Bed bugs seem to be taking over, with infestations popping up in hotels around the world. Unfortunately, these invasive pests make their way into your home just as easily as they may show up in hotels. There are several steps you can take to help ensure you don’t have a bed bug infestation invade your home. A-Tex Pest Management is here to share some tips to help you keep these pests out of your home.
Inspect for Bed Bugs in Hotel Rooms
It’s no secret that bed bugs are a problem in hotels. If you have been traveling recently, you will want to take some precautions to make sure you don’t end up in a room with bed bugs. The biggest step to keep you safe from bed bugs is a thorough inspection. Placing your suitcases in the bathroom of the hotel that you are staying in will give you time to give the room an inspection. The bed as well as any other furniture should be checked for any sign of bed bug activity. Pack a flashlight in your suitcase to use in the inspection process. This will allow you to see much more than with the naked eye. This inspection process will keep you from taking home any bed bugs after your travels come to an end.
Check Luggage for Bed Bugs Before Bringing into Your Home
When you arrive home from your travels, be cautious about bringing your suitcases and luggage into your home. Hopefully, when you left, you put your dirty clothes in a plastic bag after wearing them. This will make it easy to clean your laundry and ensure you didn’t bring bed bugs home in any of your clean laundry. Before you bring in your luggage, give them a thorough vacuuming to get rid of any pests that may have hitched a ride home from vacation with you and dispose of the vacuum bag or empty the canister into the outside trash right away.
Avoid Bringing Home Used Leather, Fabric, or Even Wood Furniture as it May Have Bed Bugs!
It isn’t always a good idea to bring home used furniture. Just like beds, bed bugs frequently infest furniture. At the very least, if you feel the need to bring home used furniture, give it a thorough inspection for signs of bed bug activity. Common signs include:
• A strong, musty smell; similar to a wet towel. Bed bugs release a pheromone that creates this pungent smell.
• Bloodstains in your bed that look like dark brown spots on the sheets. These are usually found near the edges and corners of the bed.
• Bits and pieces of the bed bugs themselves as they shed their skin or molt as they develop from larvae to adults.
• Red, itchy bites on your body. They often look like flat, red welts on your skin. They often leave a pattern of straight rows on your skin.
Bed Bug Inspections, Control, Removal & More in Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville & Cedar Park, Texas
If you have any signs of bed bugs in your home, you need to work quickly. The pest experts at A-Tex Pest Management have been highly trained to deal with any bed bug infestation big or small. We can get rid of them quickly and completely. Call us today!