Can Bed Bugs Appear Out of Nowhere?
Oftentimes when people get bed bugs, they say it seemed like the little creatures just popped up out of thin air.
This strange happening makes people wonder, how exactly do bed bugs get into a home?
Bed bugs can not just appear out of nowhere. A person must transport a bed bug to a new property either on their clothes or on an infested item they carry in. Bed bugs will not just walk into a building because they don’t live outside.
How Do People Get Bed Bugs?
When it comes to single-family homes, the chances of a bed bug just walking in are virtually zero.
Instead, bed bugs get into houses when people bring them there.
And they can easily hitch a ride on your clothes and follow you home.
However, the most common way people get bed bugs is by carrying them in on an infested item.
If you live in an apartment or similar building, you can also bring bed bugs into your home when they travel on you or an object.
But, bed bugs can get into your flat from other units as well.
Bed bugs are tiny and flat, meaning they don’t have a problem traveling through the framework of a building or underneath doors.
Thus, if your apartment neighbors have bed bugs, the insects could migrate over from next door.
How to Keep Bed Bugs Out of Your Home
Since bed bugs are so tiny, it is easy to carry them home with you.
Yet, with a bit of extra vigilance, you can significantly diminish your chances of getting them.
Be Careful When Bringing Home Secondhand Furniture
Proper etiquette states that people shouldn’t sell or give away furniture that came from a home with bed bugs, yet some still do it anyway.
Thus, if you are getting secondhand furniture, you should check it thoroughly before bringing it into your home.
With a magnifying glass and a flashlight, search for any signs of bed bugs, such as bed bug excrement, shell casings, and exoskeletons.
And make sure you inspect all of the folds and crevices of the furniture because these are the spaces that bed bugs like to hide.
If you have any reason to believe the item has bed bugs, you should not bring it into your home because bed bugs can be challenging and expensive to exterminate.
Practice Caution When Staying at Hotels
First of all, if you are about to go on a vacation, you should check the reviews for your chosen hotel to see if anyone mentioned bed bugs.
If they do, you may not want to stay there because it shows that the hotel is not vigilant enough to protect its customers.
You should also look for signs of bed bugs once you get to your hotel room.
Check around the mattress, bed frame, walls, and drawers for indications of a bed bug infestation.
Finally, it’s best to protect your bags and belongings during your stay to keep bed bugs from entering them.
You should store your luggage in the bathtub or on a luggage rack, and you ought to keep your bags zipped up as often as possible.
Also, refrain from putting your clothes in the hotel’s drawers because bed bugs like to hide out in these spaces.
Check Your Luggage After Vacation
Summer is the worst time for bed bugs because it is vacation season, meaning many people will be staying at hotels and potentially infesting the rooms with bed bugs.
Thus, you should inspect or treat your luggage before entering your home to ensure you don’t bring back any unwanted guests.
To begin, you should place all your belongings in plastic bags to prevent spreading any of the bed bugs that may be in them.
Then, bring all washable items to your laundry room or the laundromat and wash and dry them on the highest heat setting to kill any bed bugs that may be hiding within.
And when doing so, remember not to take them out of the plastic bag until right before you put them in the machine.
As for the rest of your belongings, you should use a magnifying glass and flashlight to check for signs of bed bugs.
If you don’t find any bed bugs, eggs, or exoskeletons, you can bring your items inside.
Yet, if there are signs of bed bugs, you should be sure to remove all the insects and their eggs.
A vacuum is one of the best ways to get rid of bed bugs from non-washable objects, but just make sure you place the contents of the vacuum in a sealed bag before throwing them away.
If you don’t, the insects can crawl out of your vacuum and infect your home.
Alternatively, you can use a portable heating chamber to treat items that can stand high heat.
Don’t Let Bed Bugs Follow You Home From the Laundromat
Since washers and dryers do such a great job of killing bed bugs, many people bring infested items to the laundromat to clean them.
And you don’t know if these other people have taken the proper precautions to ensure they don’t infest the laundromat.
Therefore, you should always take your clothes to the laundromat in plastic bags and then place them back in the bags as soon as they finish drying.
Doing so should prevent bed bugs from getting in your clothes.
Read Also > How Long Does It Take to Kill Bed Bugs in the Dryer?
Seal Up Cracks in Your Walls
If you live in an apartment, you should be aware that bed bugs can easily enter the building’s framework if another tenant has them.
So, to keep them out of your home, you should seal up any cracks or holes in your walls.
You also need to ensure that the plates around light switches and outlets fit well to prevent bed bugs from squeezing past them.
How to Know if You Have Bed Bugs
The best way to tell if you have bed bugs is to search your home for possible evidence of an infestation.
And the most common signs that indicate a bed bug colony has taken up residence in your home include:
- The actual bed bugs
- Bed bug exoskeletons
- Bed bug eggs and egg casings
- Tiny blood spots on your sheets, blankets, or pillows
- Dark or rusty marks (bed bug excrement) on your mattress or walls
- A musty smell coming from your mattress (which suggests a bed bug nest)
- Bed bug bites
Conclusion
Technically, bed bugs can not just appear out of thin air, even if it may seem that they do.
Instead, bed bugs must travel either from another apartment unit or on people or objects.
