Bed bugs are the boogieman of a traveler’s nightmares. Living in an area like the Lehigh Valley or Southeast Pennsylvania, where travel is frequent, the chances of encountering bed bugs at least once in your life are higher than you think.
These blood-sucking hitchhikers can quickly ruin any trip. While they’re famous for bed infestations, they can hide in airplanes, offices, lobbies, and even electronics. The truth is, you never know when and where you’ll stumble upon them.
The good news is that dealing with bed bugs isn’t the end of the world, though spotting the signs of bed bugs may be surprisingly harder than you think.
In fact, there’s a lot of misinformation about bed bugs that can make treating them harder than it has to be. We’re here to dispel those myths so you have a better idea of what the right steps to take are if you have the misfortune of encountering them.
Common Causes of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are blood-sucking parasites that lie and hide, waiting for the opportunity to cling to any unsuspecting passersby. Despite what their name suggests, they don’t just hide in beds.
They’ll lurk wherever the opportunity to strike is high. While there’s a common narrative that bed bugs reside in dirty dwellings, you can encounter bed bugs in any of the following locations:
- Hotels, motels, and vacation rentals
- Public transportation and airplanes
- Movie theaters or waiting rooms
- Second-hand furniture or clothing stores
- Dorm rooms and apartment buildings
An important factoid to keep in mind about bed bugs is that they’re survivors. They can go as long as a year without feeding on blood. That means they can be hiding anywhere, even if food sources seem rather limited.
Debunking Common Bed Bug Myths
There’s a lot of misinformation and myths out there surrounding bed bugs. On top of spreading baseless stigmas and fears, they can mislead you on the appropriate steps to treat them.
Let’s debunk the five most common bed bug myths so that you’re better equipped to deal with an infestation, and potentially avoid one altogether.
1. Bed Bugs Are a Sign of a Dirty Home
This is false. Bed bugs don’t have a preference for either cleanliness or clutter.
All they care about is food supply. They can hide anywhere the opportunity is high, even in a five-star hotel. However, there is something to be said for the higher likelihood of spotting and treating them in places that routinely check for them.
2. Bed Bugs Are Too Tiny to Spot
Like any insect, bed bugs grow as they age, starting in a hard-to-spot larval state. When fully mature, they grow to roughly 3.5mm across, about the size of an apple seed, with a reddish-brown color.
They can be hard to see when they’re small, but that quickly changes, and you can easily identify them in the case of an infestation.
3. Pesticides and Sprays Will Kill Bed Bugs
Simply spraying for bed bugs isn’t enough to solve most problems. While it will help, it’s not the end-all, be-all solution for killing bed bugs and their eggs.
On top of building up resistance to some chemicals, bed bugs hide deep in cracks and crevices.
Additional treatments, like heat treatments and professional help, are often needed for full-scale elimination.
4. Bed Bugs Transmit Disease
Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease to humans. Their bites are itchy and irritating, but that’s about the extent of the harm they can do.
That said, disruption of sleep paired with the anxiety and stress created by a bed bug infestation should be taken seriously.
5. Bed Bugs Only Infest Beds
Again, bed bugs don’t necessarily prefer beds. While they serve as great dwelling locations for multiple reasons, bed bugs can also lurk in sofas, chairs, carpets, wall cracks, electronics, and anywhere else nearby typical resting areas that allow them to latch onto humans.
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
If you find that bed bugs have invaded your home, there’s no need to panic. While treatment steps will vary depending on the infestation’s severity, you can follow a few steps to work toward eliminating them from your house.
- Confirm the infestation with a pest management professional to ensure accurate identification and treatment.
- Declutter to reduce hiding spots and make it easier to spot and treat bed bugs.
- Wash and dry bedding and clothing on high heat to kill all life stages of the pests.
- Vacuum frequently, paying close attention to sofa and mattress seams, edges, and crevices.
- Use encasements for mattresses and box springs to trap existing bed bugs and prevent new ones from getting in.
- Schedule professional treatment, especially for severe infestations, to fully eliminate the problem.
It’s important to bear in mind that, while you can possibly deal with a bed bug infestation yourself, there’s a good chance that you’ll need professional help. Pest management professionals are equipped with tools and experience that allow them to more effectively treat bed bugs, especially when it comes to severe infestations.
You can buy some pesticides and sprays that can help, but heat treatments and other more effective forms of treatment are reserved for the professionals.
The Importance of Follow-Up Inspections for Bed Bugs
If nothing else, bed bugs are resilient insects that can deal with quite a lot. Even after an aggressive treatment, it’s important to check in afterward to make sure they’re gone. They can survive in small numbers if any eggs or adults were missed the first time around.
Rechecking after two to three weeks after a treatment is necessary to ensure that’s not the case. If left unchecked, they can rapidly reproduce, starting the problem all over again.
FAQs
Can you bring bed bugs home from hotels or airplanes?
Yes. They can hide in luggage, clothing, or personal items. Always inspect items after travel to make sure you didn’t bring any home.
Can pets spread bed bugs?
Bed bugs prefer humans, but they will feed on pets if necessary. They don’t live on animals like fleas do, but pets can carry them between rooms.
Do bed bugs only come out at night?
They’re most active at night, but if they’re hungry and there’s a food source nearby, they’ll bite during the day too.
