Bed bugs move around by hanging onto clothing and squeezing into bags and other luggage. When they get to a new location, they can then disperse throughout the property, creating an infestation. Often the spread of bedbugs is entirely accidental. Most people do not realize they have them until the bugs have already spread.
With people starting to travel extensively after the pandemic, bed bugs can be a significant challenge if you are planning on welcoming family and friends into your home. Working with your guests to take a few precautions as they settle in can help prevent you from getting a bed bug infestation of your own if guests are coming from a place where bed bugs were active.
Reducing the Risk that Guests Will Introduce Bed Bugs
Bed bugs can be picked up almost anywhere. They live in homes, hotel rooms, theaters, stores, on airplanes and trains, and in cars. If someone is traveling to visit you, there are many places they could have picked up bed bugs, so it is best to implement preventative steps such as:
- Using Light Colored Sheets – If sheets in your guest room are white or another light color, it will be easier to spot bugs hiding in crevices and signs of bed bugs such as blood spots. This can help you determine if you do have an infestation quickly and take fast action.
- Keep Beds Away from Walls – Baseboards, electrical outlets, and other crevices in your walls can provide a hiding space for bugs. By keeping beds from touching the walls directly, bedbugs are less likely to escape from beds and hide in walls where they are even harder to find.
- Prevent Sheets from Dragging – Tuck in all sheets and comforters around the mattress. This makes it harder for bed bugs to climb up from the ground onto bed using loose sheets.
- Clean Up Clutter – Unnecessary items in guest rooms provide spaces for bugs to hide. Remove any items from guest rooms that are unnecessary, but leave options for your guests to store their belongings off the floor.
- Unpack Belongings – Clothes left in suitcases make it easy for bugs to hide in between. By unpacking luggage into closets and wardrobes, and then storing suitcases elsewhere, you are more likely to spot bugs that may have come in with luggage.
- Use a Mattress Cover – If your household frequently has guests or you run a rental property, using a mattress and boxspring cover means that bed bugs cannot hide in the mattress itself.
After guests leave, you should also do a thorough cleaning of guest room spaces which includes washing all linens in hot water and vacuuming your floors. You should look out for any signs of bedbugs during this cleaning since early intervention can save you significant time, hassle, and money when it comes to treating bed bugs. If you do find signs after guests have departed, contact Adapt Pest Management for bed bug control in Sacramento County, and we can get rid of bed bugs fast.
