Know how bed bugs get in
Bed bugs do not jump or fly. They travel by clinging to luggage, clothing, second-hand furniture and bedding. Understanding their routes into your home is the first step to cutting those routes off.
The most common sources are:
- Hotels, hostels and rented accommodation. Bed bugs thrive anywhere there is a high turnover of overnight guests. Even well-reviewed properties can harbour a hidden infestation.
- Second-hand furniture and mattresses. A bargain bed frame or sofa can come with unwanted passengers. Upholstered items and anything with seams or joints carry the highest risk.
- Shared laundrettes and communal spaces. Laundry bags and folded clothes left on surfaces can pick up bed bugs that have dropped from other people's items.
- Visitors and shared transport. A friend's bag rested on your sofa, or a coat hung next to an infested one, can be enough to start a problem.
None of this means you should stop travelling or buying second-hand goods. It means you should inspect and take a few sensible precautions when you do.
What to do when you travel
Before you settle into any hotel or rented room, take two minutes to inspect the sleeping area. Pull back the fitted sheet and look along the seams of the mattress and the edge of the box spring or divan base. You are looking for small rust-coloured stains, dark specks of droppings, shed skins, or the bugs themselves. Adults are roughly the size and shape of an apple seed. Young bugs are pale and almost translucent.
If you find anything suspicious, ask to move rooms or choose a different property. Once you are satisfied the room looks clear, keep your luggage off the floor and away from the bed. Use the luggage rack if one is provided, or place your bag on the hard bathroom floor, which gives bed bugs fewer places to hide.
When you return home, unpack outside or in a hard-floored utility area rather than in the bedroom. Wash all clothing on the hottest setting the fabric will tolerate. Sixty degrees celsius kills bed bugs at all life stages, including eggs. If items cannot be washed at that temperature, a tumble dryer on a high setting for at least thirty minutes is an effective alternative. Store suitcases in a sealed bag between trips.
Protecting your home day to day
For most households, a few straightforward habits keep the risk very low.
- Inspect second-hand items carefully before bringing them inside. Use a torch along seams, joints, screw holes and any crevice wide enough to slide a credit card into. If you have any doubt about a mattress or upholstered piece, it is rarely worth the risk.
- Use mattress and pillow encasements. Zip-up encasements designed for bed bug control seal off the places bugs prefer to hide. They also make it far easier to spot any activity on the surface rather than tucked deep in seams.
- Reduce clutter around the bed. Piles of clothing, books and stored items near the sleeping area give bed bugs more places to hide undetected. Keeping the floor and under-bed space clear makes regular checking much simpler.
- Check regularly. A quick monthly look along mattress seams and behind the headboard takes very little time and means you are far more likely to catch a problem early, when it is easiest and least disruptive to treat.
It is also worth being alert when buying clothing from charity shops or markets. Inspect items before putting them away and wash them promptly.
If you spot the signs, act quickly
Early detection makes a significant difference to how straightforward treatment is. If you notice bites that appear overnight, small dark stains on your sheets, a faint sweet or musty smell near the bed, or you actually see a bug, do not wait to see whether it resolves itself. Bed bug populations can grow quickly under warm conditions, so a small problem can become a large one in a short time.
Over-the-counter sprays rarely eliminate an infestation. They can disperse bugs further into the property and make a professional treatment harder. If you have any reason to believe bed bugs are present, calling a qualified pest control company is the most reliable next step.
At Bedbugs Gone, our family run team of qualified and experienced technicians offers a range of treatments including specialist heat treatment, all backed by a clear written guarantee. We cover the whole of the UK and can often arrange same day or next day appointments. If bed bugs are a concern in your home or business, we are straightforward to reach and happy to give honest advice.