By now you may be aware that traveling is one of the easiest ways to come into contact with bed bugs. Whether you find them in the hotel room or they latch onto your luggage on the airplane, bed bugs are embedded into the travel industry. For anyone traveling this month, it is important that you learn how to avoid bed bugs so that you do not bring an infestation back to your Texas home. From the experts in bed bug control at Holder’s Pest Solutions, here are the top methods of avoiding bed bugs while traveling.
Before you take off, make sure you know how to identify the signs of a bed bug infestation which include:
small blood spots left on bed linens after they feed on human blood
light brown colored skins which are shed as bed bugs grow into adults
live bugs themselves, which will be about the size of an apple seed
waking up to red bites on your body, usually in a line of 3 bites
Once you have arrived at your destination, it is important to be alert for bed bugs. Before bringing any luggage or belongings inside your hotel room, make sure that it is free of any signs of a bed bug infestation as listed above. And do not forget to check in all their hiding places, which can include:
along the mattress
headboards
nightstands
behind hanging artwork
inside upholstered furniture
inside electrical outlets
under carpets
Bed bugs usually only come out at night when they sense the carbon dioxide given off by humans as they sleep. This means that daytime inspections may not show up with any results, even if bed bugs are present. Your best bet is to use a flash light and consider a thorough hotel room inspection in the later hours of the day.
Once you have arrived home from your vacation, you are not quite done with your bed bug prevention duties. Before you bring your luggage inside, it is best to inspect the suitcase for any bed bugs and then wash all your clothing right away on the hottest temperature allowed for the fabrics. Give the suitcase a good vacuum before you store it away and then stay on alert for the next few weeks to make sure your home is not showing any signs of bed bugs you may have brought back from your vacation.
If by chance you do happen to notice that your Houston, TX, home has a bed bug problem, there is no need to worry. Contact Holder’s Pest Solutions right away and one of our trained professionals will be able to get rid of the bed bug problem quickly with one of their cost-effective bed bug treatment plans.