View from above of a mobile home park

Bugs on the Go: Bed Bugs in Mobile Homes

Bed bugs love to travel. They love to hitch rides in cars, airplanes, trains, and more, so it makes sense that they’d be drawn to mobile homes. However, a bed bug infestation in a mobile home presents some unique issues concerning removal. Bed Bug BBQ is known for bed bug heat treatments, but is it safe to use a heat treatment on a home made of metal or plastic? And how do bed bugs even get into mobile homes in the first place?

Traveling Pests

Mobile homes are typically in close proximity to each other, but stand alone without shared walls or commonplaces like hallways and lobbies, unlike apartment buildings. Bed bugs can’t really travel far on their own, so how do they get from mobile home to mobile home if they can’t crawl through small holes in the walls like they can in apartment buildings and other multi-tenant dwellings? The answer is simple: you could pick them up from your neighbors. One of the best parts of living in a community or neighborhood is getting to know your neighbors. Fourth of July cookouts, hanging out on each other’s porches and chatting, and inviting each other over for dinner are just a few of the fun things you can do when you’re part of a community. Unfortunately, if your neighbors have a bed bug problem, you could be unwillingly taking the pests home. If even one bed bug crawls from your neighbor’s couch or rug into your clothes or shoes, you could end up taking them into your mobile home, where they’ll burrow comfortably into your upholstery and furniture.

How Do I Know if I Have Bed Bugs?

Luckily, it’s not very hard to tell if you’ve accidentally brought bed bugs home after a nice dinner at the neighbors’ house. If you find any small black spots around your home, that’s a sign of bed bugs– the small black spots are fecal stains. It’s a myth that bed bug fecal stains are always tinged with red due to the blood they consume. They can be rusty brown, tinged with red, or just plain black. Also keep an eye out for bed bug bites on your body. They’ll usually appear as small, itchy red welts.

Heat Treatment in Mobile Homes

Is bed bug heat treatment safe to use in mobile homes? The short answer is yes. Bed bug heat treatment, besides being a fume-free, effective way to get rid of bugs, is safe to use in virtually all types of homes. Most of the time, when using heat treatment, a home is gradually heated to 140-150 degrees in order to kill the bed bugs. In the case of mobile homes, they’re gradually heated to about 122 degrees to avoid the risk of fires or damage to the home. Consequently, it usually takes a bit longer to treat a mobile home with heat than it would take to treat another type of building. Rest assured that it is a completely safe method for you, your home, your children, and pets. Mobile homes are no more likely to catch on fire than other buildings and bed bugs of all life stages die at temperatures between 117 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Need Help With an Infestation?

Bed Bug BBQ uses heat treatment to get rid of bed bugs. This bed bug extermination process gets rid of bed bugs in just one day, is safe for all types of homes and businesses, and won’t fill your home with chemicals! Contact Bed Bug BBQ today for a FREE quote and inspection at (216) 221-1227 or through our website! Check out our other bed bug informational resources on identification, prevention, and eradication.

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