KEEPING YOUR HOME SAFE FROM BED BUGS AFTER TRAVEL

If you stressed about bringing home some unwanted guests after your vacation, fear not! There are easy steps you can take in order to keep bed bugs at bay. After all, the last thing you want is for your relaxing, fun vacay to have turned into a chore-causing nightmare. A nightmare that bites!

By ensuring you take smart steps during and after your trip, however, you can create peace of mind that bed bugs won’t enter your home.

HOW TO IDENTIFY BED BUGS IN HOTELS

Start by keeping your home safe while still on your trip. When checking into a hotel or rental, look at mattresses thoroughly. Strip sheets and look at the corners and seams of the bed. If you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to see an actual bedbug, it will look like an apple seed in both shape and size and red-brown in color. However, these things are tricky; you’re more likely to see the mess they left behind, such as blood or yellow and/or brown stains, or even their shell.

Use your nose when you walk into a hotel, too. Musty scents mean a room is likely to have a bed bug infestation.

If possible, leave your luggage away from the bed. Unpack and use the luggage rack, or even keep suitcases in the bathroom (and the light on at night) to keep unwanted critters from making a new home.

Finally, check yourself for bites. Bed bug bites most often appear in a zigzag pattern on legs, arms, or back, and can take a few days to appear.

KEEPING BED BUGS OUT OF YOUR HOME

Once you return home, wash all laundry ASAP. Items that can’t be washed or that need a dry-cleaning should be sealed in an airtight container. Consider unpacking outside or in the garage and leaving suitcases out of the home for an extended amount of time, too.

Airtight mattress pads can keep bugs from setting up camp within your bed. Other measures, such as neem oil or another natural pesticide can be sprayed in your suitcase to ward off bugs.

These measures can help keep bed bugs from hitching a ride home during your vacation. However, it’s not foolproof. Unfortunately, those buggars can find a way. And if they do, give us a call!

BED BUG REMOVAL SERVICES

Knox Pest Control is your go-to source for bed bug treatment. Let us rid your home of any bed bugs before they have a chance to nest. Or if they’re already established a new home, we can help rid you of a larger population, too.

Regular checks and treatments can also ensure they have not returned and that your home will remain bed bug free for years to come.

To learn more about our bed bug services, contact us today.