Prevention

Preventing Bed Bugs Spreading to Other Rooms

Here are some helpful tips for preventing bed bugs from spreading to other rooms in your home:

• Do not move items back and forth from room to room without giving them a thorough check. Most people do not know that bed bugs can easily hide in books and pictures frames because of their small and flat bodies
• Do not leave your garments on the floor as bed bugs can easily roam around and find their way inside of them. Especially your darker clothes will be more likely to become a home for these pests. Even though bed bugs cannot live on your clothes and it is not their ideal environment, it is still not safe to do so. Even when travelling, do not leave them laying around.
• Moving clutter from one room to the next can be dangerous as bed bugs absolutely love the clutter and find their best hiding spots in the pile of clutter that you may have made
• Do not move around your furniture before giving it a thorough inspection and cleaning it well.
• Do not treat bed bugs on your own as this can be unsafe for you and your family, including pets. Call pest control and they will handle the situation at the professional level
• Do not panic if you find a bed bug or find an infestation
• Do use encasement for your bedding as this can be one of the best options for preventing bed bugs and keeping you safe while you sleep

Traveling around and always being scared to bring bed bugs with you home? Here are some tips and tricks on preventing bed bugs from coming home with you:

• Always inspect your hotel room when travelling. You never know where bed bugs could be hiding. Check the mattress, the sheets, the bed frame, the headboard, under the bed, near baseboards, wallpaper, behind frames and inside/around furniture near the bedding
• Never leave your luggage on the floor, on the bed, or on top of the furniture in the main room. Leave it o the luggage rack or the bathtub as these are the safest spots to prevent bed bugs from crawling inside of your bags.
• Never leave your clothes freely laying around the room. Refrain from leaving them on the bed or on top of furniture as bed bugs can easily crawl onto them.
• When packing, ensure you have packed your clothing and other personal items into a clear, plastic sealable bag and always put your clothing back inside of your luggage with the lock on.
• When returning home, unpack everything in all of your backs but DO NOT unpack in your bedroom or living room. Instead, do it in the garage just in case, or even the parking lot.
• Once you have removed everything out of your luggage, place all of your clothing items into the washer on the highest heat and same with the dryer to get rid of the bed bugs out of your clothes.
• Vacuum your luggage and dispose of the vacuum bag in the trash outside so that you don’t end up having dead bed bugs or ruminants coming back into your home.
• For the items that are not machine friendly, place them into a plastic bag in the garage or let them sit under the sun for the day to kill any bed bugs as heat will dehydrate and kill them faster.

Preventing Bed Bugs in Common Spaces

Learning how to prevent bed bugs from spreading all over the house makes a challenging task and probably one of the most difficult things to do as these little bugs are so resilient to practically everything. There are, however, steps you can take to prevent bed bugs in your common spaces.

• Remove all clutter
• Repair any broken baseboards, tearing wallpaper, and tighten any loose electrical faceplates as these are primary locations and hiding places
• Always vacuum weekly, under the bed, behind the bed, and anywhere around any bedding area including the furniture close to it
• Inspect every entry point on walls if you share it with a neighbor
• Seal any and all cracks in walls, windows, door frames, ceilings, furniture, and between baseboards

Always ensure you are thoroughly inspecting any items before bringing them inside your home, especially if it is second-hand clothing, furniture, or items from an antique store. According to a survey conducted by the National Pest Management Association, 16% of respondents said that they inspected furniture bought second-hand they brought home, and that percentage is way too low. It is important to recognize that bed bugs can be hidden anywhere and you should be highly aware of this fact when making these types of purchases. Always ask to have the piece of furniture inspected before putting it into your car and taking it home.

When throwing away a used mattress or one that was previously infested with bed bugs, do not leave it outside on the curb.

Mattress encasements are made solely to help protect your mattress from bed bugs. The encasements will wrap your mattress tightly to keep bed bugs from getting inside and to prevent bed bugs from getting out.

Check your encasement before using it on your bed. Ensure the zipper teeth are not too far apart so that there would be no leeway for the bugs. The zipper must be tightly sealed and locked. Once your encasement is on, do not remove it.

Here is a list of the top 5 mattress encasements on the market:

1. SafeRest Encasement

This safe encasement was designed to help you sleep with peace of mind. The zipper it comes with will not allow bed bugs to get in or out and they will eventually die off without a food source

2. Sleep Defence

Sleep Defence is a 1-pound weighted encasement and comes with a 5-year warranty. It is also made to reduce allergies with its good quality plastic. This product is also waterproof and does not have a scent.

3. Linespa Encasement

Equipped for keeping nasty ebd bugs out and for protecting against your allergies. This thin and breathable encasement is safe and waterproof. This product is proven to improve your sleep quality, has a 10-year warranty, and is easy to clean.

4. Lucid

The Lucid encasement is a light cover that does not even feel like it is made of plastic. It is a comfortable cover that does its job. Like most encasements, this too, is made for those with respiratory problems and allergies. It fits perfectly on any mattress size and the tight zipper ensures no bugs go in or out.

5. Utopia

This encasement is a soft, easy to install product that is water resistant and comes with a Velcro zip guard. It has a bug flap to keep them from escaping and from coming in. It was made with a hypoallergenic material to help with those who have respiratory issues. 

Furniture 

Bed bugs have a tendency to find their way into other furniture, not just your bed. Check your couch by lifting up all of the cushions and perhaps vacuum it. Check the upholstery as well. Inspect every corner of your furniture like cabinets, drawers, side tables etc. Note that any wicker furniture is a common place where bed bugs like to hide.

Cars

Before going into your car, make sure your items are clean. Another thing many look over is if they were helping a friend move and they used their car to help them move, they should inspect their car to ensure no bed bugs have crawled out of their things. 

College Dorm / Universities / Hotels

Since these places are known for many ins and outs and a plethora of different people that stay there, it can take one person to bring in a bed bug that could cause an entire infestation. For the staff that work at hotels especially, should be aware and properly trained to spot the signs of bed bugs. Checks should be done on a daily basis to ensure cleanliness and safety for staff and visitors. Inspections of the neighboring rooms on the floor should be done if there is any reports of bed bugs. Contact an exterminator or pest specialist to handle the situation.

Storage Spaces

In order to prevent bed bugs from finding their way into your storage spaces is to be aware of the amount of clutter in the space. Keep your space clean and package your items neatly into secured plastic bins with a lock so that they will be unable to crawl inside. Regularly check your storage area to see if there are any bed bugs.  

Condominiums

Technically, it is the unit owner who is responsible for taking care of the cost of treatment for the bed bugs. The unit owner s responsible for all of the interior. Once bed bugs hit a condominium, it can cost thousands of dollars for treatment. If the bed bugs end up spreading from one unit to another, the corporation must be informed before the infestation grows too large for them to handle. Liability will fall onto the corporation in this case.

By-laws are to be updated for this subject matter and must be dealt with as soon as possible. It should be clear that it is the unit owner’s responsibility to inform the concierge of their condominium if they suspect that they may have bed bugs.

Laundromat

How to Prevent Bed Bugs from Biting

Always clean up every space in your home so there is no clutter, or else you will be giving these bed bugs extra hiding spots. Always examine any object that you are bringing home just in case it has a bed bug attached to it.

Using mattress encasements will keep bed bugs out and keep the ones already there, in. These encasements were made to help protect against the bloodsucking pests and help you get a good night’s sleep. These encasements were also designed with hypoallergenic material with those who suffer from allergies or respiratory issues.