Bed Bug Prevention This Holiday Season

As the year enters its last quarter, many of us become excited to see family and friends. The holiday season is now upon us. It’s the time of year our kids come home from school, and family comes together to celebrate. However, with our visiting travelers, we face the possibility of bed bugs entering into our home. Dynamic Pest Control will explain the threat of bed begs coming into your home and what you can do to prevent them from becoming a problem.

How Do Bed Bugs Travel & How Easy Do They Spread?

Bed bugs are what many will describe as hitchhikers. They travel from place to place on clothing, back packs, purses, and luggage of those who might have a current bed bug infestation. During this season of welcoming a variety of people into your home, a higher threat of bringing bed bugs into your home exists. Many people think bed bugs are not active in the cold, so there is no threat of bed bugs. This is not true; bed bugs can live in freezing temperature for several days. Eventually they will die, but the days in between gives them plenty to time to look for a warm place.

Bed Bug Prevention

Let’s face it, many of our high school graduates go off to college. They will stay in a dorm, or rent out an apartment or house. With a building full of kids to interact with alongside their studies, bed bug prevention is the least concern on their mind. And how about your friends or other extended family? Bed bug prevention sometimes gets away from all of us. So what can be done to prevent an unwanted visitor this holiday season? Other than never allowing people into your home — well very little. Let’s face it, you can’t do a head to toe body search and rummage through everyone’s belongings before you allow them in. So the next step is making your home unsuitable for
bed bugs.

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide During the Day?

Bed bugs like to hide in cluttered environments and small spaces in which they can hide during the day. Having a clean home is step one. Have plenty of space between furniture and objects. Concentrate on bed bug hot spots as well. Couches and beds are the preferred place that bed bugs like to dwell. Anywhere people will sit for long periods of time draw bed bugs because this gives them the chance to feed on the host. Since bed bugs are blood drinkers, they require a bit of time to get to a host and feed.

How to Stop Bed Bug Infestations

Regularly vacuum your furniture, especially couches and chairs. It may seem a bit extreme but after a gathering and your visitors leave is a good time to do a light cleaning of all areas to remove any possible bed bugs. Vacuum your carpets and steam clean them. Wash curtains and couch covers in the living room to kill stragglers. If you have college kids visiting for a time, insist they do their laundry when they first get home. Make sure all bedding is washed weekly. Be sure to wash everything with hot water and use high heat in the dryer. This will kill any unwanted passengers.

Bed Bug Inspections & Control

Spraying your home with store bought pesticides doesn’t prevent bed bugs from entering your home. Your best bet is regular cleaning, and washing all clothes and linens to prevent a bed bug infestation. After that, if you’re concerned you have bed bugs, you can have a bed bug inspection conducted on your home and treated if found. Common methods of killing bed bug is chemical and/or heat treatments. Bed bugs can’t withstand high temperatures. They will die within a few hours of constant exposure to the heat. If you are concerned about bed bugs, Dynamic Pest Control is here to assist you. Contact us for all your pest control needs.