Preventing Bed Bug Infestations
Identifying Which Precautions Will Best Help To Prevent Bed Bug Infestations
Bed bugs usually live within 8 feet of where people sleep, most often in bedding, carpet, and furniture.
It is not uncommon for a pest control professional to find more than a thousand bed bugs on a single mattress!
Until recently, bed bugs had been missing from the public scene for about 50 years, and were thought to be an issue of the past.
Unfortunately, many factors, including an increase in international travel, changes in pesticide availability, bed bug resistance to pesticides, and the public's lack of awareness have opened the door for a new outbreak of this resilient and difficult-to-control pest.
Common Bed Bug Signs
While bed bugs themselves are experts at stealth and hiding, they do leave some telltale signs behind.
Typical bed bug warning signs include:
- Dark, speckled stains on beds, pillows, sheets, walls, and other surfaces that are often mistaken for mold.
- A sweet, musty, or coriander odor.
- Swollen, red welts in lines or clusters of two or three, although this may not affect all bitten. Only 70% of people are allergic to bed bug bites.
Your local NAPCA Representative can provide you with licensed, professional services for all of your bed bug and pest control needs. We are committed to safe practices, comprehensive treatments, and high standards of success and customer satisfaction.
To schedule a bed bug control quote contact us by phone or e-mail today! We'll put you in touch with your with your local NAPCA specialist, who can provide you with a professional inspection and a cost quote for treatment.
How Bed Bug Infestations Begin
Protecting your home from bed bugs requires a level of vigilance that many homeowners are not willing to live with. However, because many local health jurisdictions have no housing or hotel regulations for bed bugs (and consequently hold no jurisdiction over them), the responsibility of keeping an eye out for bed bugs is often on your shoulders.
Exercising a few basic precautions may be enough to deter an infestation of these unwanted pests:
There are plastic bags on the market that can store clothing and be put directly in your washer, dissolving away during the washing cycle.
This allows your clothes to be brought into the home, with no chance of "hitchhikers" escaping into your home.
Bed Bug Travel Precautions
Hotels, motels, and hostels are some of the key locations where bed bugs gain access to an otherwise protected home. Before sleeping on any new area, perform a check for bed bugs in the bed and anywhere within eight feet. Keep an eye on the headboard, night stands, closets, dresser drawers, and carpeting, particularly where it meets the baseboard.
When returning from a trip, place all luggage that traveled with you in a large garbage bag and leave it in the garage or outside of the home's living area.
Remove all clothing from the bag and wash with hot water. When washing is not possible, place them in a clothes dryer at high heat. Check all other luggage carefully before bringing it into the home.
Ideally, your luggage should be protected as well as possible during your hotel stay. Whenever possible, keep suitcases securely zipped and/or enclosed in a large plastic bin liner. When traveling on shuttles and buses, use the storage racks to keep luggage off the floor.
Female bed bugs are egg-producing machines, typically laying about 12 eggs daily, and about 541 eggs in a lifetime. Shown above is a bed bug climbing in a small pile of rice, with two eggs nearby.
These eggs are often "glued" into deep cracks and crevices, making them extremely hard to remove.
Bed Bugs In Public Areas
These pests can be found anywhere with high levels of human traffic. This is particularly true in locations where wooden or upholstered surfaces meet purses, backpacks, and suitcases.
Keep an eye out for bed bugs if you're traveling in a taxi, bus, airplane, train, or rental car. Sources of bed bug infestations can also be found in movie theaters, public libraries, and even in changing tables in rest rooms.
Bed Bugs In Rented Living Spaces
Populations of bed bugs are also a common occurrence in temporary or rented living spaces, such as apartments, dormitories, rented houses, and homeless shelters.
Residents of low-income and senior housing experience particular hardship from bed bug issues, as they are often the least able to pay for proper treatment of an infestation.
Homeless shelters also struggle with bed bugs. A 2004 survey of shelters in Toronto, Canada showed that 30% of shelter beds are affected.
Bed bugs and their eggs are often brought into a home while hiding in the nooks and crannies of used furniture.
Before bringing any used furniture (or furniture that has arrived from a moving company or storage), be sure to inspect it carefully for signs of a potential bed bug infestation.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide?
Bed bugs, particularly in the nymph stage, are tiny creatures that can fit just about anywhere! Here's a short list of just a few bed bug hiding places we've seen and heard about over the years:
- Carpets & Beds
- Headboards
- Baseboards & Where The Wall & Ceiling Meet
- In Wall Cavities & Vents
- Behind Outlet Covers
- In, On, & Behind Furniture
- Computer Keyboards
- In A Backyard Dog House
- Wheelchairs
- Children's Backpacks
- Clothing
- Inside The Child-Proof Cap Of A Medicine Bottle
- In A Dental Bridge/Set Of False Teeth
- Airport Shuttle Vans
- Buses, Taxis, & Rental Cars
- In A Baseball Glove
Simply put, bed bugs can hide just about anywhere!
Battling Bed Bugs Throughout History
People have been fighting bed bugs for centuries! In the late 1880's, experts estimate that three out of four British households were infested. They were brought into the New World by colonists traveling overseas. Back then, sailors believed that cockroaches hunted down bedbugs for food, and welcomed them on their ship! (This turned out to be false.)
Prior to WWII, bed bugs were common in the United States, where in areas with high resident turnover and poor sanitation. Bed bugs were also commonly transported from home to home through used furniture.
A combination of prevention practices by homeowners, regulation of the used furniture market, and the widespread use of DDT by pest control professionals nearly wiped out bed bugs for about 50 years. Towards the end, bed bugs became so resistant to DDT that many experts began to use other pesticides to wipe out the remaining population.
The earliest contemporary bed bug infestations began to emerge in the late 1990's, and were most commonly found in upscale hotels and resorts, possibly brought there from overseas. Once they reemerged in the United States, their population exploded -- particularly in the Ohio and New York areas. One contractor in Norwood, MA reported that reports of bedbugs in their area had increased by tenfold from 1998 to 1999 alone!
We Provide Professional Bed Bug Treatments!
If you're interested in contacting a licensed, reputable pest control specialist in your local area, you've come to the right place! NAPCA Pest Control Professionals serve throughout North America, and have the trainings, certifications, and products you need for safe, effective pest control.
To schedule a pest control quote to control bed bugs or any other unwanted pests that may be in your home, contact us by phone or e-mail today! We'll put you in touch with your local NAPCA member, who can schedule a professional inspection for your home.
