Bed bugs are active all year round and their activity levels vary from place to place and city to city. What happens in most cases is that bed bugs take advantage of more people traveling in the warmer months. Also, bed bugs might have laid their eggs in winters but their larvae and nymphs are too small for people to notice. The infestation might have started in winter itself and one must use an integrated pest control approach all through the year to prevent the situation from getting out of hand.
What Are Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation?
The presence of bed bugs can be difficult or exceedingly simple to detect. Subtle signs include small blood stains or dark flakes of bug excrement on sheets or pillowcases. More obvious signs include bed bug exoskeleton and obvious bite marks on your skin. Bed bug bites tend to present themselves as raised, itchy, red and disturbed bumps in zigzagged clusters.
How Do Bed Bugs Make Their Way Into Homes
Bed bugs can enter into your home if your neighbors have them. This is especially seen in apartment style residential complexes where the houses are very close to each other. Picking up infested items like sofas, beds, mattresses etc. from the roadside is another surefire way of bringing bugs into your house. In fact; you can even get bed bugs home from your infested office. If you have been away for summer and stayed in infested motels, you might also inadvertently bring bed bugs into your home.
How To Protect Your Home From Bed Bugs In Summer?
People erroneously believe that summer is peak bed bug season, but it is best to use all-year round integrated pest management approach to ensure keeping your home bug free. Take the following steps to ensure you have a bug-free home by the end of the year:
- Wash and launder bedding, curtains and linen.
- Vacuum your house thoroughly every few days.
- If you are staying overnight at a hotel, check the room for bed bug activity.
- You can see tell-tale signs like rust colored stains around the mattress edges.
- Store your luggage outdoors (in the garage) as bed bugs usually do not infest these.
When Should You Call The Professionals?
Bed bugs are exceptionally difficult to remove on your own. To successfully banish them from your home, you will need to work closely with a pest control service. The removal process isn’t a single event but a process in which follow up inspections help to ensure that your infestation doesn’t come back or experience a resurgence.
Whether you plan to travel in the summer or winter, you should be on the lookout for unwanted pests. Pay close attention to hotel conditions, overused lounge areas, and high-traffic locations. If you have an infestation and need immediate service, call ECO Bed Bug Exterminators Washington DC today.
