Bed Bugs – The Uninvited Guest

The first time I heard about bed bugs was just a few years ago when the news was reporting infestation problems in some of the best hotels in New York City. Bed bugs aren’t the result of poor housekeeping, just bad luck. You could bring the pesky creatures home unknowingly in your luggage, purses, and clothing. If you live in an apartment they can travel from one apartment to the next.

How To Tell If You Have Bed Bugs

Now that I’ve made you paranoid, let’s visit some of the ways to tell if you have them. There are a number of ways to tell. One popular method is to have a 2-liter bottle of soda and put sugar-water mixed with yeast in the bottom. The inverted peak of the bottle at the top becomes a funnel. You tape the “funnel” part of the bottle into the “base” part, which has the yeasty water at the bottom, and bed bugs just can’t resist it. If you leave this trap out in your child’s room at night and catch some of them, then you’ll know you have bed bugs.

Another way to tell is to watch for their droppings, which look like tiny brown spots. If you’ve got sheets that aren’t white, these can be hard to spot.

You can catch the little insects at night with a flashlight, as they are nocturnal, but this is unlikely. If you do see one, look for a reddish brown creature that is circular and usually no longer than about half a centimeter.

How to Rid Your Home of Bed Bugs

One of the most dependable ways to get rid of bed bugs in your area is to hire an exterminator. There are quite a few bed bug exterminators in NJ, and they use a variety of techniques to get rid of the pests for you–some of which, should the infestation be minor enough, you can even apply yourself.

• There is extreme heat: if you can get it between 113 and 118 degrees Fahrenheit in the infested room for over 20 minutes, you’ll kill them. This is highly unlikely in most places, however; but it’s one reason exterminators often use super-heated steam to kill the bugs. Steam is powerful, non-toxic, and efficient–though without heating the entire room.
• Freezing: You can additionally freeze these bugs to death between 32 and 48 degrees, but this method usually takes more than a month.

Stigma of A Dirty House

Don’t let the stigma of a dirty house stop you from being diligent in detecting these creatures. Now you know that you can get bed bugs in many ways, from traveling or living in an apartment or condominium.

Author’s Bio

Wendy Dessler

Wendy is a super-connector with OutreachMama who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.

Images Courtesy of Canva.

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