Where do Bed bugs come from?

Once it is confirmed that somebody has bedbugs, her first question is: Where did I get the Bedbugs from?

The answer is: It could be from any of the following sources:

• If you live in an apartment or condominium building or a dormitory, then you might have got them from your neighbor or previous occupant.
• From high occupancy places like hotel, motel, bed and breakfast place, cruise ships, restaurants, public transportation, schools, day care, nursing homes, hospitals.
• From used furniture or cloths or bed frame or mattress or even picture frame, bought from a yard or garage sale.
• From a guest
• From animals or birds.
• From mover’s truck 

Let’s review each of the above sources in detail.

Source 1: If you live in apartment or Condominium building or dormitory:

There is a good possibility is that bed bugs have reached your home from your neighbor. This neighbor could be on the same floor as yours or from the floor above or below yours.

Your neighbor might have got the bed bugs from any of the above sources. Then the bugs could have reached your apartment by the following means:

·        Bed bugs travel from one apartment to another through:

•  
  • Voids in the wall.
  • Holes made in the walls for electric wires or heating or cooling systems.

·        Previous resident in your apartment could have got them from any of the above mentioned source.

·        Your neighbor might have found bedbugs in her apartment and could be trying various options to kill them. Some times these options do not kill the bugs but spread them to other apartments.

·        Your neighbor might have detected bed bugs and might have decided to throw away the furniture, mattress or bed frame. She might have dragged the infested furniture through common areas like hallways. During the dragging process the bugs might have fallen off from the furniture and could have rushed to the nearest hiding place: your apartment.

·        Your friendly new neighbor may not have bed bugs in her previous residence. However when she moved in the next apartment to yours, the bedbugs from the mover’s truck might have got hidden in her furniture. During moving the furniture, they might have fallen off and got to your apartment.

How to protect yourself:

·        Seal Holes: Seal holes, cracks and other crevices by expanding foam in a can or Caulk or Steel Wool.

·        Secure main door: I have found Breeze Blockers very useful in preventing bed bugs and other insects entering my apartment through main door. And as a bonus, it keeps heating and cooling costs down.

·        Education: Please review the articles form this web site. We have done all the homework for you. Take several print outs and leave it with your apartment or condominium manager.

Source 2: High occupancy places like a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast place, cruise ships, restaurants, public transportation, schools and day care, nursing homes, hospitals:

Bedbugs grow primarily where they can get food: blood. Hence there is no surprise that they are found in the places with high occupancy like hotel, motel, bed and breakfast place, restaurants, public transportation, schools, day care, nursing homes and hospitals.

And even though the owners of these places do their best in getting rid of these insects, they have one major difficulty which a single family home owner does not face: Fresh supply of bugs brought in by people.

How to protect yourself:

·        Traveling: Here are a few quick tips: Use Bed Bug Spray and Hard Shell Luggage. Clean your luggage with a hard brush when you come back from the trip. Store all your used cloths in Green Clean Dissolvable Laundry Bags during your stay. And when you come back, just dump that bag in your washer, set the wash cycle to ‘hot’ and you are done.

·        After your visit to the high occupancy area:  First of all, I would like to remind you that everyday millions of people visit high occupancy areas like restaurants, public transportation, schools, day care, nursing homes, hospitals. And only a small percentage of them catch bed bugs from there. However a little precaution helps a lot. Wash the cloths immediately and put them in dryer for two hot cycles. Very hot temperatures in the dryers will certainly kill them.

Source 3: Used furniture or cloths or bed frame or mattress or even picture frames, books bought from a yard or garage sale:

Used furniture poses great threat of having bedbugs and their eggs. Because of their flat body structure, bed bugs can hide in very very small holes or gaps. They are very difficult to detect and you may not have luxury of time to inspect the furniture thoroughly.

How to protect yourself:

Avoid them completely. It is not worth the trouble of buying used furniture and then spending a lot of time, energy and money getting rid of the bed bugs.

Source 4: Your guests:

Your guest may not have any bedbugs at her home but her luggage might have got infested during the travel or during stay in hotels.

How to protect yourself:

Take the same steps when you came back form the vacation. Thoroughly clean the luggage with a hard brush, and Wash cloths and run them through two hot cycles of dryer. On a very hot day, you can seal the luggage in plastic bags and put them in your cars, shut the windows and leave the car in open.  Very high temperatures will kill the bugs.

Source 5: Animals or birds:

·        Animals: Although bed bugs prefer human blood they can survive on any warm blooded animal like your pet dog, cat, rabbit or guinea pig.

·        How to protect your pet: Keep the place where pets sleep clean and clutter free. Make sure that your pet’s toys do not have any cracks or holes where the bed bugs can hide. Regularly was your pet’s bed and run it through two hot cycles of dryer.

·        Birds: Bedbugs are known to live in bird’s nests. And they are also found in homes where pigeons, bats, swallows and other birds live.

·        How to protect yourself: If you have bird’s nests inside or anywhere near your home, please get rid of them.

Source 6: Your mover’s truck:

Movers carry people’s furniture form one place to another. And guess what comes with the furniture? Yes. You are right! Bed bugs.

You might have bought very expensive mattress. The mattress shop may also be clean and not infested with bed bugs. However can you guarantee that there are no bugs in the truck?

·        How to protect yourself: If possible move the stuff in your own vehicle. If you are renting a truck then shut the truck windows and let it sit in the sun for a whole day. If it is a hot season then you may get lucky and the high temperatures will kill the bugs.

·        Use Space Bags to store your cloths, comforters and blankets, pillows, patio cushions, sweaters and jackets, and other bulky items.

·        Use Bed bug Proof Mattress Protector for the mattress and the box spring.