Preventing Bed Bug Infestations
If you think your home may harbor bed bugs, then you should check out every crack you can find. Bed bugs can hide anywhere they fit, which means even in places where only a credit card might fit. This is why they are so difficult to eradicate. But if you follow some simple steps and habits, the threat of infestation is significantly lowered.
Bed Bugs are attracted to people and pets and feed only on blood, so it's not a matter of how clean your home is, although a clean home makes them easier to find and vacuuming tends to keep their population down.
Bed Bugs can travel from hotels, motels, and hostels in your luggage and even move from other apartments or condominiums in a shared building. They also be picked up by bringing infested furniture or clothing into your home.
There are a variety of simple things that can be done to reduce the possibility of a bed bug infestation. Calking openings on the outside of your home is very effective. If your attic has any kind of opening, you should block any entryways you can find. When other animals such as birds enter your attic they can bring bed bugs that drop off their bodies and into your home. Since bed bugs are so good at reproducing and surviving close to a blood source, they will become a problem once inside your house or apartment.
Common areas of infestations
Bed bugs are flat, which allows them to hide in very tiny areas of your home, making all of them very difficult to find. They are nocturnal and during the day they stay out of the light, hiding in mattresses, bedding frames, mattress materials, furniture, carpet or baseboards.
Groups of bed bugs are usually found in beds, in the box spring, mattress, and anywhere they can fit closest to humans. They can also be discovered in appliances, tools, behind walls, behind pictures, within books (around the bed), in phones, or radios near the bed, and even the folds of curtains or clothing and towels. Although they can hide almost anywhere they can fit, they are still a bit limited in how far they travel, so they usually stay close to the host in rooms or on furniture where people are sleeping.
Do Not Bring Home Used Furniture-That's How Bed Bugs Travel
As stated before, bringing home used furniture is often how bed bugs travel from one home to another. Professionals recommend not picking up furniture that has been used, as bed bugs can live in couches, beds, mattresses, and other furniture for months without feeding on human blood. Along with increased international and national travel, picking up used furniture is another main factor in spreading bed bugs. No matter how awesome that couch looks in the living room, it is not worth the trouble of a bed bug infestation. Once the pests are inside your home, they are very difficult to exterminate.
