Avoid Bed Bugs in Your North Carolina Home After Travel
Bed bugs will utilize your luggage, bags, and even clothing to hitchhike inside your home. Once these invasive pests invade, it can be difficult to eliminate and remove them completely. Being mindful and watching out for their signs while traveling is one of the best ways you can avoid a bed bug infestation after you’ve traveled. Check out our tips and tricks to avoid bed bugs and how you can prevent them once you return from your travels.
How to Avoid Bed Bugs During Travel
Once you arrive at your hotel, make sure to inspect your room carefully before you start unpacking your clothes. Look for bed bug signs including small, dark spots that look like bloodstains on bed sheets, bed bug egg casings in the bed or furniture, and the presence of a musty odor. When inspecting your mattress, take the fitted sheet off the corner of the bed, lift the mattress, and check all the crevices with a flashlight to get a good look for bed bug signs. Bed bugs can even hide behind picture frames, cracked or ripped wallpaper, and baseboards. Look to place your luggage and bags on the floor, place it on a luggage rack or in a closet to avoid these pests from infesting your bags.
How to Avoid Bed Bugs After Travel
When you arrive back home from your travels, inspect, and unpack your clothes outside instead of inside your home. Bed bugs are unable to survive in temperatures above 120°F, so immediately washing your clothes in hot water after unpacking will eliminate these hitchhiking pests. If you’re not able to wash certain items, seal it in a plastic container and place it in the freezer for a few days to eliminate any bed bugs that could be hiding inside. Even after washing your clothes, make sure you still inspect areas where you store your luggage, including closets, dressers, and bedside tables.
How to Eliminate Bed Bugs After Travel
If you’ve noticed bed bug signs or live bed bugs in your home after travel, consider implementing these tips to help keep the infestation from spreading:
- Purchase protective covers to seal mattresses and box springs, allowing the bed bugs to get trapped inside and die.
- Discard furniture responsibly if you can’t eliminate the bed bugs completely; Destroy the furniture so others won’t bring it in their home by using spray paint to mark furniture with ‘Bed Bugs’ or rip covers and remove stuffing from the furniture items.
- Seal furniture and other items in plastic bags to ensure the bed bugs are trapped.
After you’ve implemented the above, we highly recommend calling your local pest control company to treat the bed bug infestation in your home. These expert professionals provide you with a thorough inspection, determine the best bed bug control plan for you, and provide recommendations to prevent future bed bug infestations.