The only way to PROTECT your property, your bed, and your guests from bed bugs is by taking preventative measures.                                                

 Click here to download our informational booklet on bed bugs.

Did you know...?

 •Bed bugs are active only at night, usually just before dawn, when you are in your deepest sleep. During the day, they hide in cracks and crevices in walls, floors, beds, and furniture.

•Bed bugs can enter a home through the tiniest of cracks and holes, and are small enough to hide virtually anywhere. They are attracted to their sleeping victims by their body heat and the carbon dioxide produced by breathing.

• Bed bugs can live up to a year without eating[1]

•A single bed bug can drink 3x its weight in blood in one feeding

•the bed bug’s elongated beak injects anesthetic into the victim’s skin so the victim doesn’t wake up

• The bed bug also injects anticoagulant into the bite site, so blood flows freely

• One female bug will produce about 345 eggs during her lifespan.[2]

• Bed bugs can bite a single victim 500 or more times in one night[1]

                                                        

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• Bed bugs are a growing epidemic, especially in the Midwest. In recent years, bed bugs have made a comeback throughout the US.

•Bed bug bites can produce irritating, itching, and burning sensations. The act of biting is not felt, but later there is an allergic reaction to the protein found in the bug’s saliva.[1]

• Victims may become itchy and find welts and bite marks on their skin. Discomfort from the bed bug bites may last a week or more.

• Unlike lice, bed bugs don’t remain on people—immediately after feeding they crawl off and reside elsewhere to digest their meal[3]

•Unlike flea bites, bed bug bites are not localized to the ankles, but can occur anywhere, including on the victim’s face, neck, back, etc

• Conventional insect repellants are not effective against bed bugs[4]

• Bed bugs are transported on luggage, clothing, furniture, etc, making them especially problematic for hotels, motels, and apartments, where turnover of occupants is constant[5]

•Unlike cockroaches that feed on filth, the level of cleanliness has little to do with most bed bug infestations.

• Because of the extreme difficulty involved in eradicating bed bugs once they are established, prevention is the best action. Hotels and apartment buildings should routinely inspect for bed bugs, since infestations are easiest to control when they are in the initial stages.

•In a statement from a Hilton hotel in Cincinnati Ohio, a representative told News 5, “While hotels cannot prevent bed bugs from entering into the hotel environment because of their portability and resilience, how the hotel pro-acts and reacts to these situations is critical.”[1]

• The incidence of bed bugs in the United States is increasing to the point where vigilance by all is a prudent practice. Familiarity can help avoid infestation, or at least prompt earlier intervention by a professional.[2] Attempts to solve the problem without professional help often result in worsening the infestation.[3]

•Bed bug mattress covers for beds not only protect beds from bed bugs, but kill any bugs that may be on the bed and make it easier to spot and destroy any bugs residing on the outer surface of the bed.[4]

                                      

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• The key is in the composition of the mattress cover: bed bugs cannot penetrate the material.

• The results of an experiment by Sean Rollo, BSc. Zoology/Board Certified Entomologist show that an encased mattress or box spring is protected from being infested by bed bugs and subsequently from damage associated with them.

According to the findings, mattress covers are effective for bed bug prevention. “Hotels with rooms that become infested with bed bugs often need to discard mattresses and box springs due to the damage caused by blood stains and fecal matter. The incorporation of mattress encasements could prove to be a cost effective method of preventing damage caused by bed bugs and minimize available harborage spaces.”

The results of the study also showed that bed bug mattress covers are effective as treatment as well as prevention, since covering an affected box spring or mattress operates as an elimination procedure: “Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to eliminate from box springs as they contain ample harborage spaces that are often inaccessible to pest control treatment. Mattresses and box springs could be encased subjecting trapped bed bugs to starvation and preventing them from spreading.”[1]

National Geographic, “Bed Bugs.” Feb 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKCcSPCOQo&NR=1

Potter, Michael F. Bed Bugs. University of Kentucky Press. Aug 2008.

 “Bed Bugs in Four-Star Hotels.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETBRslhL8n4