They’re the stuff of nightmares. They are sneaky, tiny, nasty little parasites. We’re talking about bed bugs, which are some of the hardest pests to get rid of. Unfortunately they are also some of the most common travel-related pests one can encounter. They live in the crevices of beddings, mattresses and surrounding fixtures. They come out at night to feed on your blood, leaving irritating bites and unsightly marks. You must be proactive when traveling in order to prevent transporting them into your home.
Here are five things you can do to keep them out of your home:
- Store your travel clothes and luggage in plastic bags and keep them away from beds until you’ve washed everything in hot water.
- Use a handheld steamer to sanitize the surfaces of all your luggage, inside and out.
- Wash every item of clothing, even those you did not wear, in high hot water and dry for an hour on high heat.
- When you arrive, keep luggage outside and bring clothes in by plastic bag to the washing machine. If you perform these tasks inside, keep your luggage in the middle of the bathroom to avoid all contact with any upholstery. Use the hand steamer and place all clothes you want to wash into plastic bags. Take the rest to the dry cleaner.
- Throw shoes you wore on your trip into a dryer on high heat for 15 minutes to kill any potential hitchhikers.
If you think that you have bed bugs in your mattress or furniture, you’re going to want to call a professional bed bug eradicator. Don’t try to waste your time going the DIY home products route; you’ll only end up spending more money and stressing yourself out until you finally decide to call the pros. When choosing an exterminator, go for a trustworthy and experienced company.
Exterminate them for good
BedBug Barbeque is one such service that utilizes the latest high-heat bed bug elimination technique. This is a no-chemical, non-toxic process that kills bed bugs and their eggs by raising the temperatures of the surface area where they live. This heat kills them completely.
Poison and gassing extermination methods are not only less effective but they also pose a threat to your family, leaving residual toxins all over the surfaces of your house. BedBug Barbequedoesn’t require the use of pesticides or aerosols. High heat cooks all pests, no matter how well-hidden they are in your beds, furniture, carpeting, and upholstery. And you do not have to throw out your furniture!
