Stay alert and watch for bed bugs when you travel this holiday season!
The holidays are already here, and it is the busiest time of the year for traveling as people go home for the holidays. Airplanes, trains, buses, hotels and even the family guest bedroom is often booked full! Stores are bustling with customers and movie theaters are packed as they debut the holiday hits. Unfortunately, all these places are prime hiding/pick up spots for bed bugs! Yes, you’re reading that right, BED BUGS!
Bed bugs can survive a great swath of temperatures from around freezing to 120 plus degrees and will go months between blood meals, so they are found in many common places. Bed bugs are only present to eat you, so no matter how clean you are, you are still vulnerable to bed bugs hitchhiking a ride into your home and multiplying. Bed bugs will hide in backpacks, on clothes, in electronics, luggage and more. They bite with an anesthetic bite, so most people never notice. Knowing what to look for while out and about in public places and being on alert are the best practices to avoid bed bug infestations.
Tips to prevent yourself from picking up bed bugs while traveling include but are not limited to:
- Inspect airplanes, busses and all mass transit seating before sitting down, and then inspect yourself and personal belongings after exiting.
- Inspect theater seats before sitting down, as well as yourself and personal belongings after the show.
- Leave as many personal belongings behind as possible. Don’t sit purses or backpacks on the ground or empty seats, hang on to them.
- Inspect hotel rooms and their fixtures including mattresses, bed frames, headboards, nightstands, luggage racks and hanging pictures for blood blotches, bed bugs, bed bug carcasses, and deposited bed bug eggs.
- Store luggage on luggage racks once inspected.
- Inspect all personal belongings including luggage after departing the hotel and then again when returning home.
- Shower yourself and launder all items immediately upon returning home being sure to quarantine all items until they hit hot soapy water or the hot air of a dryer for at least 15 minutes.
- In the home, use bed bug mattress encasements, vacuum regularly, install bed bug monitors around beds, and inspect all used furniture items before bringing them home. It is good practice to also make routine inspections of your homes current furniture including your mattress.
If you suspect you have bed bugs or have found a bed bug(s), call the pest control professionals you can trust at AllTrust Pest Control at (850) 860-7558 to have a bed bug inspection conducted! Bed bug heat treatment and conventional bed bug treatments are available!
