As if we didn't have enough cockroaches roaming free around NYC, now we have bedbugs?!?!? I can honestly say, I thought they were just a myth; another minor detail in a bedtime story. But now that they are on the news, riding our trains and sleeping in our houses and hotels, it's time to face facts! If you haven't watched the news lately, here's a glimpse of what you're missing...
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Gross, right?!? These little creatures are tricky and slick! They feed on our blood, are attracted to the carbon dioxide that we exhale while we sleep and even worse, they have sensors that can detect the areas are blood flow the strongest! Crazy how these bugs are smarter than some humans I know!
If you're waking up with several bites on your body, the first thing you want to do is check your bed. Take a piece of double sided or gorilla tape and run it along the edges of the bed, (be sure to pull any flaps back.) If you have bedbugs, they will stick to the tape. Also, look for the larvae that they leave behind. Yes, I said larvae! Bedbugs shed their excess skin and dried blood onto whatever they are nesting on! If you find any indication that even one bedbug is in your home... take action immediately. These things multiply at amazing speeds. An adult bedbug is darker in color (from all the blood they have already consumed,) while a baby bedbug looks almost clear from lack of feeding.
Note: If you see any babies CALL AN EXTERMINATOR IMMEDIATELY!!! Baby bedbugs are the first sign of an infestation.
Here's another link to a CBS newscast on bedbugs that aired just yesterday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_skROnH22o
The only way to avoid these critters is to stay on top of them.
1. Before you travel, research the hotel you are staying to make sure they haven't had any reported infestations
2. If you ride the train, rub an alcohol pad on your skin before you board. For some reason, they will not bite through alcohol. Be sure to shake your clothes out after you get off the train. They will attach themselves to your clothes on their journey to a new home!
3. Make sure you have no holes in your floors, ceilings or walls. Bedbugs will creep in through the smallest of cracks, even electrical outlets!
4. Wash your sheets and blankets weekly (which you should be doing anyway!) Keep hardwood floors swept daily and vacuum your carpet daily as well.
And remember, bedbugs can live in the cleanest of places. They do not necessarily breed in dirty atmospheres. They do not discriminate or hold back!
Oh and by the way, if you do have bedbugs, do your friends and family a favor and do not visit them until you know you no longer have bedbugs! You do not want to carry these annoying critters to someone else's car or house!
Hope this helped!
Written By Jo Anne-Patricia @MzFilterless
Sources from http://www.youtube.com/ and CBS News Online
Did you know bedbugs can go months without feeding? So you might think you're done with them, but actually they're just hiding.
ReplyDeleteBedbugs infested my kids' beds 2 years ago. Instead of just cleaning out the beds I actually threw them away, mattresses and all, and got metal bunkbeds for them. No problems since.