Category Archives: Bed Bugs Minnesota

From Good Housekeeping

The resurgence of bed bugs in American homes has caused many a sleepless night but not everything you hear is true. Before you start pointing fingers at the reasons your home is infested or why you do or don't have a bed bugs problem, know this: Entomologist Richard Pollack, Ph.D., has found fewer than 10% of the critters people identify as bed bugs actually are bed bugs. That's also why he doesn't trust websites that list reports of bed bugs at hotels.

If you suspect you've got some unwelcome visitors at your house, here is everything you need to know about these nasty insects first:

Bed bugs most notoriously hitch rides on luggage, but traveling isn't the only way to pick them up: They can easily be carried into the house on secondhand furniture, clothing, boxes, and pillows, so inspect such items very carefully. Encasement products like Good Housekeeping Seal holder AllerEase mattress protector can also prevent bugs that do make it inside from hunkering down in crevices.

But while reports of bed bugs at movie theaters and in retail stores have made headlines, it's rare that someone actually brings them home, says Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, an urban entomologist at Cornell University.

Whether you have a messy home or a neat home, bed bugs only care that their food source, a.k.a. people, are nearby. Luckily, there's no evidence they transmit diseases as they feed. The real threat: Itchy, red bites, which are the first sign of an infestation.

Unfortunately, long-sleeved pajamas won't shield you from bed bug bites. In fact, that's one of the tell-tale signs of an infestation. "If you wake up with numerous bites, especially under your clothes, it could be bed bugs," says David Dunham of Go Green Bedbug Dogs.

Not everyone experiences the same skin reaction though. "It's common for one person to become the host or the person getting all the bites, while their spouse or partner will get no bites at all," he adds. "Usually the person not getting bites will discredit their partner's concerns.

Photo credit: Getty Images

"You should ask lots of questions to the companies you interview, because a good company will answer them and will never pressure you to make an appointment," says Dunham. Asking the company about their success rate and if their treatment comes with a guarantee, should their efforts not be successful, is a must.

While some bugs will die in the washing machine, it's the heat of the dryer that will kill more of them. At least 60 minutes on a high-heat setting should do the trick, according to New York State Integrated Pest Management. Immediately dispose of the used plastic bags and put clean clothes in new ones. Don't take the items out of the bag until the infestation is successfully controlled.

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Everything You Need to Know to Get Rid of Bed Bugs - Yahoo India News

Bed Bug Hotel and Apartment Reports. Click on the city below to find our latest bed bug reports in Minnesota on hotels. To report a new bed bug incident, navigate to our city page below to see further details.

Recommended tips after hotel check-in: 1. Pick up the mattresses in the rooms and look under it. Check around the edges of the box springs. 2. Check under the box spring. 3. Lift up each headboard an lay it on the bed. Carefully inspect the hole where the headboard was lifted out of. Also, inspect all niches and corners of the headboard. 4. If you decide to stay in the hotel, do not put any clothes in dressers. Keep them in your luggage and your dirty clothes in plastic bags.

Saturday 10/19/2019 Got a room at this motel for a 60th Wedding Anniversary & a 80th Birthday Party. This is a 3 1/2 hour / 220 Mile drive one wayOn appearance it is a very cute little motel. We che...

We checked into 5 rooms on 10/4/19. The team left their luggage on the beds and went to a VB tourney for the evening. After returning to their rooms about 10:30pm one of our rooms found multiple bug...

On 9/28/2019 my family stayed in room 209. My daughter had 100s of bed bug bites covering both arms, neck and on her face. General Manager, has been defensive and dismissive and has yet to presen...

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Minnesota Bed Bug Hotel and Apartment Reports ...

Most people usually discover they have bed bugs after they have been bitten. When they scratch the bites, rashes might appear. Bed bug bites are often in clusters of 3 to 5 bites. Not everyone reacts to bed bug bites or develops a rash after scratching. This makes it hard to find where the bugs are coming from in an apartment building.

Bed bugs leave what looks like dried blood stains after they bite. First check the sheets on your beds. Then check your mattresses, especially in the seams along the edges. Look for small brownish-red specks. You can see adult bed bugs, especially after they have eaten.

Bed bugs do not usually walk around in the open unless there are large numbers of them. They like to hide in places like mattresses, between cushions, and in cracks, baseboards and floor boards, until they are ready to eat again.

A local housing inspector can come to your apartment and inspect for bed bugs. Or you can hire a professional pest management company (exterminators) to inspect. You will get something in writing that says there are bed bugs in your rental.

Once you find out you have bed bugs, you must act fast to keep them from spreading and to get rid of them.

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Bed Bugs | LawHelp Minnesota

Here are eight travel-ready products will protect you and your belongings from bedbugs. Wibbitz - Smarter Travel

One of the last things anyone wants to see after entering a hotel room is a creepy, crawly bedbug or to wake up with bedbug bites.

