Hotel rooms look enticing and comfortable. Imagine plopping down that big bed after a long business meeting or a full day or walking and sightseeing. However, while hotels are projected to be a place of cleanliness and comfort, it is one of the main sources of a bedbug infestation.
Staying at a hotel with bedbugs even just for a night can put your own home at risk. Know more about bedbugs and how pest control services in New England can help terminate them.
What are bedbugs?
Bedbugs are a kind of insects that live on the blood of animals and humans. They are so small, about the width of a credit card, which makes it difficult to see. They easily reproduce and can spread through contact with your things.
Staying at a hotel room for the night gives bedbugs more than enough time to attach themselves to your things like your clothes and bags. Hotel rooms are one of the most common places to get bedbugs in your things because of the number of people staying there.
The unfortunate thing is, cleanliness is not an issue because these pests feed on human blood and not on clutter and unlike other pests. So, you can have the cleanest 5-star hotel, but if the customer who sat on that couch as a coat with bedbugs, then it is likely that you would be a carrier too.
In fact, in the 1950s, bedbugs became an international concern. A pesticide was formulated in the 1970s to manage it but was eventually banned due to the negative effects it has on wildlife. The bedbug phenomenon is again back without any solution even up to the present.
Is your home infested with bedbugs?
One of the most common signs of bedbug presence in your home is waking up to bites. Bedbugs suck on blood, and it can easily be mistaken to mosquito bites. But bedbug bites often come in a line and do not have a reddish center. However, there are cases where people do not have a reaction to bedbug bites.
There are other ways to detect bedbugs. Seeing a small splatter of blood in your bedsheet could mean that you accidentally squished some of it while they are feeding or after they have fed. Having a musty smell in your home that does not go away is also an obvious sign.
Bedbugs are very small creatures that release pheromones. A home infested with a huge group of bedbugs which releases pheromones can definitely be smelled.
How to manage bedbugs
The first thing to do if you suspect a bedbug infestation is to confirm it. Going to the doctor to have your bites checked can be done.
Searching for bedbugs nest under your mattress or in your closet should also be done. Once you have confirmed that you indeed have bedbugs in your home, calling professional help to eradicate them should be done as soon as possible completely.
Bedbugs are a nuisance, and unfortunately, there is no permanent solution to it. But being observant and having the right professionals do the job can help you solve the problem at hand.