Do you know about bed bugs? As the name suggests, these bloodsucking insects can hide in a mattress, a bed base, the frame, but also a sofa, an armchair, curtains, even the floor. And if you don’t have any around the house, you may accidentally bring some back when you return from a haunted place from vacation. To prevent such an infestation (and the endless physical and psychological ordeal that comes with it), a simple trick can help reassure you before you unpack your suitcase at your vacation spot.
Why shouldn’t you unpack your suitcase on your bed as soon as you arrive at your vacation spot?
As soon as you arrive at your hotel or Airbnb, can’t wait to unpack next to your bed, or even on it (which is unhygienic, by the way), and spread out all your things there? WELL, maybe you’d better put it in the shower or bath, while you inspect the dark corners of your bedroom, where bed bugs like to live. In fact, it can take minutes and save you weeks of pest control: look for these insects in the cracks of the bed, sofa, armchairs, near the edges of the curtains or carpets. If there are no worrying signs, then you can unpack your suitcase with more peace of mind.
What do bed bugs look like?
Adult bed bugs look like small brown ovals, which can turn red when engorged with blood, measuring 4 to 7 mm long, like apple seeds. They do not jump or fly. They can also lay a mass of eggs similar to a cloud of black dots in the folds of the fabrics of a mattress, sofa or armchair.
Why set up your suitcase in the shower or bath first while looking for possible bed bugs?
And if you’re wondering why put your suitcase in the shower or bathtub during the inspection, it’s precisely because these parasites prefer more comfortable places, where humans lie for a long time, which gives them time to suck blood. Too cold and slippery, showers and bathtubs, which are too short-lived places for humans, are of much less interest to bed bugs. Hence the interest in leaving your suitcase there while you check out your hotel room or Airbnb apartment.
Travel is responsible for 44% of new bed bug infestations
According to a study by the Ipsos institute for the extermination platform BadBugs.fr published on March 16, 2021, travel represents 44% of new infestations, followed by interactions with relatives who are victims of these mini bedroom vampires (30%), developments in already haunted places (20%) and the flea market (10%).
What to do in case of bed bug infestation?
If you bring bedbugs home from your holiday, you’ll soon find out, as they suck the blood of their victims at night, resulting in clusters of small, itchy red fists by day.
To try to disinfest your home, you can, as soon as possible:
- Put all your textile items (clothes, shoes, curtains, sheets, towels, etc.) in tightly closed bin bags and wash everything at 60°C (for your more fragile items, you can place them in the freezer for at least 48 hours to kill bedbugs with cold).
- Put double-sided tape on all room and closet doors to prevent them from spreading throughout your home.
- Vacuum every day, empty the dust bag in the trash, then throw out the trash every day.
- Iron anything that can’t be put in the washing machine, like an armchair or sofa that won’t come off, for example.
- Purchase bed bug traps, which won’t kill them all but will allow you to gauge whether or not you’re still infested by placing them in different rooms of your home.
- Check day after day with a torch the dark corners of the bed, the sofa, the armchairs, to see if they are still there, or their larvae, or their eggs, or their excrements.
- Use trusted specialists (recommended by word of mouth or by checking their reputation through online reviews).
In case of persistent skin marks, the government offers the website stop-punaises.gouv.fr and has created a number explaining the right actions (0806.706.806), as well as the possibility of calling a pest control service.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
