How You Could Be Bringing Bed Bugs Into Your Home
Bed bugs are a terrible nuisance, and
they’re sadly becoming increasingly widespread all around the world.
Once they appear in your home, these blood-sucking pests spread like
wildfire, infecting upholstered furniture, plush toys, luggage, and
clothing, where they can survive for months without feeding. For that
reason, getting rid of bed bugs is extremely challenging and
time-consuming.
Even if you don’t have a bed bug problem at
this point in time, you should be aware of these dangers and mindful of
the ways bed bugs can get in your home. After all, prevention is even
more important than early detection and pest elimination, especially
since it’s often us, the homeowners, who end up unwittingly introducing
these pests into our homes.
How can bed bugs get into your home?
Bed bugs are tiny brown bugs that are
widespread in every continent where humans live. Scientists found them
in human dwellings that are over three thousand years old. But how did
these pesky insects manage to spread and pester humans for so long? For
an insect that’s about the size of an apple seed, it’s relatively easy
to hide in a bag, plush toy, or latch onto clothing without being
noticed.
In the past, bed bugs were only found in hotels and other communal
living spaces, but they are now increasingly common at residential
dwellings, shopping centers, offices, and restaurants. Below, we list 9
common scenarios through which you could end up with a bed bug problem:
Travel accommodations: As we’ve already mentioned, hotels, hostels, and
the like are a place where bed bugs reside quite often. They could be
hiding in the mattress or the carpet and make their way into your
luggage, shoes, or clothing. So, you could end up bringing more than
just a few souvenirs from your trip home...
Communal living situations: Students living
in dorms, older adults who reside at retirement homes, and anyone
living in an apartment building are at a higher risk of getting bed
bugs. Bed bugs can spread from one apartment or room into another one
through electrical boxes, outlets, and shared spaces like laundry rooms.
So, if one of the new residents or someone visiting them brought in a
few bed bugs, the entire building may end up having them soon.
Work, retail locations, and public transportation: You don’t have to
stay somewhere for a long time to pick up bed bugs. Offices, schools,
gyms, shopping centers, clothing stores, and even public transportation
like airplanes or buses are all prime locations for bed bugs to
congregate.
Furniture: Purchasing vintage or
second-hand furniture is an excellent way to refresh your interior in a
cost-effective manner, but you must be wary that some pieces could be
infested with bed bugs. Although rare, even new furniture that is moved
in the same vehicle used to haul away old furniture could become
infested.
Yard sales: Don’t get us wrong, we love a good bargain just like the
other person, but when you’re purchasing used items, you should always
be wary of bed bugs. Even though these pests prefer fabric or fur, they
can survive inside electronic appliances, books, shoe boxes, and any
dark places where they can hide.
Animals: Humans are not the only victim of
bed bugs. Quite often, bed bugs feed on farm animals, especially
chickens, as well as your pet cats and dogs. The pests can also live in
cat castles, pet carriers, and pet beds, so make sure to inspect these
items before you introduce them into your home, especially if you’ve
purchased a used item.
Guests: Have family or friends from out of town decided to visit you for
a couple of days? Unfortunately, this too can result in a bed bug
infestation. Students returning from a dorm for the holidays, as well as
friends who took a plane or any other public transportation to get to
your home, could arrive with “uninvited guests.”
Bed Bug Prevention Tips
As you can see, these opportunistic pests will take any opportunity to
infect a new home, and avoiding all of these potentially dangerous
scenarios is often impossible. But is there a way you can protect
yourself from an infestation? Yes, bed bug awareness and a few easy
prevention tricks go a long way. Here are a few tips for you to
consider:
1. When traveling, avoid placing your bags, coats, and suitcases on
beds, upholstered furniture, or on the floor. Hanging your clothing so
that it doesn’t touch the walls or furniture, and keeping luggage on a
stand or cabinet can be helpful. Upon returning home, inspect your
luggage and its contents for bugs, wash your clothes, and put them in a
hot dryer for 10-15 minutes.
2. When purchasing clothes, stuffed toys,
or any textiles, especially second-hand ones, it’s a good idea to wash
them first in hot water (122°F or 50°C) or dry them for 10-15 minutes on
high heat.
3. Inspect furniture or any second-hand items carefully before bringing
them inside your home. Lift the cushions and look closely in-between the
seams of upholstered furniture.
4. Steam is a very effective way to eradicate bed bugs and their eggs.
If you have a steamer, run it over any items you suspect could be
infected. Make sure to hold the steamer as closely to the surface as
possible, and repeat in a month, just in case.
Read the next post to know Signs of bed bug problem