A recent AAA Travel survey showed that nearly 100 million Americans are planning to take a family vacation in 2019. Spring and summer trips comprise a majority of these plans. And while traveling for a vacation sounds like a blast, the experts at Modern Pest know that increased travel also means increased risk of bed bugs.
Where are They?
Most people know that bedbugs are often found in hotels, but it’s not uncommon for them to be in airplanes, trains, amusement parks, and summer camps, either. There are several ways to bring bedbugs home with you after a vacation. So how do you avoid them and how do you get rid of them once you’ve got them?
Interested in a bed bug inspection for your home or business? Click here or call Modern today at 1-800-323-7378.
Bed Bug Prevention Travel Tips
If your summer plans involve staying at a hotel or motel, there are a few bed bug prevention tips that the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) wants you to know. If you see anything that suggests bed bugs, notify management immediately. Change to a non-adjacent room or change establishments entirely. Bed bugs travel by hitching rides, whether on a housekeeping cart, luggage, or through a wall socket. If an infestation is spreading, you don’t want to be anywhere near it.
- Pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams, particularly at the corners, for telltale stains or spots.
- Thoroughly inspect the entire room before unpacking, including behind the headboard and in sofas/chairs.
- Consider placing your suitcase in a plastic trash bag or protective cover during the duration of your trip to ensure that bed bugs cannot take up residence there prior to departure.
- After your trip, inspect your suitcases before bringing them into the house. Vacuum your suitcase thoroughly before storing away. Consider using a garment hand steamer to steam your luggage, which will kill any bed bugs or eggs that may have hitched a ride home.
- Wash all your clothes – even those that have not been worn – in hot water to ensure that any bed bugs that may have made it that far are not placed into your drawers or closet.
To DIY or Not to DIY
You’ve probably heard of DIY remedies for getting rid of bedbugs, but do they work? Not usually. Here are some of the methods you might have heard about, and why they won’t help you.
8 DIY Bedbug Methods That Don’t Work
- Mothballs– researchers at Rutgers University found that putting infested clothing inside a bag of mothballs was mostly ineffective.
- DIY Chemical treatments– Bug bombs or sprays containing DEET are also ineffective against bed bugs. Research done by Consumer Reports showed that the level of concentration at which these products are sold isn’t strong enough to get rid of bedbugs.
- Rubbing alcohol– Rutgers researchers found that spraying bed bugs directly with rubbing alcohol only worked 50% of the time. This is not efficient enough to get rid of an infestation.
- Ultrasonic bug repellents– These pricy devices just didn’t work as advertised, according to Rutgers researchers.
- Essential oils– Essential oils worked on bed bugs that hadn’t been feeding. But if they could feed after being exposed to the oils, they survived.
- Sleeping with the lights on– This method won’t keep the bugs away, it will just keep you awake. Bed bugs prefer a dark room but will still feed with the lights on, according to the EPA.
- Cayenne pepper– Spraying cayenne pepper will keep a lot of things away, but bed bugs aren’t one of them. You’re more likely to burn your own eyes than get rid of one bed bug using pepper spray.
- Mattress material– Bed bugs want one thing: a warm human to feed on. They don’t care what your bed is made from. And while it might be harder for them to get inside a memory foam bed, it won’t stop them from crawling on the surface to get to you.
Don’t let bed bugs ruin the reputation of your business! Call Modern today at 1-800-323-7378 or click here to schedule service
Bed Bugs are Bad for Business
It doesn’t matter if your business is an Airbnb, large hotel, small café, or popular chain restaurant, you can’t take the risk of having bedbugs. A New England Travel Study survey showed that the top influencer of travel destination choice is word of mouth at 73.9%. Online search is second with 63.4%. If someone spots bedbugs in your business, or worse, brings them home and infests their own location, it will spread quickly. And with 73.9% of travelers going by word of mouth, your reputation can take a serious hit. Since 63.4% of travelers use online searches to choose their summer plans, one bad review could also tank your profits for the season.
The Modern Solution
Whether you brought bed bugs home from your vacation or you’re a business owner with bed bug activity, your best bet is to hire Modern Pest. The pest control professionals at Modern are trained and qualified to identify if bed bugs are present in your location. They know how to target them where they live and breed. Modern Pest Services offers both conventional chemical bed bug control and Thermal Remediation® or heat treatment (electric or propane) through its Commercial Bed Bug Management and Residential Bed Bug Control throughout New England. If you think you have a bed bug problem, call Modern today at 1-800-323-7378. Bed bugs are one vacation souvenir you don’t want to bring home.