Top ten places bed bugs hide out

You’ve heard all about bedbugs in hotels, but did you know they’re also hiding (and waiting to hitch a ride home with you) in these common public places? 

Public Libraries

Crawling into bed with a good book has taken on a whole new meaning if you’re borrowing books from the public library system. Before you head home with a stash of bestsellers, check the pages and spines for bedbugs circulating from one reader’s home to the next.

Retail Stores

From clothes to furniture, bedbugs are just waiting for moving day. In the summer of 2010, retail shops were closed for fumigation when bedbugs were found hiding out in the goods. Investigate any possible purchases for unusual stains and shake out clothing before bringing it into the house.

Movie Theaters

You may catch more than a matinee at your local cineplex. With cushy, upholstered seats and plenty of human hosts, the movie theater is prime real estate for bedbugs looking for a meal. Limit the personal belongings you bring with you to avoid bringing home your own critter horror show.

Planes, Trains and Buses

All kinds of people take public transportation, and bedbugs ride for free on planes, trains and buses. Bedbugs are small and hard to detect, so it’s unlikely you’ll see the pests getting cozy in your seat. However, you can take precautions when you return home -- don’t place your bags on your bed, and closely inspect your belongings when you unpack.

Daycares, Schools and Colleges

Stuffed animals, cubbies and dorms are incubators for all things gross, and bedbugs are spreading along with the rest of the germs among students and roommates. Kids in daycare share their cots and beloved toys from home. College kids bring home their laundry and bedbugs. Check in with the school director or resident advisor for reports of a bedbug invasion.

Places of Worship

Is nothing sacred? Clearly not for bedbugs who have been known to congregate in the holiest of places including temples, churches and religious meeting halls. Know how to spot a bedbug, and don’t let your guard down, even when offering up a prayer and gathering with like-minded worshippers.

Business Offices

The newest agenda item for many businesses is battling bedbugs that are just as likely to nestle into the carpet or furniture in the boardroom as they are in a bedroom. With clients and packages coming and going, bedbugs may move into an office space traveling on backpacks, briefcases, boxes, business suits or casual Friday clothing.

Laundry Facilities

If you’re sorting and folding in shared spaces, there’s more to worry about than mixing your lights and darks, as bedbugs invade even the cleanest spots in town. Bedbug victims are often instructed to wash and dry infected clothing and personal belongings using extremely high heat. Avoid cross contamination in the laundromat by keeping your dirty laundry to yourself, investigating tables and chairs, and using the hottest washing and drying temperatures possible.

Hospitals and Nursing Homes

Bedbugs don’t discriminate against the sick or the old, and to prove this point, hospitals around the country had to quarantine patient rooms and triage centers in late summer and fall 2010 to deal with bedbugs. You won’t likely have time to investigate beds and furniture if you get sick, but rest assured, bedbugs do not carry or spread disease.

Consignment, Thrift Shops and Yard Sales

Forgo the bargain-hunting and splurge on new goods to avoid bringing home bedbugs. If you just can’t pass up a sale, at least try to stay away from used mattresses, bed frames and headboards. You may save money, but professional treatment for a bedbug infestation can set you back thousands of dollars.

Bed Bug Inspection tips on what to look for while staying in a hotel room.

You’re packed for your trip, your boarding passes are downloaded… and then that little moment of terror hits. What if the hotel you’re going to stay in has bed bugs? It’s a real concern, but by being vigilant, you can reduce your chances of bringing home some unexpected souvenirs.

Here’s how Pest Arrest suggest you search for bed bugs when you arrive at a new hotel. We can’t promise this is foolproof, but its a start.

Tools you will need: A flashlight, or the flashlight feature of your phone. Use your phone to take photos of anything suspicious.

What you are looking for: Bedbugs hang out near their food source–you. After feeding, bed bugs poop, creating tell-tale brown stains of your clotted blood. You typically won’t see bugs — they are fairly tiny and can scurry quickly — but you will see these stains.  You can find many pictures on our web site www.pestarrest.net 

1. Put your luggage in the bathtub when you arrive. Luggage is a major way that bed bugs are moved from place to place. The bathroom has the fewest places for bed bugs to hide, and is the most vigorously cleaned part of a hotel room. If you actually find something suspicious in your search, you can grab your bags out of the tub and run away without risking contamination.

2. Tear the place up. Pull the bed away from the wall, if possible. Headboards fastened to the wall next to the bed are a great place for a flat little insect to stay. Shine your flashlight behind headboards and under beds. Strip the bed, right down to the mattress and bed springs to see what’s underneath the sheets and mattress pad. Lift the mattress and box springs up and look underneath.  If it’s a platform bed, inspect carefully under the springs and around the base. Pay special attention to the seams of mattresses and the box springs. These are spots the bugs like to hide in.

3. Check your sheets the next morning. When you get up the next morning, look for little blood stains or tiny rusty spots on your sheets. Reactions to bed bug bites vary widely, from no reaction at all to lots of swelling and redness.  You may be one of the people that doesn’t react with itching to the bed bug bites, so the presence of bites isn’t always a reliable check. Bed bugs sometimes bite in groups of three. Don’t use luggage racks, closet shelves, or drawers during your stay unless you feel confident that they are bed bug free. 

Sounds like alot of work but better there, then in your home and not to mention the cost of a bed bug treatment. 

Safe travels

PEST OF THE MONTH

December – COCKROACHES

Cockroaches are among the most common insects, with about 70 species being found in the United States alone. Their sizes and colors vary significantly on the type of species infesting.

Cockroaches are well known for moving to areas via “hitchhiking”. Because they prefer to hide in cracks and crevices in the daytime, they are frequently moved about in products or by people. Careful inspection of food products, furniture, decorations, clothing, or other goods coming into the home from stores or storage may expose Cockroaches in hiding.

The presence of Cockroaches is often detected by their damage of by the fecal matter, they deposit. Once cockroaches become established in a home they are prolific breeders and capable of producing several thousand offspring in a year. Cockroaches thrive where food and moisture are readily available, so sanitation is an important step in the prevention and control of these pests.

The presence of Cockroaches constitutes an important source of health-threatening allergens and diseases.

If you suspect a Cockroach infestation in your home or business call Pest Arrest today as they will get worse if ignored.