How to Prevent a Bed Bug Infestation in Your Home

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Bed bugs are a serious problem, and an infestation can establish itself in your home quickly. Perhaps most frighteningly, every home is vulnerable. There’s the old stereotype that bed bug infestations are a sign of an unclean home, but this isn’t true. Bed bugs usually spread in a few main ways, which we’ll go over in this article. The good news is by learning how bed bugs spread, you can learn how to prevent a bed bug infestation in your home.

Yes, it’s completely possible to keep you and your family bed bug-free by staying vigilant about preventing them. We’re going to show you how.

What’s the Key to Preventing Bed Bugs?

Situational awareness is the key. If you know how to recognize situations where your risk of getting bed bugs is heightened, you’ll be in a great position to prevent infestations.

• Using public transportation: People are constantly coming and going, and anyone could potentially be unknowingly carrying bed bugs in their luggage. Be aware of the possibility on long-haul buses, trains, and planes, as these pests can crawl from one piece of luggage to another in overhead bins or cargo holds.
• Purchasing secondhand furniture or clothing: Whether it’s from a thrift store, garage sale, or online market, be sure to check for insects and eggs in seams or tiny wooden crevices.
• Living in multi-unit housing: Apartment complexes and dormitories allow bed bugs to easily travel through wall voids and electrical outlets between units.
• Hosting guests or traveling frequently: The more bags that enter and leave your home, the higher the statistical chance of an accidental “stowaway.”
• Visiting communal seating areas: Movie theaters, libraries, or waiting rooms where upholstered chairs provide plenty of hiding spots near human warmth.
• Utilizing shared laundry facilities: Bed bugs can be transferred if clean clothes are placed on folding tables previously used with infested bedding.
• Working in high-traffic public service roles: Healthcare, social work, and emergency services often involve entering many different residential environments daily.
• Staying in high-turnover lodging like hotels, motels, or hostels: Travel is one of the most common ways bed bugs spread, and we’ll go over some additional tips to avoid them while traveling in the next section.

How to Prevent Bed Bugs While Traveling

Since travel is a common denominator in so many bed bug infestations, it’s important to take extra precautions when you’re in a new place and you’re not sure.

• Look for physical signs: Bed bugs leave behind dark fecal spots on mattresses and upholstery, along with shell casings and their white, sticky eggs. Bed bug bites on exposed skin are usually red, itchy, and appear in rows or zigzags.
• Cover power outlets: Because they have small inlets and have very little traffic, it’s common to find bed bugs hiding away in outlets until nighttime.
• Store clothes in vacuum-sealed bags: Vacuum-sealed bags help provide a barrier between your clothing and wandering bed bugs.
• Check your luggage before you bring it inside: Once you get home, check your luggage and the clothing thoroughly. Don’t bring it inside yet if you’re not sure.

What Else Can You Do to Prevent Bed Bugs?

Anytime you’ve come from a situation with a heightened risk of bed bug spread, you should be on guard for a week or two afterward. Monitor yourself closely for signs of bites, and keep an eye peeled for the bed bugs themselves, shed skins, or tiny reddish brown blood marks on your bedding.

Here are a few things you can do in your house to help you spot them, and reduce your risk of a major infestation.

• Vacuum your floor: Bed bugs can live in anything that protects them, such as crevices, cracks in the floor, and carpeting. For this reason, it is helpful to vacuum regularly to prevent an infestation if you do unintentionally bring bed bugs home with you. Pay special attention to where the floor and the wall meet.
• Clean your pet’s bed: Bed bugs will seek seams and crevices in any place in your home, including the beds where your pets sleep. Check their beds just like you’d check your own.
• Clean up clutter: By having clutter in your home, you are essentially providing more hiding space for bed bugs. Keep your home tidy, and be aware of possible living spaces for the bugs as you organize your things.

What to Do If You Spot the Early Signs of an Infestation

Act quickly! That’s the most important thing. By doing something about it ASAP, you can help ensure a minor outbreak doesn’t turn into a major infestation that will be much more difficult to eliminate.

With bed bugs, professional treatment is your best bet. They can be very challenging to eliminate with DIY methods.

Prevent a Major Bed Bug Infestation with Professional Treatment

If you discover bed bugs in your home, your first instinct may be to fight them on your own right away. Though there are ways to help rid your home of bed bugs yourself, it can also make matters worse. Oftentimes, the home remedies only push the bed bugs away from the treatment and further into your home.

Heron Home & Outdoor will work with you to make sure your needs are taken care of, any problems are addressed, and we won’t stop working until the bed bugs are gone for good. Call Heron today for a free estimate!