If you live in Connecticut, there are lots of bugs that live in your yard, and there are many bugs that can get into your home. You can have some success keeping them out if you take steps to seal your exterior walls and alter conditions around your home that attract bugs.
However, none of these steps will work to prevent a bed bug infestation. Do you know why? Because bed bugs don't live in your yard. They're almost entirely indoor bugs. That means you're going to need a different strategy if you hope to keep them out of your home. Today, we're offering up a quick and helpful guide for bed bug prevention in Connecticut. Here, you'll find several tips that could stop bed bugs before they make your life miserable.
Tip 1: Always Do An Inspection
If you spend the night somewhere, check for bed bugs. We know it can be a hassle, but it is well worth the few minutes it will take. Bed bugs can come home with you from hotels, motels, and even 5-star luxury resorts.
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Leave your luggage in your vehicle or store it in the bathroom while you do your search.
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Inspect bedding and pillowcases for black or brown stains.
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Look between the mattress and box springs. If you see tiny insects that are between 1mm and 5mm long that are pale, tan, brownish-red, or appear to have a black or red abdomen, they're probably bed bugs. Look for black excrement, brown dried blood stains, pale eggs, and shed skins in the area you find the bugs congregating.
Tip 2: Protecting Your Laundry
Bed bugs are attracted to the scent of humans. When you take clothing off while away from home, store the items in a sealed plastic bag. A trash bag with a bread tie will do the trick. This keeps bed bugs from getting into your clothing or laying eggs in your clothing.
Tip 3: Use Heat To Kill Bed Bugs
Bed bugs don't just get into laundry items. They can get into your clothes while you're wearing them. The high temperature of your dryer will kill bed bugs in all stages of development. Wash all of your clothes with hot soapy water and run them through the dryer when you get home from a trip. This will help to make sure that no bed bugs, or their eggs, come home in your clothing.
Tip 4: Inspect Used Items
Bed bugs can be in a mattress, box spring, couch, chair, alarm clock, computer, and many other items. If an object has a void within, it is possible for bed bugs to congregate inside or lay eggs inside. When you purchase used items, do an inspection. You may be able to detect black streaks, fecal spotting, bloodstains, eggs, or shed skins. If an object has creases, use a debit card to drag through the creases and bring evidence to the surface. Bed bugs love tight spaces.
Tip 5: General Tips
When you go to work, school, or public places, you can pick up bed bugs. There are a few general tips that can help you prevent bed bugs from coming home with you this way, such as:
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Use the light on your smartphone to check furniture in dark places before sitting down. A movie theater is a good example of a venue where this tip can help.
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Don't store your clothing or bags near the clothing and bags of others, particularly in dark storage spaces such as a locker.
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Use your nose to detect bed bugs. The pheromones of bed bugs smell like a dirty locker room towel. If something smells off, bed bugs could be to blame.
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Be on the lookout for anyone who has bite wounds that look like they were created by bed bugs. Bed bugs feed in groups and travel across the skin, each bed bug typically feeds three times. This makes bites look like a path on the skin that looks like small bumps in a large rash. Refrain from having close contact with anyone who has rashy bumps in this pattern, just to be on the safe side.
What If Bed Bugs Find A Way?
It is impossible to entirely prevent a bed bug infestation - well, unless you live your life in a protective bubble. So, assuming you're not a bubble person, what do you do when bed bugs find a way into your home?
The best way to deal with bed bugs is to hire someone who is trained and experienced. We're not just saying this because we're trained and experienced at exterminating bed bugs. Bed bugs are indoor pests that have been living with humans since the dawn of human history. If they were easy to get rid of, there is little doubt that the earth would not have a single bed bug on it. The sad reality is that bed bugs tend to be very difficult to exterminate. If you have bed bugs in your Connecticut home, reach out to Big Blue Bug Solutions and avoid the misery of trying to exterminate these irritating pests on your own.
