Bed Bug Alert: Tips to Prevent Close Encounters

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As families gear up for vacation time, one thing not on their "to do" list is have a close encounter with bedbugs. Here are some recommendations from the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) on how to identify these freeloaders before you unpack, what to do if you find them, and how to handle them if they infest your clothing and luggage.

About the size of an apple seed and visible to the naked eye, bed bugs have flat, rusty-red colored oval bodies. Once bed bugs have eaten, their bodies become a brighter shade of red and continue to grow in size. Even though these bugs and their bites can prove annoying and frustrating, they pose no real threat to human health.

Bed bugs can attach themselves to virtually anything and easily make their way into your home. They travel through walls via cracks and crevices, and often hide behind headboards, in the seams and tufts of mattresses, inside box springs, along baseboards, in and around nightstands, and inside pictures, moldings and loose wallpaper, as well as furniture.  Itchy welts on the skin, small bloodstains from crushed insects, or dark spots from their excrement on bed sheets can indicate a bed bug problem.

The New York City Department of Health recommends homeowners hire a pest control company in order to remove the bed bugs. The pest control company should treat the home with pesticides and make return visits to verify the problem has been eliminated.

Travel Tips
Packing clothes in large Ziploc bags when traveling can help prevent the spread of bed bugs from one suitcase to another. When arriving at a hotel, check the piping along the mattress and frame around the bed (particularly the head and footboards) and look for empty body shells under the bed and between the mattress and box spring. Check any upholstered furniture nearby as well, particularly sofa beds. Using a flashlight, check the closet for evidence of bed bugs before hanging clothes or placing anything inside.

Instead of unpacking and putting clothes in the drawers, leave them in your suitcase on a chair or luggage rack. Place shoes out in the open instead of under the bed. Upon returning home, immediately unpack (preferably in a laundry room or garage), wash your clothes, and inspect the suitcase for any freeloaders.

If you do bring bed bugs home, place any washable items in the washer using the hottest temperature possible for washing and drying. Suitcases can be put in a large bag and left out in the sun for a day. A pest strip can also be put inside the bag to help fumigate it. Purses and other unwashable items can be put in the freezer for several days or left in the sun in a plastic bag.

There is a bed bug registry (www.bedbugregistry.com) available to check hotels, rental properties and other hospitality venues or to register a location where bed bugs have been found.

For more information, visit www.restorationindustry.org and click on the consumer information link.

The Restoration Industry Association has member firms worldwide. RIA provides industry leadership, supports science, and promotes best practices for cleaning and restoration. More information is available at www.restorationindustry.org.

SOURCE Restoration Industry Association