How To Avoid Getting Holiday Bed Bugs

If you could go back in time to stop something really bad from happening, would you do it? Of course you would. It is a lot easier to prevent something from happening than it is to fix things “after” they have happened. This is the secret to avoiding holiday bed bugs. No. We’re not saying you need to build a time machine. That would be complicated, if not slightly impossible. What we’re saying is that bed bugs are a problem that is best dealt with “before” it happens. Here’s what you need to know.

If you knew that a certain person would be hit by a certain car on a certain day, what would you do? Would you warn them? What if you knew how and where your friend or family could pick up bed bugs, would you tell them?

When you tell your friends and family about bed bugs, you will not only be protecting yourself from an accidental infestation, you’ll be protecting them as well. Public awareness is the most powerful weapon in the war against bed bugs.

3 Places Bed Bugs Get Picked Up During The Holidays

• Sleep accommodations. It doesn’t matter how nice or how clean, bed bugs can be found in places where people sleep. If your friends and family will be staying somewhere on their way to your home, it is important that they do a quick inspection of any room they stay in. Use a flashlight to inspect bedding, sheets, pillowcases, mattress seams, and the stitching on upholstered furniture for black streaks, fecal pellets, brown blood staining, and shed insect casings.
• Public transportation. Bed bugs have been found infesting trains, planes, buses, taxis, and other public transportation. Your family members should know what a bed bug looks like when they see one, and they should take a moment to examine their chair for black streaks, blown stains, and shed insect casings. In enclosed spaces, there may be a locker room smell if a large enough infestation is present.
• Homes. If your friends and family will be staying the night with other friends and family, or at the home of a host family, they should take the same precautions as staying in a hotel or motel.

It is a whole lot easier to stop a bed bug infestation before it begins. Let your family and friends know what to look for when they travel.
If you ever find bed bugs in your home–and you don’t have a time machine–call a professional. These pests are nearly impossible to remove without an entomological understanding of these insects and what modern pest measures are most effective for eradicating them.

If you are in our Knoxville, Gatlinburg or elsewhere in our Tennessee service area, let Russell’s Pest Control assist you. Our team is BedbugFREE Approved by Bedbug Central, the most authoritative information resource on bed bugs in the country. When holiday bed bugs find a way in, get them out with bed bug control services from Russell’s Pest Control.