to reproduce. It’s much easier and cheaper to treat a small infestation than a big one. But smaller infestations can be harder to detect.

Bedbugs’ small and narrow bodies enable them to squeeze into tiny spots, like the seams of a mattress or couch and the folds of curtains. Look for them in the following places:

Mattress seams, Headboards, Any cracks or crevices on headboards or bed frames, Base boards, Skirting board, Wood floor boards, Carpets, Curtain seems, Couches or in the couch seems, Clothing, In cracked or broken plaster, behind peeling wallpaper, Inside electrical sockets and fittings, Drawers and cupboards, Wardrobes, Bedside cabinets

Steps to Contain an infestation

Vacuum:

A quick and easy way to trap bedbugs is with your vacuum. Run the vacuum over any possible hiding places.

This includes your bed, headboard, dresser, carpets, curtains, electronics, like TVs, furniture, etc.

Seal up the vacuumed contents into a plastic bag and throw it away. Then thoroughly clean out the vacuum.

Washing:

Seal up all your linens and affected clothes in plastic bags until you can wash them. Then put them on the highest possible temperature setting in a washer and dryer. If an item cannot be washed, put it in the dryer for 30 minutes at the highest heat setting. Also wash your Curtains, Carpets, Blinds and clothing.

Next, get rid of bedbug hiding places:

Pick up books, magazines, clothes, and anything else that’s lying on your floor and under your bed.
Throw out whatever you can.
Do not move items from an infested room to a clean one — you could spread the bugs.

Seal up any open areas:

Glue down loose wallpaper.
Caulk cracks in furniture and around baseboards.
Tape up open electrical outlets.

How to get rid of an Infestation

If these methods do not wipe out all the bugs, it’s time to call in the pros.

Professional Pest control companies have the advantage of using chemicals and other treatments that are not available to you. We have insecticides that both kill bugs on contact and that stay inside furniture and cracks to kill bedbugs in the long term.

Professional treatments take two to three visits to start working. After each treatment, you may have to stay out of the treated rooms for a few hours until the insecticides have dried.

If you suspect a bed bug infestation, call us today and book a professional treatment.