Though bed bugs do not carry the nasty diseases that some of their fellow insects do, they can drastically affect your quality of life.  They sustain themselves by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded animals. The term ‘bed bug’ comes from the bug’s preference to burrow in beds or other places where people and animals may sleep: for the most part they tend to be active at night.

Bites from the tiny parasites can cause extreme discomfort, fatigue, anxiety and embarrassing boil-sized hives. The hives can swell to boil-sized proportion and get seriously infected. The bug feeds on your skin as it simultaneously injects anesthetic saliva to numb the pain so most people that are bitten have difficulty even diagnosing the problem. In short, there is nothing good about an encounter with these creatures.

At one time you only heard about these little insects in nursery rhymes.  But as of recent, bed bugs have been gaining ground.  Largely eradicated in the first half of the century, there has been a 500% increase in infestations over the last decade.  These bugs can lay up to five eggs in a single day and up to 500 eggs in their lifetime.  Motels, landlords and college dorms are reporting more and more cases of infestation.  Bed bugs are also getting increasingly resistant to insecticides (many of which are diminished in capacity due to restrictions on chemicals that can be used). If proactive measures are not taken, these pests can wreck the kind of havoc.

So if the buggies are multiplying and options are shrinking, what do you do?

Well, you turn up the heat.  Yes, heat is the perfect, proven method to eradicate these pesky things.  You can choose a formal extermination process, such as the Thermal Remediation heat treatment.  Options include treating the entire structure or simply treating one spot, making Thermal Remediation very economical. The non-chemical and non-corrosive process is completely safe for your family and the environment.  It also strikes at the root of the problem, killing the insects through all stages (especially at the beginning) of their life cycle.

If you on a very tight budget, you could use other options.  Small fabric steamers and hair dryers on high can provide localized heat for spot treatments.  There are also some oven-like devices specifically designed for the spot treatment of bed bugs that you can buy at local hardware stores. It is important to know that no matter how much “homemade” heat you employ, without professional help, these are temporary options at best.

Once you get rid of the bed bugs, do not put the welcome mat back out. Some conditions simply invite the little critters to take up residence with you, so take a few additional precautionary measures.

1)    Be very discerning about what you bring into your household. Though items from the Salvation Army, garage sales and Craig’s List can be easy on the pocket, you may get more than you bargained for.  Bed bugs tend to travel in used furniture and clothes (especially items that have been outside for long period of time).  So be diligent about asking the seller questions, inspect the item carefully and disinfect, disinfect, disinfect!

2)    Be a neat freak. Even though spotless homes, hotels and dorms can have bed bugs, routine house cleaning can assist in preventing infestation.

3)    Get organized, too! Clutter helps minimize the number of places that insects can hide.

4)    When traveling, keep all your possessions inside of your luggage and wrap your suitcases in plastic to prevent bed bugs from entering.

5)    Also do not let anything (luggage, sheets, clothes) hit the floor or touch the walls (where bugs climb).

6)    When you get home, keep all of your bags in one area, inspect them there, wash them extremely hot water and dry on hot for 20 to 30 minutes.

Armed with this new information you now know how not to bring bed bugs home with you. Don’t slack off because these bugs are all over the place now.

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