Bed Bug Free Spring Break Travel Tips

Spring Break Travel and Bed Bug TipsSpring Break is here, for some. For some spring break is coming up soon. The University of Tennessee put out this article with some spring break tips. Some of these tips contained personal travel tips. The rest of this list is dedicated to prevention and awareness of bed bugs.

We’ve talked about bed bugs and college before. It is a good thing to be vigil to the possibility of picking up bed bugs while traveling.

Spring Break Travel Health and Safety Tips

UTโ€™s spring break is set for March 16-20. Will you be traveling during this time? Please keep in mind some important information to help you return to campus safely, recharged and ready for the rest of the semester.

Be sure that you:

  • Travel with a reputable travel agency. Know what kind of transportation, housing and food and beverages are included in your travel package.
  • Tell your friends and relatives where you will be vacationing, when you will depart and when you expect to return.
  • Stay aware of your surroundings and remain in groups.
  • Donโ€™t carry all of your credit or bank cards in your wallet or purse. Carry the minimum amount of cash that you will need, including a small amount for backup. Travelerโ€™s checks can be a good option when on vacation. If you have extra cash, leave it in your hotel room, hidden from sight.
  • Donโ€™t resist if you are robbed โ€” give up any money, jewelry or other valuables and call 911 (or another appropriate emergency number) immediately.
  • Donโ€™t let anyone into your hotel room unless you trust them. Your personal and property safety is significantly compromised by allowing strangers or untrusted persons into your room.
  • Limit alcohol intake. Decision making skills are compromised under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The legal drinking age in the US is 21 years. If traveling to a foreign country, check the local legal drinking age and other applicable laws.

Also, take the necessary precautions while traveling to avoid picking upย bed bugs.

  • Check beds by examining the bed sheets and upper and lower seams of the mattress and box spring, especially along the head of the bed. Check behind the headboard.
  • Elevate suitcases off the floor on a luggage stand, table top or other hard surface and bring large plastic trash bags in which to place your luggage.

Bedbug bites leave small white to red welts, and itch intensely. If you are exposed:

  • Contain all items suspected of carrying bedbugs in plastic bags until they can be laundered.
  • Upon returning home, transfer all washable clothing directly into the washer and/or dryer. Place clothing and bedding in a dryer on a high temperature setting for 30 minutes.
  • Collect all plastic bags that contained the suspect laundry into a clean garbage bag and discard.
  • Your suitcase can either be treated or discarded.

For those leaving vehicles on campus over spring break, make certain that no valuable property is left in plain view.

Have a great and safe spring break!

Is it “Bed Bugs” or “Bedbugs”

Bed Bug Pictures - Johnson Pest ControlMy five year old is learning sight words in kindergarten this year. More than once we have had the conversation about the oddity of words in our English language.

“No son, a C does not replace a K in ‘like’, even though the C in ‘cat’ sounds the same.”

I’m sure some people might be confused as to whether or not the proper spelling for bed bugs is a separated word or a combined word, ie. bedbugs. Don’t get us started on the hyphenated bed-bugs.

So is the proper spelling ‘bed bugs’ or ‘bedbugs’?

The answer?.. Yes.

Yes, you can use either of the methods for writing out the word bed bug. The more academic sources that have chronicled the history, science, of bedbugs will use the two word term of ‘bed bug’. This is why we are Johnson Pest Control will use the two word term as well as it has become one of our industry standards.

However, we will know exactly what you are talking bout if you write us and tells that you suspect you have ‘bedbugs’ in your home. If you are wanting to look up some of that academic research on bed bugs then you will be best served to write the two word phrasing of ‘bed bugs’.

One of the less common used phrasings for bed bugs is to hyphenate the words, ie. bed-bugs. We are not quite sure why that seems to be used, but it is an acceptable use of naming a bed bug. Again, we will totally know what you are talking about if you write us saying that you suspect that you have bed-bugs in your home.

Back to School Bed Bug Tips

Summer vacation is almost over and before we know it schools and universities will be back in session. While shopping for school supplies and a new wardrobe might take precedence over the next few weeks, we encourages parents and students to also spend some time brushing up on bed bug prevention tips.

