Bed Bugs and the Summer Travel Season

Bed Bugs and the Summer Travel Season

With 46 percent of Americans planning on taking one or more summer trips that involve staying in a hotel, rental home or flying on an airplane, it signifies that it will be a very busy friendly skies in the coming months.

And as the excitement for traveling again grows, it’s easy to forget one tiny, but trip-altering threat – aside from flight delays and crowded resort pools – bed bugs.

Bed bugs will hide in small cracks and crevices close to a human environment.

These elusive pests are found just about everywhere travelers go. They are no strangers to hotel rooms, vacation rentals or train seats, making the start of what will surely be a record summer travel season the perfect time to raise awareness with about this annoying pest.

Where Bed Bugs Are Found  

Bed bugs are nocturnal pests that feed on a person’s blood during the night as you sleep. Many people do not feel the bite itself or develop clear symptoms other than the reddish dots where the bug bit you and some minor, surrounding inflammation and irritation.

It is important to know that if a large bed bug populations is present, they are more likely to be active during the daytime and are more likely to be found in other, hidden protective places within an apartment, hotel room or assisted living facility.

Due to their small size and ability to be easily transported on clothes, luggage, briefcases and backpacks, bed bugs call many locations home. They will hide in small cracks and crevices close to a human environment. They are flat and easily able to fit into tiny crevices within bedding or furniture. They will hole up in mattress seams or box springs. Some signs of their presence include dark red or brown stains on fabric and surfaces.

Other common spots where bed bugs hide are:

• Couch cushions
• Cracks in wood trim
• Dresser drawers
• Upholstery
• Behind baseboards

Bed Bug Summer Travel Tips

With travelers anxious to hit the road this summer it is likely your co-workers or tenants will be among them. That increases the risk of bed bugs being introduced to offices or apartments.

An important element to any successful bed bug treatment is education. To reduce the risk of bed bugs being introduced to your property, share the following information with employees or residents to help prevent these cryptic pests from gaining access:

• Thoroughly inspect the entire room(s) for bed bugs before unpacking, including behind the headboard, under lights, and inside dressers, drawers, sofas and chairs.
• Pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams and box springs, particularly at the corners, for pepper-like stains, spots or shed bed bug skins.
• Bed bugs can easily hitchhike via housekeeping carts, luggage and even through wall sockets. If an infestation is spreading, it typically does so in the rooms closest to its origin.
• Only unpack the clothes out that will be worn and don’t leave shoes on the floor.
• Store the luggage in the bathtub or on a tile floor – areas where bed bugs are least likely to reside.
• Upon returning home from a trip unpack bags outdoors or in the garage, and carefully inspect clothing, suitcases, backpacks, etc. for signs of bed bugs.
• Wash all clothes – even those that have not been born in hot water and dry them using the extra-hot setting.

Discover The Sprague Difference

If you are looking for an innovative pest management service provider for your commercial property, connect with the Sprague pest management experts at 800.272.4988.