Think You Might Have a Bed Bug Problem? How to Deal with One of America’s Worst Pests

Home maintenance issues are not always about leaking roofs and spreading mold across ceilings and walls. Bed bugs are a massive issue for many Americans, and it seems that the problem is getting bigger. In 2013, 99.6 percent of professional pest management firms based in the USA reported that they had come across a customer complaining about a bed bug problem in the past year, which comes out as slightly higher than the 99 percent figure that arose from research in 2011. Professionals are finding bed bug infestations in a number of different locations, including hospitals, schools, hotels and dorms, although most infestations are found in private residences-  people’s apartments and houses. It also seems that infestations tend to happen in the summer; in a survey by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, 49% of participants claimed that infestations were happening more in summer and less often during the winter period.Professionals having to deal with bed bugs also seem to think that they are much trickier to get rid of than other insects such as termites and cockroaches.

Prevention is better than cure

Of course, it is preferable to not have to deal with a problem as unpalatable as bed bugs in the first place, and one can take a number of prevention measures to ensure one’s home remains bed bug free. Firstly, you should invest in good quality furniture, including sofas, mattresses and beds. Investing in high quality furniture upholstered in premium quality leather rather than a low quality or second hand sofa may help lower the likelihood that you will ever fall victim to a bed bug infestation. Although bed bugs can technically inhabit leather they are less likely to because leather does not provide a great climbing surface for such creatures. It is also important to ensure that your bedding products, including bed sheets, are of a good quality. Even though you might feel stretched forking out for expensive bedding consider the fact that if you wind up having a bed bug infestation then it will cost you money to get rid of the infestation and replace the bedding you have had to get rid of. To prevent bed bugs from finding their way into your clothes you ought to use laundry bags. Bed bugs are a growing problem in the USA and one of the most common ways a bedbug will enter your home is by attaching itself to you or your belongings while you are travelling and then hitching a ride home with you without you even realizing. One way to make it more difficult for them to do this is to use suitcase protectors and also travel pillow protectors.

How to tell if you have a bed bug infestation

If you are worried that you may have bed bugs but are not sure then there are some methods that you can use to try and identify whether you have an infestation.

• Examine your body: Knowing for sure whether you have a bed bug infestation is not so easy. For example, if you have bed bug bites on your body, your doctor is unlikely to be able to identify for sure what kind of insect has bitten you by examining the bites. You can make an educated guess about whether a bed bug has caused them, based on whether you are sure that you could not have been bitten before you lay down to sleep. If this is the case then it is more likely that you have been attacked by bed bugs.
• Are there marks on your bedding? If there are tiny traces of faeces that are difficult to erase on the area where you suspect bed bugs are present then this may also be a sign of bed bugs. This faeces is actually digested blood as bed bugs feed off the blood of animals. Sometimes you can physically see bed bugs if you examine the area in question carefully but it is also important to bear in mind that sometimes they are near impossible to identify with the naked eye and that’s why bringing in a professional to inspect your seating and sleeping areas is highly recommended.
• Inspecting a bed: If you would like to have a go at trying to identify a possible infestation then, when it comes to examining a bed, you should remove the sheets and then look as closely as possible at the surface of the mattress, paying careful attention to the piping that runs along the edge of the mattress. When inspecting the box spring look carefully at the four corners located underneath the plastic corner guards as well as the box spring’s underside,

Use an interception device: Another alternative to using your own eyes is to fit interception devices underneath sofas and beds that you suspect might be infected. These devices will trap bed bugs as they crawl around. Interceptors should be left underneath your furniture for up to 4 weeks but you can take them out every few days to see if they have trapped anything before replacing them.