Bedbugs are tiny insects approximately the size of an apple seed. Adult bedbugs are oval, reddish-brown and flat. Younger ones canbe difficult to see because they're so small.

And there's a reason they're called bedbugs: They like to lurk during the daytime where people sleep and feed onthemat night (bed bugs feed on both human and animal blood).The insects can be found in a host of places from mattresses to bedding to cracks in furniture to under carpeting and more.

Bedbugs can be found worldwide, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are not a reflection on the cleanliness of any accommodation (so, yes, even a five-star hotel can have bedbugs). They don't spread disease nor are they seen as dangerous, but allergic reactions to bites could require a doctor visit.

The bites look like mosquito or flea bites, with a swollen, red spot that could itch or hurt. They could present randomly as well as in a straight line. Some people might not have any adverse reaction to the bites, but others could see swelling.

One of the last things anyone wants to see after entering a hotel room is a creepy, crawly bedbug or to wake up with bedbug bites.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

Make this a priority.

The University of Minnesotarecommends looking at the edging andseamsof mattressesand box springs, as well as a bed's headboard. You should also check out the furniture near the bed, cracks in night standsas well as behind picture frames, where bedbugs can hide.

"If you think your hotel bed has bedbugs, you can either check your bed yourself, looking for small blood spots or small blood smears on the sheets and strip the bed and check under the mattress seams or ask the manager to organize for the housekeeper to do it for you," Maureen Spencer, travel blogger, told USA TODAY. "Take photos of any evidence you find and ask for a room change."

There's no federal bedbug law,but 21 states do have bedbug-related legislation, according to theEnvironmental Protection Agency, like ensuring hotels are maintaining cleanliness and that hotels must exterminate bedbugs before housing different guests.

Step one: Panic! (Just kidding.)

"The very first thing that you should do if you encounter bedbugs in your hotel room, or even if you have a suspicion that there might be bedbugs in your room, is to pack up your stuff and place it as far away from the bedbug-infested places as possible," Kristiana Kripena, digital and content marketing director for InsectCop.net, tellsUSA TODAY. You want to avoid the bugs coming with you to your own house, she says.

You should also obviously notify hotel staff, but do your best to stay calm.

"Remember this is never going to be something that hotel staff wants to hear," Becca Siegelof travel blog and Instagram @halfhalftravel tells USA TODAY."Actually, it's the last thing they want to hear because it's going to affect everyone staying in the hotel, their staff, their efforts in eradicating bedbugs and also their ratings online. Try to remain calm and empathetic."

Also remember that what you think is a bedbug might not be one at all.

"I cant tell you the number of times that a guest just sees a bug near a bed or on a bed and makes an assumption," Victoria Agredo, a hospitality industry veteran, tells USA TODAY. "An untrained eye checking a room for themselves really isnt that helpful. They may find something or they may create a panic over nothing."

If they are indeed bedbugs, make sure you ask to be moved to a different room (and not one next to the one where you stayed).

Jordan Bishop, founder of consumer watchdog and travel website Yore Oyster, recommends sealing your clothes and other belongings in plastic bagsand running them through a hot laundry cycle ASAP.

You can also use a garbage bag, and place that in a freezer overnight to get rid of bedbugs. For non-washable items, enlist a pest-management professional.

Cool: You can now stay in a giant guitar-shaped hotel that you have to see to believe

Hmm: Congress takes on 'hidden fees' at hotels and resorts. Here's what it could mean for travelers

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Gross! What you need to know and do if your hotel room has bedbugs - USA TODAY

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) After bedbugs were found in iPads issued to students, St. Paul Public Schools is asking students and parents to keep the devices clean.

WCCOS Kate Raddatz shares how many were affected and what you can do to keep your tablet bug-free.

In a letter that went home to families in the St Paul Public School District officials warned parents of dirty iPad protector cases after a spokesperson said bed bugs were discovered in five district-issued tablets.

It was kind of gross, one student said.

Shes a junior at Como Park High School but was not one of the students who had a bed bug issue with their tablet, which are used for school work throughout the year.

Everyone gets an iPad at the beginning of the year and then we return them at the end of the year, but students were supposed to clean them at the end of the year but you dont have to take your case off, the student added.

Thats why the district encouraged students to take their tablets out of their cases to thoroughly clean the case and keyboard with a window cleaner to kill any bacteria.

In a statement to WCCO a spokesperson for St Paul Public Schools said in part:

There is no indication of the presence of any additional pests in any other iPads. However, as the health and safety of our students are our highest priorities, we felt it was responsible and prudent to ask families to maintain the cleanliness of the devices.

Both high school and middle school students are allowed to bring their iPads home at the end of the day, while elementary school students do not.

A spokesperson for the district said there were 5 iPads affected out of the 17,000 they have in the district.

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Bedbugs Found In Cases Of Student-Issued iPads In St. Paul - WCCO | CBS Minnesota