Whether you’re spending your summer traveling by plane out of the country or just uber-ing around the city, Rose Pest Solutions has put together some helpful tips to help you enjoy the rest of the season without picking up bed bugs along the way.
Planes, Trains, and Ubers
Using public transit is great for the environment, it reduces gas and carbon use, provides a sense of community, and it even reduces your risk of accident during commute. As great as public transit can be, it can also serve as a vehicle for unwanted pests. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) wants to make sure you keep in mind that summer is one of the busiest months for bed bug bites. With the dense flow of commuters that summer provides, bed bugs tend to find more opportunities to visit new homes.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like
Preventing Bed Bugs While Traveling
In order to help guarantee that bed bugs are not a part of your summer plans, Rose Pest Solutions recommends the following preventative steps while traveling:
- At hotels, pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams, particularly at the corners, for the telltale stains or spots.
- If you do need to change rooms, be sure that you do not move to a room adjacent and/or directly above/below the suspected infestation. Bed bugs can easily hitchhike via housekeeping carts, luggage ad even through wall sockets. If an infestation is spreading, it typically does so in the rooms closest to the origin.
- Consider placing your suitcase in a plastic trash bag or protective cover during the duration of your trip to ensure that bed bugs cannot take up residence there prior to departure.
- Wash all of your clothes-even those that have not been worn-in hot water to ensure that any bed bugs that may have made it that far are not placed into your drawers/closet.
Humid summer weather is the preferred environment for bed bugs to breed. Their elusive habitats of cracks and corners mixed with quick reproduction and the ability to survive long periods without feeding, makes bed bugs a pest for the professionals. Contact Rose right away if you are concerned bed bugs might be moving in.
