Once you get past the weather, one of the biggest travel problems you could run into could be waiting at your destination, bed bugs.
Bed bugs can be found in places beyond just a bed- you can find them in buses, planes, luggage and even clothing. These bugs have been found in five-star hotels, and their presence is not always determined on the cleanliness of the conditions where they are found.
They look like an apple seed, flat and brown, and they feed on human blood.
They're most commonly found in places people sleep and among people who travel, but everyone is at risk to let the bed bugs bite.
"They're hitch hikers, that's how they get from place to place. So they're going to hitchhike on you if you're in a car, you're on a bus, plane, train, however you're traveling, that's where they can typically be," says Mike Coffey of Lane's Professional Pest Elimination.
When you head into a hotel, experts recommend doing a quick check around the room.
"Around the tufts of the mattress, behind the headboards, nightstand, sometime in the chairs, that's where you're going to typically see the bed bugs," says Coffey, "Blood spots on the sheets are going to be your first clue that you may have an issue in there."
Bed bugs may be harmless, but they're called a "pest," for a reason. They're fast, hard to kill and can live for a whole year without feeding.
To avoid taking these bugs home from trips with you, the first thing professionals say to do when you arrive at a hotel is put your bags in the tub.
"Bed bugs cannot climb into hard surfaces like that so nothing can get into your luggage and of course tubs are usually white so you can see them," says Coffey.
You can try to kill them with heat. Experts suggest taking your luggage, emptying it into the dryer and running it at a hot temperature for a minimal of thirty minutes.
If you see the bugs, you should contact pest control immediately. Experts say do it yourself remedies are not enough to kill.
The Centers for Disease Control say bed bugs have not been known to spread disease, but they do bite. Bite marks can take up to 14 days to develop. An allergic reaction to bites may lead to medical attention.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Bed Bugs: Statistics Don’t Lie - Yes, They are Everywhere
Bed bugs have experienced a resurgence during the last decade that essentially is unrivaled by the growth of any pest in the pest control industry. But while many people have never come into contact with the pest – as far as they know – bed bugs literally are everywhere.
Think of the different facets of a community that can be affected by bed bugs and there likely are numerous examples of infestations that can be cited. In the hotel sector, these businesses are not only tracked on numerous travel websites but The Bed Bug Registry was formed specifically for the purpose of reporting bed bug incidents.
Colleges and universities have incidents splashed across the “front pages” of social media networks on a weekly basis, causing fear among students and concern at the parental level. Regardless, bed bugs have intruded into almost every corner of the country’s higher learning institutions – as evidenced by the 996,000 results that come up in a Google search for college bed bug incidents.
Senior living centers, public housing, halfway houses and even prisons are being inundated with bed bug incidents – proving that bed bugs are everywhere. According to the ‘Bugs Without Borders’ survey, conducted by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, not only are they everywhere but most people are either coming into contact with them or know someone who has had a bed bug-related experience. The survey found the following:
• 99.6 percent of U.S. based professional pest management companies have encountered a bed bug infestation in the past year, slightly higher than the 99 percent that reported the same in 2011.
• As in previous years, survey respondents continue to treat for bed bugs in a variety of places outside private residences, such as college dorms, hotels, nursing homes, offices, schools and daycare centers, hospitals, public transportation and others. The majority of bed bug infestations occur in residential settings, such as apartments/condominiums and single-family homes, with 98 percent and 96 percent of respondents treating these dwellings respectively.
• Although not a seasonal pest, prime bed bug time appears to be during the summer months with nearly half (49 percent) of respondents saying infestations occur most often then and least often in the winter.
• Bed bugs continue to be the most difficult pest to treat, according to 76 percent of survey respondents, more so than cockroaches, ants and termites.
• Clutter contributes to the problem as approximately two-thirds of respondents point to homeowner clutter as the biggest customer-oriented challenge in treating bed bugs, while 58 percent say customers not following advice and 16 percent point to re-infestation.
Think of the different facets of a community that can be affected by bed bugs and there likely are numerous examples of infestations that can be cited. In the hotel sector, these businesses are not only tracked on numerous travel websites but The Bed Bug Registry was formed specifically for the purpose of reporting bed bug incidents.
