With summer here, you’re going to want to get out of the house and travel. Make sure you don’t bring any unwelcome guests back with you. Bed bugs can turn your luggage into a Trojan horse and infest your home once you return from your trip.
Taking some simple steps to prevent bed bug issues can help you relax on your next trip, and if you do get bed bugs, Jay Taylor Exterminating Co. in Wilmington, North Carolina can take care of the pests quickly.
Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Back To Your Wilmington, NC Home
Bed bugs are tiny, oval-shaped, brown insects that come out at night to feed on blood. Their small size lets them hide almost anywhere. These parasites like to lay in wait in mattresses, headboards, box springs, luggage, and furniture. Hotel and motel rooms are often infested due to the number of people coming and going all the time. By being careful, you can keep bed bugs from hitching a ride.
INSPECT ROOM
The best way to avoid bed bugs on your next trip is making sure you don’t come across them in the first place. Take time when you first check in to your room to inspect it for signs of bed bugs. Common clues are shed exoskeletons, blood spots, or staining. Take care to check the mattress, not surprisingly one of the most popular hiding places for these bloodsuckers.
If you think you have bed bugs in your room, ask to move to a different room. Make sure you move to a room away from the infested one because bed bugs like to spread out.
ELEVATE YOUR LUGGAGE
Bed bugs love to hide in luggage and stow away to a new destination. Since bed bugs can quickly travel across carpets, keep your bags off the floor. If possible, put them on a table, a shelf, or hang them up in the closet.
If there’s no place to put the bags up against the ground, you can keep them on the bathroom floor. Bed bugs don’t like tile, so they almost never hide in bathrooms. Keep your dirty clothes in a heavy duty plastic bag, so they don’t get infested.
CLEAN EVERYTHING
Even though travel can be exhausting, don’t just throw your bags on the floor when you get home. Make sure to wash all the clothes from the trip as soon as you get home, even clothes you may not have worn. You should also take the time to vacuum out your bags.
If you are too worn out from the drive or flight back, just keep the luggage out of your home until you find the time to clean everything properly. Leave it in the car or the garage.
HOT AND COLD
If you think an item has been compromised, you don’t necessarily need to throw it away. Hold on to those lucky socks, or your souvenir shirt. Prolonged exposure to heat or cold can kill any unwelcomed guests.
Put any suspect items in the dryer on its highest heat setting, for multiple cycles. Another option is to bag and freeze the item. You’ll want to keep the bag in the freezer for at least a week so that the object can freeze through.
If you still experiencing itchy bite marks or seeing blood spots in your bed, you may have bed bugs. Jay Taylor Exterminating Co. will get rid of pests with minimal pesticides thanks to our simple deep heat treatment.