The Thanksgiving holiday is the most-traveled holiday in the United States, meaning families all over the country are preparing for a trip to see their loved ones. Getting the family ready for the plane, train, or automobile can be a stressful experience - and it doesn’t end with packing your bags and requesting time off from work. Unfortunately, traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday also means having to worry about bed bugs. These tricky and highly unpleasant pests seem to be everywhere these days, but with the proper knowledge, you'll be able to minimize the chances of them getting into your home.
How to Spot Bed Bugs When Traveling
Bed bugs are tiny bugs, about 4 mm in length, and are easily missed if you aren’t looking for them. Though small and good at hiding, you can find these little parasites with the right understanding and a careful inspection, and there are precautions you can take to avoid bringing them home with you in your luggage or on your clothing. When you first enter your hotel room, leave your bags in the car if you can. If you can’t, set them in the bathtub so you can carefully inspect the room before unpacking. Placing luggage on the bed or the floor of a bed bug infested room is an invitation to stow the bugs inside and bring them home with you. Pull the blankets and sheets off the corners of the bed and inspect the mattress, seams, and folds for tiny bugs or brown blood spots. If you see either, demand a new room or go to a different hotel. If the mattress appears clear, check any upholstered furniture for signs of bed bugs, as well as behind framed photographs on the wall.
Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite
Bed bugs in the bedroom are bad enough, but unfortunately, they aren't confined to sleeping spaces. You can also pick up some hitch-hiking bugs in restaurants, on public transportation, and even in stores. Keep your dirty traveling clothes in sealable bags, and wash and dry them immediately upon returning home, using the highest heat setting your washer and dryer allows to kill any stray bugs you may have brought back home with you. The key is diligence, which is extra work during this busy season, but may also prevent a very frustrating and mortifying infestation in your own home.
What to Do if You Spot Bed Bugs at Home
If you end up with bed bugs at home despite your best efforts to avoid them during your Thanksgiving holiday travels - don’t despair. While a bed bug infestation is never welcomed and not easy to get rid of, you can feel confident that Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators will remove the infestation for you so you can hold onto that thankful mindset a little longer. Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators knows what to do when it comes to bed bugs, and we are ready to put in the time and effort needed to fully defeat an infestation. Our tested and true bed bug treatments will kill bed bugs at all stages of life, and leave you secure in the knowledge that your bed problems are over.