Stay Bed Bug FREE with these tips

If you are worried about bed bugs and the fact they are becoming more of a problem over the last five years, then we have some helpful tips for you. A bed bug is a real pest that is hard to see because they tend to hide out during the day and come out only at night while you sleep. Today, getting control over bedbugs has been a real problem in major cities all around the country, especially in New York City. Whether it is an upscale hotel, a college dorm, an apartment complex, a school, a gym or a home, the problem seems to be growing faster than the rate of effective bed bug control.

They are small enough to sneak into the cracks and crevices of a mattress and other sneaky places around your bed and home. Bed bugs travel so easily that you can come into contact with them almost anywhere.

How To Protect Yourself from Bed Bugs at Home

adult bed bugs kept in a tube

Adult Bed Bugs

Here are three action steps you can take:

  1. Confirm you have bed bugs: You need to make sure you have bed bugs to begin with by inspecting the various hiding places, including your mattress and bedding as well as cracks and crevices, drapery, and upholstered furniture, for reddish-brown spots or smallish eggshell skins or other remnants of bed bugs. You may also have red, raised, and itchy bumps on your hands, arms, and neck. These are some tell-tale signs that should then lead you to contact a professional for further inspection and confirmation.
  2. Contact a professional: Your first professional contact should be with a bed bug dog inspection company as this service is known to quickly and efficiently uncover a bed bug problem and identify all potential bed bug hiding spaces. If confirmed, you can then use a wide range of bed bug treatments, including do-it-yourself methods or a professional bed bug extermination company. This latter option may be ideal for businesses, apartment buildings, and dormitories that need a large area to be treated.
  3. Use a mattress protector: One of the best bed bug control products on the market today is a mattress liner. This encases the mattress and box spring separately with a liner that is known to trap and kill bed bugs – and to protect from further infestation. Depending on the mattress protector  you select, it can actually keep on killing bed bugs up to two years as well as eradicate dust mites in the process. These are also very affordable and easy to implement yourself, serving as a great first line of defense.

Bed Bug Prevention When Traveling

This is one of the most common ways that bed bugs are moved around from person to person. Bed bugs just need to be close enough to another piece of fabric and they will grab hold. They will grab onto a suitcase, blanket, pillow, coat, upholstered furniture and much, much more.

bed bug bites

Man with bed bug bites in his back after checking in at an infested hotel

The busy traveling seasons are the when most people will see bed bugs. They are known to be in hotel and motel rooms and if you happen to stay there, you may end up with them on your luggage and eventually in your home. When you check into a hotel or motel, spend time looking through the bed, mattress and bedding thoroughly for evidence of bed bugs. You want to be sure to leave your luggage outside while you inspect the room to ensure that if you see bed bugs they don’t have the opportunity to hitch a ride in your bags. When you get home, it’s a good idea to run the items you bring back with you through a dryer on the medium to high setting for 30 minutes.

Tips To Protect Your Gym Bag From Bed Bugs

bed bug infested gymMore people are realizing the importance of good health from going to a gym. However, people don’t suspect they can bring home bed bugs from the gym, but there are ways to protect your gym bag from bed bugs.

Although the last thing any of these gym goers want to think about are insects, it’s important to realize that bed bug infestations can occur when you least expect them, and from the least likely of sources.

You may not think that your gym bag is susceptible, but bed bugs will hitch a ride in anything they can find.

To help prevent the spread of bed bug infestations, let’s take a look at how you can protect your gym bag.

Check your bag before leaving the house

As much as you want to avoid bringing bed bugs home with you, there’s something to be said about having the common courtesy of making sure you don’t spread an infestation to others. Bed bugs are notorious for crawling into places such as suitcases, and a gym bag can be a perfect conduit to get out of your house.

Don’t concentrate solely on the primary part of the bag. Many gym bags have separate pockets for smaller items. Bed bugs are tiny, so it’s vital that you check those areas, too.

Check your bag before leaving the gym

People file in and out of the gym on a regular basis, and it’s impossible to know who might be dealing with a bed bug infestation. Many people bring along a gym bag, and any of these can be carrying bed bugs without even knowing it.

Of course, you’ll want to keep your bag inside a locker, but there are times when it may be exposed. Your best course of action is to check your gym before you leave. Take out all your clothes and check them, as well.

Don’t loan out your gym bag

While it might seem rude not to loan out certain items, protecting yourself against bed bug infestations should be a priority. Knowing what you know about how easily bed bugs can get inside your gym bag either directly or by taking refuge in clothes or gym towels, you should think twice before loaning it out.


Learn with The Bed Bug Inspectors