Bed bugs have been a predicament for humans for ages. The worst thing about these tiny parasites is the fact that you cannot tell it has bitten you until it leaves the spot. An infestation by these irritating pests can deny your entire family peace by cause skin irritation and sleepless nights. You can easily keep them away from your home by maintaining a high-level of cleanliness. Unfortunately, your body attracts them with the warmth of your body and the carbon dioxide that you exhale at night. They come out of their hiding places because of these attractive factors that lead them to you.
Although they have pathogens that are on them, they do not cause any diseases. However, their blood-sucking behavior leaves your skin feeling irritated and hence advisable to keep your home bed bug free. Although there a wide range of insecticides meant for killing these parasites, they still find their way into many homes, shelters, and hotels. Consequently, avoiding bed bugs is a difficult task but not at all impossible. The tips below will help you keep off bed bugs from your home or business.
Ensure you Do Not Bring Bed Bugs into Your Home
Before settling in a hotel room, it is always advisable for you to check for any infestation of bed bugs. Ensure that the first thing you do when you get in your hotel room is inspecting the mattress, the visible parts of the headboard, and the box spring. If you see tiny brown markings, then this is evidence that the room has the parasites or they have been here. In this case, consider alerting the hotel management immediately.
After getting home from your trip, you should unpack your luggage away from the house. You can do that in the garage or near the fire escape. Doing so ensures that you do not introduce these creatures into your home. Wash the clothes with hot water or dry cycle them to get rid of the bed bugs. Treat your suitcase with a no-pest solution, drop it in the garbage bag, and leave it for at least two weeks. This period is enough for the pesticide to fumigate and kill all the bed bugs. Moreover, bed bugs can get into your home through second-hand furniture. Ensure that you thoroughly check the furniture for any signs of the parasites before bringing them into your home. 
Be Highly Vigilant while Using Common Laundry Facility
If you live in a multi-unit building, you can avoid bed bugs by isolating your unit as much as possible. Discourage movement of the parasites by sealing all wall cracks, light sockets, and crevices around the baseboards. Moreover, placing door sweeps in the doorway to prevent hallway movement is an excellent idea. You can get bed bugs if you are not careful as you share your laundry area with other people. However, using plastic bags to transport clothes to the laundry area can help eliminate bed bug infesting your clothes. Use a fresh basket after you are through with your laundry if you feel the current one has an infestation. Instead of folding your clothes in the laundry area, remove them from the dryer, put them in the clothes basket, and then arrange them in your house. You can also purchase a portable heating chamber to treat all items you fear might have bed bugs. Go through the instructions carefully before you use it.
Eliminate Bed Bug Hiding Spots
Bed bugs can hide plenty of locations in your house. They include doors, and window frames, mattress folding, seams, cracks, furniture, upholstery, picture frames, and ceiling cracks among others. If you are to avoid bed bugs, then you have to minimize their hiding places as much as possible. Also, make sure you regularly check it for any signs of a tear where the parasites can get through into the mattress. Moreover, reducing the amount of clutter is an excellent idea.
Use Steaming Method to Eliminate Bed Bugs
If you fear that bed bugs have infested your home, you can eliminate them using the steaming method. This method involves using heat solution in killing bed bugs in all stages of their development including eggs. In addition to its effectiveness, this technique is preferable because unlike pesticides, it is entirely safe. However, it is not a suitable solution if you want to eliminate bed bugs in dense objects such as books and luggage. The high temperatures can also destroy light items in your house. Consider the services of a professional bed bug elimination company if you want practical results from this method.
Using Pesticides
After eliminating all the possible bed bug hiding locations, you might consider taking further precaution of sparing your home with pesticide. Pesticide use is the most common bed bug eliminating method and can be in the form of liquid or powder. Apply it to cracks, crevices, and any other possible hiding locations. Hire a professional pest control company to get the best results. The expert will carry out an inspection, and then he will apply precautionary measures when using the pesticide.
When the above methods can help you in avoiding bed bugs, you should also ensure you carry out a regular pest inspection. Bed bugs tend to be very elusive and therefore wise to seek professional assistance in checking any signs of infestation. Call a pest control specialist because he has expert training when it comes to the elimination of all types of pest. Doing it yourself would be a bad idea because you are not an expert in this kind of work. You may also endanger yourself or your family if you misuse pest control substances.
