“Nighty Night – Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite”

September 10, 2010 on 9:42 am | In Health & Nutrition, Home Safety Tips and Topics, How To's and Helpful Tips, The Heart of Your Home | 1 Comment

Beware: Bed Bugs are on the rise! If you are a frequent traveler, thrift shop and garage sale junkie your family could be at risk, and you don’t even know it yet.
Many people thrive on the look of antique or used furniture but there may be a lurking presence you don’t know about until it’s too late. Most people don’t know what they have encountered until the damage is done and the bed bug is infested everywhere in your home.
The most common assumption is that people think bed bugs are attributed by a dirty house. Well that assumption is not true. Of course a dirty house will not help the issue, probably only make them cozy and less detectable. A clean house will not keep them from infesting it will only slow down the process.

Here are a few tips on what to look for and how to get rid of this tiny creature.
Be aware:
1. When traveling read reviews of the potential place you are considering staying in, don’t go for the cheapest place. Reading the reviews can be time consuming but they are very important to consider.
2. When enjoying your hotel stay think twice before relaxing in any furniture.
3. Once you have worn something be sure to contain it in a plastic bag separate from your luggage. Your luggage and clothing are main carriers. But it doesn’t stop there. Once your infected, these pesky insects can travel with you in your hair.
4. Stay away from used mattresses and furniture that have been thrown away.
5. If you live in a Condo or Apartment you are more at risk than a homeowner; depending on how the apartments are separated these bugs can travel through cracks and crevices and even your plumbing.
6. Think again before exchanging clothing with another person unless you 100% know that they are not infested.

Bed Bugs can hide anywhere! Not only in your bed, but in ……
1. The edge of carpet and floor boards
2. Wooden surfaces even picture frames
3. Upholstered furniture
4. Behind peeling wallpaper and paint
5. Sheets, curtains, pillow cases; any loose fabrics in your house
6. Headboards, bed frames, and mattress seams

Most importantly they love to snuggle in cold dark places.

Bed bugs are hard to detect. Bed bugs look like small specs of dirt or as big as a brown pepper seeds. The first signs of bed bugs are bites/ welts. The second is if you notice red dots on your sheets after sleeping. The red dots will appear after you have rolled over them unintentionally squishing them, which causes the blood they have absorbed to leak out on your sheets.
Sometimes they can put off the smell of raspberries unless your house is infested they can put off a fowl odor caused by the oily liquid they can shed.
Younger bed bugs can live up to one year without feeding; bed bugs that have fed frequently can only live up to a month without feeding. Bed bugs prefer to feed on people rather than pets.

How do you get rid of this critter?
1. Call an exterminator! Of course there are things you can do yourself, but if you want to get the job done properly several visits from an exterminator will get the job done faster and more efficient.
2. Place lavender around your house; not only bed bugs cannot stand the fresh scent other bugs cannot tolerate it either.
3. Seal your mattress and box springs in plastic. Once sealed you can get rid of any bed bugs by taking away their oxygen. Not only do they need blood to keep their bellies full they need air to breathe. So cut off there oxygen supply.
4. Wash and dry clothes and sheets (anything that can fit) on the hottest setting. If you can dry twice at least your sheets and blankets.
5. Vacuum all areas of house.
6. Spray EVERYTHING with disinfectant spray.
7. Clean up with alcohol; not any kind of alcohol. Preferably rubbing alcohol. Although after all this is said and done a nice glass of wine to help you relax might not be so bad to consider.