Back to School Bed Bug TipsBed bugs are excellent hitchhikers and thrive in heavily populated places. This makes classrooms and dorms the perfect settings for bed bugs to take up residence.

A study conducted by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the University of Kentucky found that bed bug infestations are on the rise in many different types of dwellings, including school and college settings. According to the survey, 47 percent of respondents had treated for bed bugs in college dorms in 2013, while 41 percent had reported bed bug infestations in schools and daycare centers.

NPMA experts recommend the following tips for students in grades K-12 to avoid bringing bed bugs home:

  • Parents should regularly inspect their childrenโ€™s belongings for hitchhiking bed bugs
  • If the school has reported an infestation, consider housing all related items in a sealed plastic bin
  • Wash and dry cloth items returning from school in hot temperatures
  • Ask school administrators whether they have bed bug detection and elimination plans

NPMA also advises college students to take steps to protect against bed bugs, including:

  • Fully inspect suitcases prior to re-packing for a return to school, especially after any summer trips
  • Before putting sheets on the dormitory bed, inspect the mattress seams, particularly at the corners, and box springs for telltale stains or spots
  • Thoroughly inspect the entire room before unpacking, including behind the headboard and in sofas and chairs
  • Inspect any “secondhand” furniture for bed bugs before bringing it into dormitory rooms or off-campus housing

For more information on bed bugs and other pest related issues feel free to contact us anytime.

How to Avoid Bed Bugs in Apartment Living

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported over the weekend of a large apartment building that is experiencing large scale problems with bed bugs.

To one resident who moved in after the summer mayhem, though, plenty of issues remain and humanitarian-type issues like the creepy critters are first and foremost.

“The bedbugs are still present [and] residents are told they have to get rid of their furniture and many have been forced to do this and are left with nothing, sleeping on the floor with no beds or furniture,” wrote one man who asked to remain anonymous because he fears eviction.

Living in an apartment or condo unit provides its own complications to avoid an infestation of bed bugs. Often times a bed bug problem can arise not because of anything you have done, but through actions by another tenant or introduction by a worker at the living facility.

Block Of Flats - Apartment BuildingSo how can you best prevent yourself from getting bed bugs in apartment or group living space?

The solution for a bed bug problem can be quite complicated and difficult at times because it is not you who control all the aspects of the living space (unless you are the property manager). But there are best practices to help keep bed bugs from infesting your apartment. Should you get an infestation these best practices will help to keep the problem small and isolated so the cost and inconvenience of getting rid of them is minimal.

Some Tips To Keep Bed Bugs Out of Your Apartment

  1. Use Your Property Manager: Whether your property manager is on site or from an office it is in their interests to make sure there is not an introduction of bed bugs to the residency. Bed bugs cause bad press and cost quite a bit of money to get rid of. Go to your property manager and inquire if they have any protocol or material for keeping bed bugs out of their apartments. If not, then suggest that some education materials and protocol for keeping bed bugs out might be a good idea for their bottom line long term. The goal here is to educate the rest of the tenants on how to keep bed bugs out for the betterment of everyone. Protocol can be devised to give a little ‘teeth’ to these practices. If you have a building tenants association then utilize that group to do a similar education and protocol development.
  2. Devise & Circulate Best Practices: If you are working with your property manager or tenants association then awesome! If you hit a snag, then keep on going. Create a poster or brochure with some best practices that can help keep out bed bugs. Things to include:
    1. Do not bring in any furniture into the apartment building that was picked from the side of the road. This includes (but not exclusive to) mattresses, couches, chairs, pet beds, lamps, curtains etc.
    2. Do not do anything crazy, like burn a mattress or furniture, if you have some item infested. That just poses more hazards.
    3. If you work in an industry or field that puts you around possible bed bugs more regularly then heat your work clothes first in the community laundry area. The heat will kill off any bed bugs. Water temperature is helpful, but often not hot enough to kill them. Then the bugs get to be clean & hang out in the washer instead of being dead.ย *This is actually a good idea for everyone.
    4. When traveling be aware of bed bug precautions that can be taken to protect you and your family from bringing home bed bugs.
    5. If you suspect a possible bed bug infestation contact your pest exterminator for an inspection.
  3. Develop Protocol for Dealing with Bed Bug Infestation: With bed bugs these days it isn’t a matter of ‘if’ you are going to get them, but more of ‘when’ you might get them. When you get bed bugs you will want to handle the problem as soon as possible. This can help to isolate the problem and keep the cost and inconvenience lower. Have some protocol that you can share with people on how to deal with a possible infestation.
    1. Clean clothes by drying on highest heat in order to kill the bugs. Wash then store in plastic sealed containers.
    2. Have a thorough bed bug inspection of suspected unit and surrounding units to determine the extent of the problem.
    3. Remove items and dispose of properly, directed by pest professionals.
    4. Have a professional heat, steam, and/or chemical treatment done on infested areas (might be more than one living unit). *A thorough heat treatment is your best option for killing off a bed bug infestation. Chemical and steam treatments are best as an add on to heat or for smaller isolated problems. Bed bug treatments have to be incredibly thorough for them to be long term effective.ย 
    5. Put bed bug climb up traps or other treatment options prescribed by your pest control company to help monitor and/or identify continued problems. Mattress encasements could be used as an added measure of security.
  4. Distribute the protocol that has been developed (your pest control company might already have these for you to share) through posters in frequented areas of the facility, new tenant packets, emails, and/or social media groups. Keeping people aware of what is needed will take you all a long way in protecting yourself from bed bugs.

