Tips to Avoid Bringing Home Bed Bugs During the Holidays

It’s that time of the year. People are traveling to visit family and friends to celebrate during this holiday season. Some choose to stay in hotels and some choose to stay with their loved ones.

Since bed bug infestations are on the rise all over the world, it’s important to take a few steps in order to avoid bringing bed bugs home after an extended trip or having your guests bring in bed bugs when they visit.

Plastic Is Your Friend in the Fight Against Bed Bugs

Bed bugs enjoy having places to hide. You can find them in tiny crevices, cracks, and scattered throughout non-porous materials. Because plastic is a non-porous material, it can become your best friend in the fight against bed bugs when you travel.

How so? Bed bugs can travel from one bag to another. If your bag is next to a bed bug-infested bag on an airplane, on a bus, or on a train, your bag can also become infected. Wrapping your bags securely in plastic can prevent this from happening. There are even products out there specifically made for covering your luggage when you travel, but a thick trash bag that can make it through the wears and tears of luggage being thrown into the cargo bay will work.

Place Luggage on Non-Porous Flooring

When you finally arrive at your holiday destination, it’s important that you follow the next step. Most people tend to put their luggage on their beds or on the floor of their hotel room. This is the WORST thing that you can do. If you place your bag on a bed bug-infested bed or floor, it will be easy for them to make their way into your belongings.The best thing you can do is place your luggage on a non-porous surface such as the bathroom floor. This gives you time to complete a thorough check of the room you are staying in for your trip without having to worry too much about bed bugs invading your luggage.

It’s Okay to Be Paranoid When It Comes to Bed Bugs

Only those who have never experienced an issue with bed bugs will think that these measures to keep bed bugs away are a little too much. The fact is that many people don’t even think of techniques to avoid bed bugs until they experience first hand the havoc bed bugs can cause. The truth is that it is okay to be a little paranoid when it comes to bed bugs and the possibility of bringing them home from traveling.

• As mentioned before, keep bags off the floor. Even if you have completed a room check, it’s better to place your bags on top of dressers, nightstands, desks, or a carefully checked luggage rack.
• Like your luggage, you also don’t want to place clothing on the floor. Some prefer to place it in a plastic bag. You can keep the bag of dirty laundry in the bathroom if you prefer or on a non-porous surface.
• Before going home, you may want to wash your clothing. Research suggests that bed bugs are more attracted to soiled or dirty clothes than clean clothing.
• If you don’t have time to do laundry before returning home, there are a few things you can do. Sit your luggage in the garage or outside of your home before taking it inside. From there, you can thoroughly inspect your belongings before bringing them into the house.
• On the flip side of this scenario, you may have invited guests to stay at your home. If you are afraid of guests bringing bed bugs into your home, it may be best to not invite them to stay if you want to keep the relationship strong. Your paranoia may be seen as being rude and your guests may not like being told that they need to wash their clothes immediately or that they need to place their luggage in the bathroom or garage.

Hopper Termite & Pest, Inc. Can Provide Relief From Bed Bugs

Even with the best efforts to avoid these pests, you can still bring home bed bugs. Don’t worry too much. With one call to Hopper Termite & Pest, Inc., we can start the process of exterminating your bed bug issue. Our staff is highly trained in the most effective pest management techniques and strive to make our customers happy with our service.

It doesn’t matter if you are experiencing bed bugs in Fayetteville, bed bugs in Rogers, or bed bugs in Mountain Home, or bed bugs in Gainesville, Hopper Termite & Pest Inc. has a large service area. Give us a call today at (870)425-4122 and let us get to work on eliminating your pest problems.