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Toronto Sun - Bed Bugs when Traveling
For most, the thought of catching bed bugs while traveling doesn't even cross our minds. We have been privileged to be living in a world free of bed bugs over the past decades, however, we have seen an dramatic increase in bed bug reports. Although not clear why, we presume that increased traveling is a very logical reason for their resurgence. This is why it's important to take precautionary measures when away on vacation or business to avoid bringing bed back into you home. Once your home is becomes infected it is very difficult and costly to remove, bed bugs are the hardest pest to eradicate and for that reason you will want to check you hotel room and prepare yourself next time you leave home. The investment is minimal compared to the impact of bringing them home. Some people say they will know if they have been bitten by bed bugs while away, however some people don't react to bed bug bites and you may never know you have them until you bring them back home and you find out your wife, girlfriend, roommate or kids have been bitten and react.
For toronto residents, the article concludes with a extermination company that offers a few tips on heat treatment.
Our recommendations:
When traveling, always prepare yourself adequately before you leave. This means bringing the right tools in case you suspect bed bugs are around. In any case, use our traveling checklist to prepare yourself and our identification checklist when you first check-in your hotel room. Remember, the first thing you do upon entering your room is to place all luggage in the bathtub, bed bug have no reason to be nest around there.
If ever you suspect having brought bed bugs back into your home but are unsure yet, try installing our various traps and monitors around your bed to detect the presence of bed bugs. *Remember, early detection is KEY!!!!
Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite - Toronto Sun - August 2nd 2013
Summer is the time to relax and enjoy the sun and warm weather. What better way to de-stress than to go on vacation? Unfortunately, the relaxing summer trip you’ve got planned could quickly turn sour if you stumble across bed bugs.
Many vacationers don’t realize that traveling is the number one way bed bugs get into your home. Have you done any research on your travel accommodations to determine if they’re bed bug free? Most people don’t. Plan ahead to ensure your trip is the stress-free vacation you’ve been imagining.
If you are one of the unfortunate travellers to return home with bed bug stowaways, act quickly. Taking swift action is essential to curbing your infestation. Call a licensed bed bug removal company immediately. Unlike many common household pests, bed bugs are virtually impossible to exterminate without professional assistance.
Extreme heat has proven to be the most effective treatment. We don’t mean dialing up your thermostat a few degrees. Bed bug heat treatments raise the temperature of your home to over 45° C. At this temperature, bed bugs and their eggs are unable to survive. Best of all heat treatments target the entire infested area, so there’s no escape. Heat treatments are also completely safe and eco-friendly.
To find a reliable exterminator, seek a company that provides proof of licensing and insurance. Alex Dayan, Director of the Bed Bug Removal Division for MagicalPestControl recommends asking the following questions when seeking a heat treatment:
Do they use thermal blankets to protect your belongings?
Do they remove sensitive items from your home that may get damaged by heat?
How do they ensure that all bed bugs are killed and don’t spread to other areas?
Do they have a service guarantee?
Magical Pest Control is a licensed and insured pest control company that has been servicing Ontario for over 15 years. Magical prides itself on being the first company in Ontario to offer proven ThermaPureHeat treatment for eliminating bed bugs. They offer same day service and a 90-day guarantee to ensure bed bug problems are resolved immediately. If your summer is interrupted by these troublesome critters, call Magical Pest at 905-738-6676 or visit www.magicalpest.ca. You can also find them on ourservicedirectoryatEiEiHome.com. They’ll take care of your bed bugs so you can get back to enjoying your summer.
A story: When bed bugs bite
This is an article of a man who painfully admits to having bed bugs. He begins by introducing himself like a new member of an AA meeting admitting they have a drinking problem. Although his satirical comment seems benign, alot of bed bug victims feel this way, embarrassed to admit that bed bugs have invaded their homes. Anxiety, depression, high levels of stress and in rare cases suicide are common issues with bed bugs. For those of you who have or had problems with bed bugs, I suggest you read this. I myself a bed bug survivor felt relief knowing someone else feels the same way. I must give credit to the author for "coming out" and going public with his bed bug problem, too many people neglect informing others of their or neighbouring bed bug problems. If everyone was informed like you must be at this point, bed bugs can become a problem of the past.
Our recommendations:
In this case we would recommend basic protection, prevention and detection tools:
- Mattress encasement
- Box spring encasement
- Pillow covers
- ClimbUp inceptors
- Bed Bug alert by Bird-X
Watching the Watchdog: Confession of a Bedbug Host - Huffington Post - July 15th 2013
Think you have Bed bugs? What to do... (Video)
Even though there's a mistake in their title (invested instead of infested), it's still contains valuable information. Milwaukee is experiencing one of the biggest bed bug problems in North America. We chose this article because Randy Allen from Wil-Kil shows live bed bugs and has some good insight on how to protect yourself and detect bed bugs in your home. Mr Allen states that with good eyesight, bed bugs can be seen with the naked eye and can be detected in and around the mattress. He also describes bed bug eggs as being the size of a piece of chopped up rice, although very small with careful examination you will be able to see bed bug eggs stuck to your mattress. In this segment we don't have any recommendations, but as you can see from the video, he firmly promotes the use of mattress encasements and pillow encasements to protect your family.
