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Tag: bed bugs

I Don’t Want to Bring Home Bed Bugs

Posted on by john

It’s that time of the year when you are starting to plan family vacations, extended weekends, travel ball plans, etc., everyone is excited, but you are worried about bringing home more than cool souvenirs, photographs, and memories. All of the bed bug talk is so nerve wracking you has really considered a Stay-cation instead of a Vacation!  The statistics are keeping you up at night. Bed bug infestation has increased by 500%, 1 in 5 people will get bed bugs. OH MY GOSH! Bed bugs truly are everywhere and you do not want your home to be part of THAT! Well, there are some things that you CAN do to prevent them from hitchhiking their way into your home.

Tips For Having a Bed Bugs Free Vacation:

  1. Pack your clothes in a hard-shelled suitcase, put toiletries in resealable plastic bags. Bring along plastic trash bags to keep personal items in, and sealed.
  2. Before you unpack- Place all personal items on the tile floor, luggage rack, etc. so you can inspect.
  3. Inspect- Pull back the covers, look in the folds, seams, crevices of the underside of the mattress, box spring, and frame. You may need to use a flashlight. Check the around the nightstand, lamps, folds of the furniture, and the drapes. Also check behind anything that hangs on the wall, pictures, and mirrors.
  4. So you suspect and outbreak-Alert the management immediately. Many hotels have bed bug protocol and will find you alternative rooming free of charge. Do not attempt to kill the bugs on your own. Where there is one bug there are many!
  5. I’m home, now what? Just 1 bed bug can lead to a full-blown bed bug infestation and absolute nightmare! Conduct a thorough inspection of your belongings OUTSIDE, away from furniture and sleeping areas. Inspect your clothing, paying particular attention to seams, pockets, and linings. Finally, heat all items in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes. Then wash. You should also, vacuum or steam clean your bag before putting it away. This should kill any undetected bugs.

You weren’t so lucky?

Brought home some hitchhikers from vacation, a travel ball weekend, or girl’s weekend? Now you are freaking out! Call Exclusive Pest Control at 843-461-5169. We will come out and do an initial inspection. Next, we will develop a treatment plan that will eradicate this problem once and for all!

For more information check out these links:

http://www.frommers.com/tips/health-and-travel-insurance/how-to-avoid-bedbugs-while-traveling

http://www.flapest.com/bed-bugs-prevention-vacation

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/tips-avoiding-hotel-bed-bugs-traveling/story?id=11748855

How Bed Bugs Invade

Posted on by john

Your family just returned from a fabulous beach vacation. Everything was absolutely perfect, the hotel was luxurious, the company, the beautiful weather, you made great memories, and everyone loved their souvenirs.  However, it seems like you have come home with a rash. You woke up with an itching rash; tiny spots of blood are on your sheets.

Certainly not! Frantically, you are thinking, did I wash my sheets? What else has been in my bed? I keep a clean house! Other people get this dreaded pest!

A Brief History:

Bed bugs came to America with the Colonists and lived successfully until the 1950’s. It was then that the bed bug population was virtually wiped out. Progressive countries utilized new pest control methods, appliances (i.e. washing machines and vacuum cleaners), as well as, education to control or eradicate them.  Yet in the 1990’s, bed bugs began to make a comeback. Since then they have been chewing their way into American households and reeking havoc ever since! Bed bugs are currently being reported in all 50 states. Bed bug levels are most highly concentrated in the south and the Midwest according to the statistics recorded by the National Pest Management Association.

My hotel was clean, how did this happen?

According to the National Pest Management Association, hotels are one of the top three places pest control professionals report finding bed bugs. The other two are apartments and single-family homes. Bed bugs are indiscriminate little pests. It doesn’t matter if their living conditions are sanitary or not. In a 2011 survey conducted by the NPMA, 37% of people believed that bed bugs are attracted to unsanitary living conditions. Not only do they not care if their living conditions are “up to par,” they also impartial to the socio-economic status of their host.

What Now?

  • Identify your problem, try to collect a sample for your pest control agent
  • If you live in multifamily housing contact your landlord
  • Make a plan, document dates and keep records of the process you use to ensure that all bugs are eradicated
  • KEEP BED BUGS CONTAINED TO THE ORIGINAL INFESTATION AREA
  • Place anything that cannot be treated in a plastic bag and sealed
  • Anything removed from the infested area should be placed in a plastic bag and sealed
  • Empty vacuum after each use, seal bag
  • Talk with a pest control professional and create a plan that best suits your family and your budget
  • At Exclusive Pest Control we utilize Exclusive thermal bed bug extermination to eradicate all stages of the bed bug life cycle in less than 24 hours
  • Prevent reinfestation
  • Inspect all used furniture for evidence of bed bugs
  • Keep all mattresses covered, using a light colored cover will allow bed bugs to be spotted easily
  • Keep your home clutter free
  • Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum
  • Keep multifamily dwellings tightly sealed, (baseboards, cracks, crevices etc.)

If you would like more information on bedbugs, check out these informative websites and articles. In the unfortunate event, you suspect you have a bed bug infestation call John at Exclusive Pest Control to get an Exclusive bed bug inspection, at no cost to you. His number is 843-461-5169.

http://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/protecting-your-home-bed-bugs

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150515-ngbooktalk-bedbugs-brooklyn-mosquito-blood-bats-evolution/

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