How to Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home from Your Holiday Travels

Bed bug prevention tips while traveling in New Orleans Louisiana If you plan on traveling for the holiday season, make sure you take precautions to protect yourself from bringing home unwanted guests in the form of bed bugs. Think we’re kidding?  Even the department of Housing & Urban Development warns travelers to keep their luggage clean while traveling to avoid this problem.

Bed bug infestations have been much more common in recent years and are strongly associated with travel because any time you travel to another state or country, you risk being infected with bed bugs.

Dugas Pest Control has seen more cases of bed bug infestations in recent years, so we encourage all Louisiana residents to execute extra safety measures this holiday season. 

Below are smart tips to protect you and your family.

  • If you’re staying at a hotel, check online to see if the hotel has ever had bed bug problems. People are never hesitant to post about bad experiences, so go that extra step and read the online reviews before you book.
  • Seal all of your belongings. Use individual gallon bags to store everything from socks to gloves to jewelry. Make sure all bags are sealed, as bed bugs can get in from the smallest cracks.
  • Steer clear of soft, dark-colored bags. First, soft bags have pockets and folds where bed bugs can hide. Second, the dark color allows them to blend in with the bag. Instead, aim for light-colored bags and hard suitcases – if you can find them – that will make it less likely for bed bugs to hide.
  • At your hotel, inspect your room. Place your luggage in the bathroom first where bed bugs are not likely to be. Then, pull up the mattress, inside couches and chairs, behind picture frames and around electrical outlets for signs of an infestation. Look for spots of blood or apple-seed looking bugs.
  • Keep your luggage on luggage racks instead of on the floor and cover with plastic bags or a tarp.
  • When you arrive home, wash all of your clothes on HOT water and place them in the dryer. Clothes that need to be dry-cleaned should be stored in a separate, sealed plastic bag. You can also steam your clothes to kill any potential bugs.

The best attitude to have is a proactive one. Bed bugs are not pests that you can get rid of on your own. Don’t chance it this holiday season. Take these extra steps to ensure you come home with your family, new presents, full stomachs and nothing else.

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Can You Kill Bed Bugs on Your Own?

Dugas Pest Control provides extermination services for Bed bugs in Louisiana DIY Pest Control has gotten to be a big industry with many stores and products on the market for roaches, wasps, bees and even termites.  But do these type products work for bed bugs?

The problem with trying to get rid of bed bugs using DIY methods is that many of the DIY treatments simply don’t work. The reality is that the treatment of bed bugs is a complex issue that will even pest control professionals to debate which are the best control methods.  A few factors play into this:

  • Bed bugs can live on many surfaces near the bed including the bedding, nightstand, curtains and even within certain types of walls
  • Even if you kill the adults, the eggs may survive treatment and hatch to re-start the infestation
  • Bed bugs can go into a dormant stage, and re-appear months later
  • Room to room movement is very common
  • Populations can grow quickly if not kept in check

You risk growing the infestation and having to put out more money for a bigger problem. Not to mention, you spend more time suffering in the meantime.

The bottom line is this: bed bug infestations are hard to get rid of.  Let’s explore some of the common DIY ways to eliminate bed bugs and why they don’t work.

Common DIY Bed Bug Treatments

The smoke bomb is believed to be a common solution, but it doesn’t work. If it did, we wouldn’t have the infestations we do. Heating a room to a high temperature also won’t work. It may kill off some bugs that are hiding in a mattress for example, but it won’t get to the bugs that are hiding in walls. When the room returns to its normal temperature, the bugs will be back. The same goes for freezing temperatures. You can freeze individual items like luggage or pillows, but you can’t do it in your home.

Finally, there are products out there that claim to kill bed bugs, but these are risky to use. Even though bed bugs are a nuisance, they don’t carry disease. So to spray potentially harmful pesticides on your mattress and your pillows is not safe for you or your family. Also, there are chemicals that people are simply not qualified to use. Calling in a professional is your best option.

DIY Measures that Can Help

There are things you can do that will help, just be sure to leave the treatments up to a professional like Dugas Pest Control. Below are smart measures to take on your own:

–      Vacuum your mattress and box springs
–      Vacuum baseboards, walls, light switches, outlets, picture frames, etc.
–      Get your luggage treated if you travel before you bring it home
–      Remove clutter, which are hiding spots for bed bugs
–      When you throw out blankets, coats, etc., be sure to label it with “Infested With Bed Bugs.”

If you are tired of trying to deal with bed bugs on your own, call the professionals today at Dugas Pest Control in Baton Rouge to eliminate the problem once and for all.