Bed Bug Prevention: Is It Worth Doing?
Do you know one person who practices bed bug prevention that never had bed bugs before? Most people do not see bed bugs as a threat to their daily life until they encounter them. The Cleveland-Akron region has the third largest recorded bed bug population out of the major U.S. cities, as of 2016. It is likely that you will be exposed to bed bugs at some point in your life. When that time comes, will you bring a reproducing female inside your home? Will it be introduced into an ideal living situation? It is an ideal time to practice bed bug prevention at your home.
None of Lakewood Exterminating’s customers have had their mattresses encased before their bed bug infestation developed. Can bed bugs really be prevented, simply by encasing your mattress and boxsprings?
Is bed bug prevention worth it? Here are some things to consider:
- We all know daily life can be chaotic. Sometimes all there is to settle the mind is the safety of your bed. What happens when that security is gone?
- The public does not have access to the tools or resources so they can properly perform bed bug exterminating themselves. But the public can very easy practice bed bug prevention.
- Preparation for bed bug treatments isn’t always easy. Heat treating and containing loose items can be a monumental task for some people.
If You Choose Not To Practice Bed Bug Prevention
A lot of people do not commit to hiring an exterminating company immediately after finding out that they have bed bugs. They throw their bed out. They trial and error with store bought pesticides. Misapplication of pyrethroid insecticides push bed bugs into adjacent rooms. When they finally commit to hiring a professional bed bug exterminator, the cost has doubled what it would have been originally. This is how many people in Cleveland, OH are presently playing out their lives. Is it time to consider taking preventative measures?
Bed Bug Prevention Guide
Limiting Exposure
Bed Bugs are nocturnal human parasites. Bed bugs disperse their population by hitchhiking from one location to another. The number one bed bug prevention tip is to avoid bringing them inside your home. How do you do consciously put this into practice?
- Limit exposure to places likely to have bed bugs. Bed bugs can be found where there is a large transient population of humans. Schools, hospitals, theatres, churches, fitness centers, hotels, airports, bars, waiting rooms, public transportation, etc.
Steps To Take Before Going Inside Your Home
Bed bugs latch onto shoes, and baggage most commonly. If you regularly travel to suspected areas of bed bug activity, it is good practice to:
- Change clothes before you enter your personal vehicle or home.
- DEET insect repellent does nothing to control bed bug infestations, but it will keep them from crawling onto your body during brief periods of exposure.
- Store shoes and bags inside a tight fitting tote. Keep the container just outside your entry door or keep it in the garage.
Bed Bug Prevention From Within Your Home.
Bed bugs are very interesting creatures. They hide extremely well and often stay very close to their visiting hosts. They feed on humans yet they don’t stay on humans after they bite. They come out, feed, then quickly return to hiding. If you find them on your bed they probably won’t move much. Yet bed bugs hitchhike from one place to another very strategically. A little talked about fact is that bed bugs can walk, and run. They can run away just as fast as you can react to them. The point is that, if there is a bed bug in your home, it will find a host.
So how do you prevent a rogue, mother-to-be, bed bug from raising her future family on your sleeping children?
- Place bed bug protective encasements on all mattresses and boxsprings in your home. This eliminates their normal hiding places. Pillows can also be encased.
- You might have had a bed bug once before, but you swept it up unknowingly on laundry day. Frequent laundering of bedding is highly recommended.
- Let’s face it, we never vacuum under our beds. It is a good practice to get into. Do you know what carpet beetles are? They bite too. Start cleaning under your bed.
- ActiveGuard liners are embedded with permethrin insecticide. This sublethal dosage is just enough to mess them up and prevent their establishment. Place them upside-down on boxsprings. They reportedly last around one year!
- Eliminate clutter. Bed bugs hide. Bed bugs do not always stay on your bedset. Do you keep a container under your bed with extra bedding or other such objects? How about that sock you dropped down there two years ago? Bed bugs will take a liking to those types of objects. Use your bedroom for sleeping. Keep loose objects to a minimum.
- Seal up any crevices on the floor, walls, and the ceiling. Do this extending out 3 feet from the bed.
- Use monitoring devices. We recommend the pitfall traps. Pull your bed away from the wall, separate your bed from the nightstand, and clear belongings from underneath the bed. Isolate the bed, install pitfall traps on bed posts. Make it so bed bugs can not climb up and down your bed. Traps must be maintained free from dust and debris.
By making a few investments and adjustments to your routine, you can feel confindent that your home is resistant to bed bugs. Bed bugs bite but cause very little physical harm. Until you have been bitten, or you find a bed bug in your home, its hard to realize how bad they really are.
Read more about preventing bed bug infestations by clicking here.