Even the top luxurious five-star hotels and resorts can sometimes get an infestation of bed bugs. This is sometimes can happen because many hundreds, or even thousands of travelers and tourists could be staying at a hotel or resort at any given point in time. These little blood drinking insects can easily hitch a ride on unsuspecting travelers or be hiding in their luggage. Hotel and resort managers are very aware of this problem and take steps to prevent this from happening.
What do these blood thirsty pests look like?
Bedbugs are very tiny, flat, wingless bugs. Their size can vary from a head of a pin to about one-quarter of an inch in length when fully mature. They have an oval shape and look like small watermelon seeds. Their color can vary from a translucent yellow to a dark reddish brown. If they have just dined on a traveler's blood they may appear dark brown or black in color.
How easy are they to detect?
Most vacationers are unaware of bedbugs until they see red bite marks on their bodies and start scratching their itchy wounds. Bed bugs can be extremely difficult to find if the infestation is light. Their eggs are very tiny and about the size of grains of rice which are even harder to see. To make matters even worse they tend to be nocturnal so they are waking up and looking for a blood breakfast when most vacationers are tired and going to sleep.
When you check into your room it is advisable to roll all the bed sheets, blankets and comforters down to see if you can find any bed bugs. A tell tale sign they're around are dark fecal spots or drops of dried blood on the linen, pillowcases, or in the seams around the mattress or box springs. You also may find what look like to be shells of bed bugs which are in fact the skins that they shed when they're maturing. If you can find any sign of their presence, phone down to the front desk and ask for another room. You may be able to get a decent discount on your room for the upsetting experience and inconvenience.
Bed bugs do not reflect on the cleanliness of hotels and resorts. These insects do not eat crumbs or dirt, or anything we may associate with unsanitary hotel room conditions. They only feed on blood. In terms of a vacationer's health, current research indicates that these insects do not appear to spread disease even though they can harbor well over twenty-five different pathogens
Not everybody gets bed bug bites. Sometimes, if there're two travelers sleeping in the same bed, only one may be bitten. However, bed bugs never discriminate. If they have a chance they'll gladly dine on anyone's blood. Bedbugs are attracted to the warmth of our bodies and the carbon dioxide we exhale when we breathe. They also emit chemicals to attract and find each other. These night crawlers are fast and great climbers. They can silently tag along in a traveler's luggage or on their clothing.
What can you do to avoid these pests when you travel on vacation?
Unfortunately, apart from checking out the bed linen, mattress and box springs, bed frames, the bed's headboard, any upholstered furniture, and along baseboards in your hotel room, that's about all you can do.
Bed bugs are a universal problem and can be found in motels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, hotels, resorts, pod hotels, hospitals, airplanes, trains, buses, cabs, cruise ships, etc. These tiny blood suckers can be located near any readily available source of blood, like tired travelers. Bed bugs can also hitch a ride home with you, turning your home sweet home into a living hell.
What can you do to get rid of bed bugs?
You should leave the job to a professional pest control company as these pests are very difficult to get rid of. It's expensive and can take time treating an infestation of bed bugs which usually involves using steam and pesticides. This process may have to be repeated a number of times before the very hot steam and pesticides kill all of them. Keep in mind that the insects must come into direct contact with the hot steam and pesticides for these tactics to be totally effective.
As far as your home is concerned, prevention is a lot easier and far less costly than the cure. In your home, you do not have to throw your mattress and box springs out. You can easily cover your mattress and box springs with zippered plastic coverings which will prevent bedbugs from hiding in the cracks and crevices of your mattress. There are also zippered plastic protectors that are just as effective for your pillows. This will prevent any possible bedbugs that are inside from getting out. At the same time it will prevent any new infestations from getting in, thus eliminating the bed as a problem. However, this is only one part of the solution. You will still need to apply steam and pesticides to any areas of the home where they could be hiding.