What should you do if you think your place is infested with bed bugs - Fox News - July 12th 2013
400 Bed Bug Bites in Hotel
Short article about a young woman who claims to have suffered over 400 bed bug bites during her stay at the Renaissance Marriott Hotel in Palm Springs California. She is now suing the hotel for the permanent scars all over her body and face and the impact this has had on her social life. We often hear stories where bed bug victims are no longer invited to social gathrings with friends due to the fear of transimitting hickhiking bed bugs.
Our recommendations:
Considering the amount of bed bug bites she had, we could deduct bed bugs were very active in that room. With that many bites we would also think that if she had perfomed an inspection of the bedroom prior to settling in the room, she would have undoubltly detected a presence of bed bugs. Now that she is home and might still be risking contamination, we would recomend the following:...
Hotel guest claims she was bitten 400 times by bed bugs - Consumer Affairs - July 10th 2013
Bed bugs in cars
The National Pest Management Association in the United States and the University of Kentucky have released news that bedbugs are becoming a problem in cars. They are most commonly transmitted when luggage which was recently at a hotel/motel is brought into your car. If this is of high concern, consider placing the luggage in a plastic bag before placing it in the car. In addition, should you be worried about your luggage in hotel/motel room, keep it wrapped in a large plastic bag during your stay, this will ensure that no be bugs will contaminate your luggage. As noted in the article, it is worth taking precaution when it comes to bed bugs in your car, this is no easy task to exterminate especially in the car. Chemical extermination exposes you to the chemical, heat treatment could damage fragile plastic and wiring components of the car and fumigation means wrapping the car and pumping gas until bed bugs are eradicated. All are risky and cost intensive.
Taxi's can be another place where bedbugs can be caught. Once again, if you are paranoid, wrap your luggage in a plastic bag when before. When sitting in the cab, try and sit on the edge of your seat, this way bedbugs hiding in the crease between the back and the bench, where bed bugs could hide, won't come out and latch onto your clothing.
Our recommendations:
If you suspect contamination during the winter months and you live in an area where temperatures reach -0 or lower, leaving your car outside for at least 24 hours without being turned on can be an effective technique, the longer the better. If this isn't the case and you suspect bedbugs in your car during the warmer months, we suggest the use of either Bed Bug Alert by Bird-X or the Bed Bug Alert Active by Bed Bug Alert, both will work to attract any bed bugs lingering in your car. When bed bugs are detected, and if you think its a light case, we suggest Blaze bed bug killer and use in crease of your car. In extreme cases, it would be best to consult an exterminator to discuss your options. Should you feel uncomforted with your exterminators proposition, give us a call and we'll gladly help you.
One more place you should check for bed bugs - Globe and Mail - June 8th 2013
Sleep tight, but the bedbugs do bite
Alberta health officials confirm bed bug infestation at two seniors residents. Although the infestations are not considered as severe, this poses mental stress on residents and a threat for the staff. Because bed bugs are highly mobile, staff members must take extra precution to not carry any of these critters back into their homes. You will note from the article that exterminators educate staff member and residents on how to cooperate when bed bugs are/ or have been present, you should do the same.
Our recomemdations:
Should you or a family member be in a similar situation we would recommend placing all belongings in a safe place when at work, either on a rack protected by Climb-up inceptors or in a room far away from beds and in a very well lit room. Light will reduce the likelyhood that bed bugs come out and latch onto your clothes. Also try and bring the least amount of things which you bring back home to work, this is question of minimizing risks.
Montreal bed bug rates remain stable but more can be done
Montreal is notorious for having bed bugs problems, we've heard stories from residents on Nun's Island that were no longer welcome to other peoples homes due to risk on contaminating other homes. Global News firmly states that bed bugs are still very present in Montreal. Like us, they also support continous monitoring to eliminate these pests from the Island. It is important to stay vigilant during the summer months were temperature favours reproduction and mobility of bed bugs.
Montreal bed bug rates remain stable but more can be done - Global News - May 14th 2013
Dorm Room Nightmares
Student dorm rooms have become primo breading grounds for bed bugs due to the large number of hosts living in close quarters. Under these conditions, spread is rapid. Proper detection tools can help you and your fellow students prevent the spread We like to promote good bed bug practices like in the following case at Baylor. Notice how Baylor’s residence administration quickly evacuated the students and made efforts to clean and isolate the problem.
WacoTrib - Bed bugs in Baylor dorm room force evacuation of 2 students - March 10th 2013