Colleges and universities have incidents splashed across the “front pages” of social media networks on a weekly basis, causing fear among students and concern at the parental level. Regardless, bed bugs have intruded into almost every corner of the country’s higher learning institutions – as evidenced by the 996,000 results that come up in a Google search for college bed bug incidents.
Senior living centers, public housing, halfway houses and even prisons are being inundated with bed bug incidents – proving that bed bugs are everywhere. According to the ‘Bugs Without Borders’ survey, conducted by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, not only are they everywhere but most people are either coming into contact with them or know someone who has had a bed bug-related experience. The survey found the following:
• 99.6 percent of U.S. based professional pest management companies have encountered a bed bug infestation in the past year, slightly higher than the 99 percent that reported the same in 2011.
• As in previous years, survey respondents continue to treat for bed bugs in a variety of places outside private residences, such as college dorms, hotels, nursing homes, offices, schools and daycare centers, hospitals, public transportation and others. The majority of bed bug infestations occur in residential settings, such as apartments/condominiums and single-family homes, with 98 percent and 96 percent of respondents treating these dwellings respectively.
• Although not a seasonal pest, prime bed bug time appears to be during the summer months with nearly half (49 percent) of respondents saying infestations occur most often then and least often in the winter.
• Bed bugs continue to be the most difficult pest to treat, according to 76 percent of survey respondents, more so than cockroaches, ants and termites.
• Clutter contributes to the problem as approximately two-thirds of respondents point to homeowner clutter as the biggest customer-oriented challenge in treating bed bugs, while 58 percent say customers not following advice and 16 percent point to re-infestation.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Insects Open Access Journal Article: Behavioral Responses of the Bed Bug to Permethrin-Impregnated ActiveGuard™ Fabric .... Susan C. Jones* , Joshua L. Bryant and Scott A. Harrison
Abstract: ActiveGuard Mattress Liners have been used to control house dust mites, and they also are commercially available as an integrated pest management tool for use against bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). The aim of our study was to evaluate responses of numerous populations of the bed bug to the permethrin-impregnated fabric, with particular regard to contact toxicity, repellency, and feeding inhibition. Continuous exposure to ActiveGuard fabric resulted in rapid intoxication for three of four populations, with 87 to 100% of moderately pyrethroid-resistant and susceptible bed bugs succumbing by 1 d.
In comparison, a highly resistant population reached 22% mortality at 10 d. Video data revealed that bed bugs readily traversed ActiveGuard fabric and spent a considerable amount of time moving about and resting on it during a 12-h period. ActiveGuard fabric was non-repellent to bed bugs from five tested populations. Furthermore, significantly fewer bed bugs successfully fed to repletion through ActiveGuard fabric than through blank fabric for the five populations. With just 30 min of feeding exposure, mortality ranged from 4% to 83%, depending upon the bed bug strain. These laboratory studies indicate that ActiveGuard liners adversely affected bed bugs from diverse populations.
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Behavioral Responses of the Bed Bug to Permethrin-Impregnated ActiveGuard™ Fabric .... Susan C. Jones* , Joshua L. Bryant and Scott A. Harrison
Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, 2501 Carmack Rd., Columbus, OH 43210, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 27 April 2013; in revised form: 17 May 2013 / Accepted: 20 May 2013 / Published: 7 June 2013
In comparison, a highly resistant population reached 22% mortality at 10 d. Video data revealed that bed bugs readily traversed ActiveGuard fabric and spent a considerable amount of time moving about and resting on it during a 12-h period. ActiveGuard fabric was non-repellent to bed bugs from five tested populations. Furthermore, significantly fewer bed bugs successfully fed to repletion through ActiveGuard fabric than through blank fabric for the five populations. With just 30 min of feeding exposure, mortality ranged from 4% to 83%, depending upon the bed bug strain. These laboratory studies indicate that ActiveGuard liners adversely affected bed bugs from diverse populations.
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Behavioral Responses of the Bed Bug to Permethrin-Impregnated ActiveGuard™ Fabric .... Susan C. Jones* , Joshua L. Bryant and Scott A. Harrison
Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, 2501 Carmack Rd., Columbus, OH 43210, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 27 April 2013; in revised form: 17 May 2013 / Accepted: 20 May 2013 / Published: 7 June 2013
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