There is an exciting new product that looks very promising for monitoring and eliminating bed bugs. It's called the NightWatch Bedbug Trap created by Bio Sensory, Inc.. This small, easy to use product uses kairomone, a heat lure, and carbon dioxide that traps and kills bed bugs. Under a monitored field research test, this product captured and killed over a thousand bed bugs. Visit the company's website at Biosensory.com, for more information. - 15432
What do these blood thirsty pests look like?
Bedbugs are very tiny, flat, wingless bugs. Their size can vary from a head of a pin to about one-quarter of an inch in length when fully mature. They have an oval shape and look like small watermelon seeds. Their color can vary from a translucent yellow to a dark reddish brown. If they have just dined on a traveler's blood they may appear dark brown or black in color.
How easy are they to detect?
Most vacationers are unaware of bedbugs until they see red bite marks on their bodies and start scratching their itchy wounds. Bed bugs can be extremely difficult to find if the infestation is light. Their eggs are very tiny and about the size of grains of rice which are even harder to see. To make matters even worse they tend to be nocturnal so they are waking up and looking for a blood breakfast when most vacationers are tired and going to sleep.
When you check into your room it is advisable to roll all the bed sheets, blankets and comforters down to see if you can find any bed bugs. A tell tale sign they're around are dark fecal spots or drops of dried blood on the linen, pillowcases, or in the seams around the mattress or box springs. You also may find what look like to be shells of bed bugs which are in fact the skins that they shed when they're maturing. If you can find any sign of their presence, phone down to the front desk and ask for another room. You may be able to get a decent discount on your room for the upsetting experience and inconvenience.
Bed bugs do not reflect on the cleanliness of hotels and resorts. These insects do not eat crumbs or dirt, or anything we may associate with unsanitary hotel room conditions. They only feed on blood. In terms of a vacationer's health, current research indicates that these insects do not appear to spread disease even though they can harbor well over twenty-five different pathogens
Not everybody gets bed bug bites. Sometimes, if there're two travelers sleeping in the same bed, only one may be bitten. However, bed bugs never discriminate. If they have a chance they'll gladly dine on anyone's blood. Bedbugs are attracted to the warmth of our bodies and the carbon dioxide we exhale when we breathe. They also emit chemicals to attract and find each other. These night crawlers are fast and great climbers. They can silently tag along in a traveler's luggage or on their clothing.
What can you do to avoid these pests when you travel on vacation?
Unfortunately, apart from checking out the bed linen, mattress and box springs, bed frames, the bed's headboard, any upholstered furniture, and along baseboards in your hotel room, that's about all you can do.
Bed bugs are a universal problem and can be found in motels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, hotels, resorts, pod hotels, hospitals, airplanes, trains, buses, cabs, cruise ships, etc. These tiny blood suckers can be located near any readily available source of blood, like tired travelers. Bed bugs can also hitch a ride home with you, turning your home sweet home into a living hell.
What can you do to get rid of bed bugs?
You should leave the job to a professional pest control company as these pests are very difficult to get rid of. It's expensive and can take time treating an infestation of bed bugs which usually involves using steam and pesticides. This process may have to be repeated a number of times before the very hot steam and pesticides kill all of them. Keep in mind that the insects must come into direct contact with the hot steam and pesticides for these tactics to be totally effective.
As far as your home is concerned, prevention is a lot easier and far less costly than the cure. In your home, you do not have to throw your mattress and box springs out. You can easily cover your mattress and box springs with zippered plastic coverings which will prevent bedbugs from hiding in the cracks and crevices of your mattress. There are also zippered plastic protectors that are just as effective for your pillows. This will prevent any possible bedbugs that are inside from getting out. At the same time it will prevent any new infestations from getting in, thus eliminating the bed as a problem. However, this is only one part of the solution. You will still need to apply steam and pesticides to any areas of the home where they could be hiding.
There is an exciting new product that looks very promising for monitoring and eliminating bed bugs. It's called the NightWatch Bedbug Trap created by Bio Sensory, Inc.. This small, easy to use product uses kairomone, a heat lure, and carbon dioxide that traps and kills bed bugs. Under a monitored field research test, this product captured and killed over a thousand bed bugs. Visit the company's website at Biosensory.com, for more information. - 15432
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