Bed Bugs Tips

What to do when traveling:

• Upon entry of hotel room, place all luggage in the bath tub.  After inspection, leave as much luggage as possible in the bathtub.  Never set luggage on the floor or bed in the bedroom.
• Inspect the corners of mattresses, mattress cover, behind the headboard, lamp shades on tables next to the bed, behind pictures hung on walls near the bed and any other object near the bed.
• You are looking for fecal matter, blood smears, shed exoskeletons and the actual insect.
• Fecal matter is the dried blood excretions from the bed bug.  It is small, round, black and usually a bit smaller than peppercorn seeds.  They are usually grouped together .i.e. behind the headboard, in a corner.
• Blood smears on the mattress covers or walls or mattresses.
• Check on a travel ratings website whether or not the establishment you will be visiting has had any issues that have been made public.
• Once you arrive back home, keep your luggage in the garage or outside of your home.   Unpack all clothing and launder it immediately.  Place luggage into the large trash bags with the appropriate size pest strip and tie so it is air tight.  Leave in the garage for 14 days or as long as possible.  The longer, the better the results.  Upon opening of the bags, make sure the garage door is open and left open for ventilation purposes.  Follow all label instructions on the pest strips.

Things to remember:

• Bed bugs are excellent at what they do.  They can hide in the smallest nooks and cracks in furniture.
• Visual inspections may not reveal an infestation but the insects could still be present behind hidden objects.
• This issue will only intensify.  You must be proactive and become educated.
• Contact Noosa immediately if you feel like you may have an issue with bed bugs. We will do what it takes to make your home safe once again!

What you need:

• Travel flashlight
• No Pest Strips
• Large lawn and leaf trash bags