It's been a long break from our countdown of the most disturbing things that we come across as pest management professionals, but we return today for our final installment with bed bugs! Bed bugs are truly the #1 most disturbing pest that we encounter and the problem only seems to be getting worse. We've written extensively about bed bugs before, so I won't reiterate everything here, but bed bugs are gross people!
Read our earlier blog on 6 Exciting Bed Bug Facts & Tips where there is more detail on how to check for bed bugs and how to keep them out of your home. Here are a few of the most important things to remember.
1. Bed bugs travel on people, so always check your beds at hotel rooms and don't sit any of your stuff on the bed before thoroughly checking it. Here are some tips on checking your hotel room for bed bugs.
2. Bed bugs do not transmit disease (at least it hasn't been proven yet), but they do a tremendous amount of pshycological damage to say the least. Ask anybody who's had an infestation of bed bugs how well they slept during their ordeal. Trust me, it wasn't very much. People will go as far as sleeping in a plastic chair in the middle of the room to avoid being bitten...unfortunately that doesn't always work either! Then comes the investment of getting rid of them.
3. Nobody is impervious! It doesn't matter how much money you make or how clean your house is (although that helps for a lot of other reasons, see our blog on German cockroaches and hoarders). They've been found in hospitals, retirement homes, apartments, offices, airports, hotels of course, buses,subways...everywhere! Even Jay-Z and Rihanna were forced to shut down their recording studio due to bed bugs!
4. They can hide anywhere...and they will! We've found bed bugs and eggs
on the bottom of trophies, in books, lamps, picture frames, blinds, curtains, bedframes, cabinets, night stands, cracks in floorboards, outlet covers, lightswitch covers...anywhere and everywhere!
The most important thing to remember is it's up to you to keep your home free of this horrible pest. Read our information or call us with further questions, but please make sure you're always checking the rooms you stay in, no matter where you go, because if you come visit my house afterwards and bring some home with you, we might not be friends for too long after that! :-)
Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!