The Christmas holidays are a prime time for traveling, so the potential for a bed bug infestation is typically high during this season. These tiny, elusive critters usually latch on people’s luggage and clothes to spread in hotels, airplanes, and homes. Holiday guests may unintentionally carry these unwelcomed passengers during their visit to you.
Once these blood-sucking pests invade your home, they are incredibly challenging to get rid of. To avoid dealing with an infestation, follow these tips on how to prevent bed bugs on holiday from infiltrating your home:
- Dress beds with light-colored sheets. Detecting an infestation is easier if you use white or pastel bedding. You’ll know bed bugs are present when you find tiny rust-colored smears and dark specks on your sheets. Dark spots on surfaces are typically bed bug feces, while rust-colored stains indicate drips from bites on hosts. You should consult with residential exterminators once you see these two.
- Keep beds away from walls. While bed bugs love to roam in beds at night to feed on human blood, they typically nest in walls during day time. Moving the beds away from walls helps reduce their hideouts.
- Reduce clutter. Aside from walls, bed bugs also love lounging in clutter during the day. Minimizing the mess around your home will give them fewer areas to hide and lay eggs.
- Encase mattresses and box springs in a bed-bug-proof cover. This special cover prevents these tiny pests from crawling out of mattresses or box springs, protecting you from their bites. Without access to their blood meal, trapped bed bugs will starve and eventually die.
- Vacuum the entire place. Thoroughly vacuum floors, carpets, couches, and beds to suck out bed bugs from their hiding places. After guests leave, you can also run the vacuum cleaner in their closets. Every time you finish this task, immediately transfer the vacuum contents into a plastic bag, seal it, and throw it away.
- Immediately wash guests‘ bedding. After the holiday guests leave, wash and dry their used sheets, pillowcases, and blankets in the hottest setting. Doing this will help eliminate any bed bugs residing in these materials.
- Look out for signs of bed bugs. Keep an eye out for things that may indicate you have bed bugs. Finding raised insect bites that follow a zigzag pattern on any family member often suggest an infestation. You can also check your home for evidence of bed bugs, such as:
- Blood specks and dark spots on beds and upholstered furniture
- Shell-like remains in beds, couches, and nearby areas
- Musty odor (this suggests a heavy infestation)
Eliminate Bed Bugs With the Experts
If you suspect a bed bug infestation, contact us at Arrow Services, Inc. We’ll ensure your home is free from these nasty creatures and teach you more expert ways on how to prevent bed bugs from invading your home!