Bed bugs! Everybody knows you don’t want them, but not everybody knows how to avoid them (or how to tell if you’ve got them). Here in Colorado Springs, we spend a large portion of the year running around – hiking, camping, skiing, mountaineering, kayaking, etc., meaning we’re particularly vulnerable to bed bugs. Contrary to the popular myth, bed bugs don’t infest only “dirty” places. They don’t need dirt; they need humans. So anywhere people keep their clothes, their luggage, and their bedding, bed bugs are bound to show up eventually. That means you could be bringing home a lot more from your weekend at the campground than that Garden of the Gods T-shirt.
What Are Bed Bugs
Thanks to natural selection, it seems there’s a pest for just about every niche, and bed bugs are definitely specialists. These bugs are specifically adapted to live with and feed on people. While they can and do feed on animals, these pests prefer to lay in wait in your most private spaces and prey on you when you’re at your most vulnerable. Bed bugs love to hide out in the creases and folds of your mattress, breeding in the comfort of your pillow top and nesting in your cozy memory foam bed. In the dead of night, these sneaky little Draculas slip out into the open, crawl to your body, inject you with anesthetic saliva, and suck your blood.
How To Spot A Bed Bug Problem
Most of the time, the first sign you might have bed bugs is their bites. If you wake up with a cluster or line of bites down your body, roughly where your skin lines up with your mattress, you know you better start checking for bed bugs. Other signs include:
- Bloodstains – If you see small, round spots of red or brown dotting your sheets in the morning, you may have an issue.
- Droppings – Bed bug droppings just look like tiny, black pellets about the size of a grain of sand.
- Actual bugs – Bed bugs aren’t invisible. If you’ve got them, you’ll probably spot them hiding out under your sheets.
Bed bugs don’t just hide in your bed. They can hide anywhere, and we do mean anywhere. Places, where bed bugs love to hang out, include inside computer keyboards, behind outlet covers, wedged into the cracks of wooden picture frames, under your couch cushions, and inside your clothing.
Bed Bug Prevention Tips
The two times you’re most likely to bring bed bugs into your home are when you’re returning from travel or you’re bringing in secondhand furniture. With that in mind, there are some measures you can take to prevent them:
- Never lay clothing or luggage on hotel beds or sofas, use hard furniture.
- Always Check hotel, motel, hostel, or Airbnb mattresses for signs of bugs.
- Wash and dry all clothing at the highest possible temperature when arriving home.
- Check all your luggage for bugs before stowing it.
- Reduce the number of hiding places by cleaning up clutter.
- If you’re going to purchase second-hand items, thoroughly check them for bugs before bringing them into your home.
Unfortunately, bed bugs are wily creatures, and they can get around even the toughest prevention methods. What’s even worse is they’re one of the hardest pests to get rid of. They hide everywhere, they breed like there’s no tomorrow, and they’re now becoming resistant to a lot of common at-home pesticides.
All this means if you wind up with bed bugs, you’re going to need professional help. Here at Beeline Pest Control, we’ve got the tools and the know-how to send the bugs in your bed packing. Our treatment plans and quarterly maintenance programs can help you eliminate the bed bugs. So if you’re tired of bedding down with these parasites, give us a call or visit our Beeline Pest Control contact page to schedule your service today!