How Did I Get Bed Bugs In My Imperial Valley Home?

There can be some confusion when it comes to bed bug infestations. It is important that you understand that these insects don't live in your yard. They don't crawl around on the outside of your home, and there is no chance that these bugs will come in from the outside on their own. They spread passively. This is to say, bed bugs do what bed bugs do, and while they're doing it, we carry them to new and exotic locals. Let's take a look at a few specific examples.

The Most Obvious Way To Pick Up Bed Bugs

This will come as no shock, but you can get bed bugs when you stay the night in a motel or hotel. These businesses are hotspots for bed bug activity because they provide the perfect staging area. Guests bring bed bugs in with them. Bed bugs emerge from carriables and find another location to hide. When these bugs discover that a food source can be found near a bed, couch or chair, they'll establish themselves in tight, hidden spaces near or in these items. If you spend the night somewhere, bed bugs that are hiding in a room may get into your stuff and go home with you. They're just following a pattern.

Pro Tip: Always do an inspection before you stay overnight somewhere, even if it is with a friend or relative. Bed bugs can be hiding anywhere that offers a source of blood. Search tight spaces, stitching, and dark recesses. Look for bed bugs, eggs, shed skins, black feces, or brown bloodstains.

A Less Obvious Way Bed Bugs Spread

Did you notice that we said bed bugs might hide in a bed, couch, or chair? Bed bugs aren't just found in beds. Why? Because they don't just feed on sleeping people. They can feed on you while you're awake. For this reason, infestations have been found in movie theaters, taxi cabs, buses, and more. If you sit in a place that is dark, keep in mind that bed bugs might be there with you.

Pro Tip: Use the light on your phone to do a quick inspection of the seat you'll be sitting in. Be sure to look in every tight space you can. If there is a seam, you can run a credit card along the seam to uncover evidence. Be sure to also look in pockets and under folds.

The Most Unexpected Way Bed Bugs Spread

Have you ever seen a nice piece of furniture sitting on the side of the road and brought it home? There was a time when you could do this without any fear of getting bed bugs. That is not the case now. Over the last two decades, bed bugs have returned to the United States with a vengeance, and infestations are common everywhere, even here in Imperial Valley.

Pro Tip: Be sure to inspect any item you pick up from the side of the road, or that you purchase secondhand - even if it comes from a second-hand shop. Bed bugs can lay dormant without a blood meal for several months.

3 More Quick Bed Bug Tips

• Bed bugs are drawn to items that have been worn. They'll often climb into a laundry bag and get transported with laundry. Running laundry items through a thirty-minute dryer cycle will eliminate them.
• Bed bugs pass from bag to bag. If your child sets a bad down near the bag of another student, a bed bug can move from one to the other. Teach your kids to keep their bags separate.
• Bed bugs have a distinct bite pattern. Each individual bed bug bites more than once, in a path. This can help you identify bed bug bites and alert you to a problem.

Got Bugs?

If you live in Imperial Valley and bed bugs have gotten into your home, reach out to us for immediate assistance. We know what's buggin' you. More importantly, we know how to get rid of bed bugs. We're standing by to help; contact us today for reliable residential pest control and commercial exterminator solutions in El Centro.