How do you get bed bugs?

Bed bugs are a very common problem in many households around the world. Whether you are rich or poor, bedbugs are likely to infest your home and can bring a great deal discomfort and frustration.  These insects can live in mattresses, furniture and other many of there hidden places in your home.

Cluttered and disorganized homes are more prone to them due to the many places where they can hide and reproduce. Some of the common places where you can find bedbugs include: bed frames, bedding, clothing and carpets.

But where do they come from?  How do you get bed bugs?   The short answer is: many different ways.  Let’s dive a little deeper…

Transportation of furniture, clothing and beddings

In the process of transferring your luggage, pieces of furniture, bedding, clothing and more, it’s not easy to leave bedbugs behind because these insects live with their host.  That is why it is very common to find them in bed & breakfasts, motels, hotels as well as school dormitories among other places.

Their small size makes it harder to notice them as you relocate from one place to another. If you want to avoid the problem of living with bedbugs, we recommend that you avoid the idea of buying used mattresses, furniture and clothing. In case you must buy them considering the hard economic times, inspect them thoroughly before moving them to your home.

Moreover, if you have furniture with bedbugs or you think it has bedbugs, ensure that you label the same before you go ahead and dispose it. Labeling prevents them from spreading to other people’s homes as well as businesses.

Highly resistant to insecticides

Despite the fact that the introduction of insecticides led to their decrease, control efforts have proven futile as bedbugs continue to become resistant to these chemicals. In addition, a good number of manufacturers sell low quality insecticides simply because they want to make profit.

Due to the large number of bed bug products on the market, it is very hard to determine which of them works and which one does not. In simple terms, bedbugs are highly resilient and most of these chemicals are not effective in getting rid of them.

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Disorganization and cluttering

Disorganization and clutter enhances on the growth of bedbugs in homes because the clutter gives them many places to hide.   This is often confused with the misconception that bed bugs only inhabit “dirty” homes.  Clutter and dirt are two different things.  Bed bugs don’t care how dirty your home is, but they LOVE clutter.

Once these insects get somewhere to hide, it is incredibly difficult to keep them reproducing and increasing in their numbers.   Clutter also makes them really hard to track down and treat too.

The longer you take to start treatment, the more the problem becomes.   To help avoid this problem, you need to keep your home well-organized and of free of clutter.

Traveling to infested locations

This is the primary way people get bed bugs.  Bed bugs are easily transferred from one place to another because of their small size.  When you travel from one region to another, there are higher chances of attracting bed bugs from the highly infected areas without your knowledge.

For example, if you spend a holiday vacation in a hotel room infested with bedbugs, there is a very high possibility that you will carry some of them back to your home in your luggage and clothing.

The most effective way to deal with such situations is ensuring that you inspect your hotel room before spending a night or two there. In you see ANY signs of bed bugs, ask the management to move you another room in a different part of the hotel OR choose a different hotel.   It only takes two bedbugs to reproduce and cause you problems.

Wood and fabric materials

Bedbugs enjoy living in warm places or any surface where they can find warm temperatures. Metal and plastic do not promote warm conditions making them ideal for regulating the population of bedbugs. However, wood and fabric are one of the best places where bedbugs can hide and reproduce.

If your house is infected with bedbugs, it is high time you considered the idea of replacing fabric and wood materials with metal or plastic materials. In addition, it is easy to detect the presence of bedbugs on metal and fabric surfaces.

Pipes and holes in the walls of your home

Bedbugs can crawl from one building to another through connecting holes and pipes. This is yet another thing that has made these insects so common in hotels and buildings. Because of their small size, actually seeing them is very difficult.

To get rid of bedbugs from walls and holes, you’ll often need to use a combination of tactics, including diatomaceous earth and steaming.

Shared habitats such as motels and hotels

There is no dispute that motels and hotels are among the most infested areas because of their high turnover.  Travelers are constantly checking in and out, and often leaving their bed bugs behind, and carrying bed bugs home with them.

The other dangerous areas you should be careful with include homeless shelters, apartment buildings and inns.  Even Bed & Breakfasts are susceptible.

Wrapping up

Bedbugs are nasty little creatives to live with.  Some of the commons ways you are likely to end up with bedbugs in your home or business include travelling, transportation of clothing, beddings and furniture, from shared habitats and through pipes or holes in the wall among others.  All of this combined makes them really easy to get, especially in large populated areas of the county.  In fact, some of the biggest US cities are the most infested places in the world.

Be sure and read closely over our prevention tips page to help you avoid getting infested with bed bugs.  A small amount of money and attention paid up front could save you a tremendous amount of pain and cost down the road.