Summer break is something every student looks forward to. After a long year of hard work, tests, sitting through lectures, group projects, papers, and finals, it feels like you can finally relax. Summer break also means home, going on vacations and traveling to see friends and loved ones.
Summer increases bed bug spread by nearly 50%. Learn about the increased spread in summer months, the increased concern of bed bugs, and 4 ways you can prevent a bed bug infestation this summer.
As things continue to open up, pest professionals are preparing for that same increase in treating bed bugs this summer.
Update: As of 2024, Minneapolis made the list of the Top 50 Worst Cities in the U.S. Battling Bed Bugs. As pest professionals, our service is now more important than ever.
Table of Contents
- Recap from Bed Bug Guide
- Increased Spread in Summer Months
- Increased Concern of Bed Bugs
- Steps You Can take to Prevent a Bed Bug Infestation
- Conclusion & Next Steps
Recap from Bed Bug Guide
You learned all about what bed bugs are from our Complete Bed Bug Guide. Here’s a little refresher for you. You learned about what they look like: thin, round, reddish bodies with distinct sucking mouth parts.
A female can lay about 500 eggs or more in her lifetime, and the males stab the female’s abdomen and inject sperm into the wound. This sperm lasts their whole lifetime and fertilizes all the eggs.
You learned of different signs of bed bug activity like fecal markings and casings. You learned that bed bugs are bed insects that bite and that after a bite or a blood meal that they can molt and produce casings and fecal markings.
Aside from learning many myths and facts about bed bugs, how to inspect for bed bugs yourself, the many ways pest professionals treat, and how we treat for bed bugs, you learned of the many ways bed bugs spread.
The most common ways for bed bugs to spread is through luggage and sleeping accommodations. With the increase of change in sleeping accommodations (college students moving home) and increase of travel such wonderful aspects of summer vacation, it’s important to be prepared for the spread of bed bugs.
Did you know 1 in 5 Americans have had bed bugs or know someone who has? That is 20% of the population that comes into contact with these pests.
We also shared this photo with you that shows the bites of a bed bug. Yes, typically one bed bug will bite and drink some blood, walk a little, bite and drink some more blood, etc. This is why you can tell if you’ve been bit by bed bugs: they will be in a line or cluster.
Increased Spread in Summer Months
The incidence of bed bugs is 3 times higher in cities for 3 reasons: higher population, higher mobility, and apartment living. If you’ve ever read a stat that stated that reported a higher number of younger people affected by bed bugs, this may be the case because young people are often attracted to more urban settings.
Not only are bed bugs more likely in cities, they are also more likely in summer months due to increase in travel and students coming home from college. This is the same reason for increased bed bug spread around the holidays.
Here are some places that are most commonly affected by bed bugs.
Places where bed bugs are most treated:
- Single family homes
- Multi-family housing units
- Hotels and motels
Other high-risk places of having bed bugs are:
- Nursing homes
- Schools and daycare centers
- Offices
- College dorm rooms
- Hospitals
- Transportation vestibules and facilities
Increased Concern of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are in all 50 states, so we can’t get away from them. Though their populations were once knocked down prior to the increase in air travel in the 1980s and 1990s, their populations remain steady and on the rise in many parts of the world.
NBC accounts some statistics across the US that shows where people lie on the matter:
- Nearly 80% are most concerned about encountering bed bugs at hotels
- 52% on public transportation
- 49% in movie theaters
- 44% in retail stores
- 40% in medical facilities
- 36% in their own homes
- 32% equally pointed to places of employment and friends’ homes.
- The fear of getting bitten topped the list of concerns
Knowledge of bed bugs, their warning signs (activity), and how to proceed if they become an issue, can put fears to rest. There are steps you can take to prevent a bed bug infestation.
Be Prepared – 4 Ways You Can Prevent a Bed Bug Infestation This Summer
1) Communicate with your college student coming back home this summer
Be aware that communal living and close living quarters is a factor and contributing source for bed bug infestations. If your student is living in a dorm or apartment building away at college, there is a heightened risk of picking up bed bugs.
Communicate with your student; inform them of the warning signs, the activity that bed bugs leave. Ask them to inspect their belongings for this activity before coming home. This is a key step you can take to prevent a bed bug infestation.
2) Investigate your guest bedrooms after guests leave
If you have family or friends scheduled to stay with you this summer, ask them if they have seen bed bug activity in their own home prior to them visiting. Check the box spring and mattresses after they leave. This is an easy step you can take to prevent a bed bug infestation.
It is so easy for the warning signs to go unnoticed until there is much activity and many bugs hiding, waiting for their next meal.
3) Check your hotel accommodations
Most hotels and motels will not publicize if they have had bed bugs recently. It’s bad for business. But if you ask, you might get a truthful answer.
Not all locations are going to have bed bugs, so it is important not to be paranoid, just simply aware of the possible risk at hand.
Once you check into your hotel or sleeping accommodations, check the room for any bed bug activity. Pull back the sheets of the bed and look closely at the box spring and mattress for any blood markings. Peer at the baseboards to see if there are any casings housekeeping may have missed.
If possible, keep your luggage off of the floor and not against the wall. Keep your luggage on a luggage rack or table, somewhere bed bugs are not likely to travel.
This is a vital step to take to prevent a bed bug infestation.
4) Inspect your belongings once you’ve returned
Once you get back home, go through your clothes before washing them. Inspect for any casings or live bugs that might be hiding in the little crevices or inseams of your luggage. This is an easy step to take to prevent a bed bug infestation, like checking your pockets for items prior to washing!
Many confuse bed bugs as other pests. Sometimes home owners or tenants will call into a pest management company with another type of issue, but upon inspection the technician determines it is bed bugs.
Inspection is important, and alerting pest management professionals are two important steps to take to make sure you don’t get an infestation of bed bugs.
Fun fact: bed bug hatchlings are so small they can pass through a single stitch hole in a mattress.
Don’t forget to check out our Complete Bed Bug Guide for more information!
Conclusion & Next Steps
In this post, you learned about the increased spread of bed bugs, the increased concern of bed bugs, and 4 simple steps you can take to prevent a bed bug infestation.
For a complete list of the many different ways pest management professionals treat, please review our Complete Bed Bug Guide.
But, the most effective way of treating bed bugs is to use a chemical approach primarily. Done Right Pest Solutions employs a liquid product that dries within an hour, and is EPA and FDA approved for use in living and sleeping areas of your home.
Our bed bug service comes with a 2 week follow-up and a 3 month warranty so you can have peace of mind that they will be eradicated!
Give us a call for your free phone consultation! 651-342-9489. If you get an inspection with us and need treatment, we waive the inspection cost, so call today.
We look forward to helping you get rid of these mini monsters.
Done Right Team
Has anyone ever brought bed bugs into your home? There is something so unsettling about a bug that attacks you at your most vulnerable! If you’ve ever come into contact with these pests, we stand with you in eradicating these pests quickly and effectively so you can get back to your everyday life.
We would love to hear of your experience with bed bugs below!
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