As you can see dealing with bed bugs in a shared living facility can be a real task. This is why it is best to get ownership and neighbors on board with this. Everyone can agree they do not want bed bugs so hopefully the ‘sell’ to keep them out would not be hard. If you have no luck getting your current apartment building to help then consider finding a place that is open to the idea. If a move is not an option then use some of ourย bed bug home prevention tips and couple that with your own pest control inspection/s to protect your familyย in case a neighbor brings them around.

Bed Bug Awareness Week

Bug bug awareness week logo - keep pests away from your home with Johnson Pest Control in TNApparently there is a week (or day/month) for just about everything. This week is Bed Bug Awareness week. Seriously. No joke, it is bed bug awareness week.

Suppose that Bed Bug Awareness Week isn’t as crazyย asย “Pig in a Blanket Day” (yes, that is this week as well).

So we thought we’d comb around the internet to find some solid resources as well as some funny/gross (depends on your level of bug love or hate) things as well.

Johnson Pest Control on Bed Bugs

We cover bed bugs quite a bit on this site.

Bed Bugs

This is a great short video by National Geographic that gives you a quick dose of information on the bed bug.

Bed Bug Facts

Need a quick list of facts about bed bugs. PestWorld provides a bed bug facts sheet that covers many of the main facts and tips with these blood suckers.

Bed Bug TV

Of course if there is a Bed Bug Awareness Week then there has to be a TV show. Makes total sense right? Maybe not. Jeff, who is a friend, has an ongoing web video series on bed bug solutions, information, and general topics. Recent releases that you might have helpful are his videos on college issues (which can be a hotbed for bed bugs, no pun intended) as well as a DIY bug monitor.

PEST TV

Not to be outdone, PestWorld has their own youtube series to check out. Cool part of many of these videos is that they are educational and kid friendly. The Pest Quest series is part of PestWorldForKids.org efforts. You can find more straight forward videos on things like ‘signs for bed bugs‘ as well on this channel.

All Things Bed Bugs

PestWorld has grouped together on this page all things they have as well as recent news links to anything associated with bed bugs. Now this might be a bit overload for the casual bed bug awareness week observer. But for those of us hard-core BBAW fans it’s a treasure.

BedBugRegistry.com

We’ve mentioned BedBugRegistry.com many times before. It’s a handy little database for those traveling or renters that around the country (and a bit of Canada) on instances of bed bugs. It is not telling you that you need to avoid each and every place mentioned. It is more to help us be aware of problems, opportunity to ask good questions, and choose places that deal with the problems they have.

Bed Bug Infestation

Here’s a bit of an ‘anatomy of infestation’ that can happen if bed bugs are ignored or not picked up on early enough. The article is provided by our National Pest Management Assoc. website PestWorld.

#BedBugWeek

In what might actually be an overdose of bed bug information you can check out the Twitter stream associated with bed bug awareness week. You have a number of local, national and maybe even global institutions throwing out factoids about bed bugs all week.