A Whole Week In Honor Of Bed Bugs

The pest management industry is “celebrating” Bed Bug Awareness week from June 4th through June 10th. The Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) designates this event every year to help spread awareness about bed bug infestations and how to protect yourself from this bug – particularly this time of year, as the peak travel season is coming up.

Why Bed Bugs Are a Bigger Concern When You Travel

When you think of bed bugs, you think of tiny, man-eating bugs that attack you when you’re asleep in your bed, right? That’s the perception most people have about bed bugs and the reason why many people unknowingly bring bed bugs into their home after traveling. You have to look at more than just the hotel bed when you’re checking for bed bugs!

Bed bugs can be found in the chair or sofa in your hotel room. They could be on the rug, in the closet, in the extra blanket or pillows stored on the top shelf of the hotel room closet, inside the dresser or end table drawers, and they can even travel from one room to another through the outlets.

So, as you put your suitcase down on the floor and move your clothes into the hotel dresser – you could be inviting bed bugs to travel home with you from the inside of your suitcase or on your clothing.

If you take public transportation to and from your destination, such as the train or a bus, you could unknowingly allow a bed bug or two to hitch a ride into your home. They’ve even been found in retail stores and pretty much any public place – making it necessary to devote a week to spreading bed bug awareness to the general public.

Bed Bug Infestation Troubles

You may think having just one or two bed bugs travel home with you isn’t a problem. They can’t possibly survive and reproduce enough to cause a full infestation right? Wrong! A single, fertile female bed bug can produce as many as five eggs per day… up to 500 eggs during her lifetime. Before you know it, that single bed bug that found its way into your suitcase and then into your bed can result in thousands.

If you notice a bed bug, bed bug skins (they molt and shed their skins), or tiny bed bug excrement on your sheets – you need to call the professional bed bug experts at Russell’s Pest Control. The sooner you treat the infestation, the easier it is to eliminate them completely.