World, Bed Bug Registry Map – Infestation Reports

If you are traveling for any reason to a hotel or someones house, bed bugs may be furthest thing from your mind. But with the number of cases up about 200% in our area over the past two years, you may want to at least keep the thought in the back of your mind. The best way to avoid bringing bed bugs home is to educate yourself, and a few quick preventative measures now could help you to avoid a long, expensive, and exhausting process later. Since travel is one of the most common ways to come in contact with bed bugs, here are some tips for you as we approach a very busy travel season. 1. Do your pre-travel homework

Before you leave, take a little time and look around the web for reviews on your destination. Keep in mind to look at any complaints and the dates, the hotel may have since taken care of the problem. You can also check out any potential hotels or destinations on the Bed Bug Registry at http://www.bedbugregistry.com/

Bed bug adults are reddish/brown in color and roughly the size of an apple seed (or tick). Bed bug nymphs are about 1/32 inch and can be translucent or red if they have just fed. Bed bug eggs are tiny, similar in size to dust, white/clear and hard to see without magnification, especially on light colored surfaces. Bed bug fecal spots (droppings) are black dot looking marks of dried bed bug excrement, similar to ground black pepper. They will shed their skin 5 times before reaching adulthood, which can take anywhere from 5 to 8 weeks, and with each molt bed bugs will require a blood meal. Before young bed bugs shed their skin and grow, castings are yellowish in color.

Once arriving at a hotel room, place all of your belongings in the bathroom (safe zone) while you begin your investigation. Bed bugs are not contained to just the bed. Your inspection should include mattress, box spring, headboard, nightstand, furniture in the room, mirrors, artwork, around the outlets, and luggage racks looking for the indicators listed above.

Here are a few other tips to keep in mind while you are setting up your room:

During your stay if you wake up with bites or notice something on the bed, perform another inspection. If you notice anything suspicious, bring it to the hotels attention right away.

Once you arrive home, you will want to begin washing and drying all of your clothes (even if you didnt wear them), this will kill off all life stages of bed bugs that may have hitched a ride. Carefully inspect all of your luggage, focusing around the seams and zippers looking for signs. If you think your luggage encountered bed bugs at any time, seal your suitcases and items waiting to be washed in a plastic bag (after you are done with it, throw the plastic bag away OUTSIDE). Dry cleaning and steam cleaning will also kill bed bugs in fabric, including soft luggage, that cant be washed and dried. Once home and settled in, be on the lookout for bites and other signs. If you are at any time unsure if you have a bed bug problem, call Mug-A-Bug immediately to schedule an inspection.

If you believethat bed bugs may have come home with you, dont hesitate to call! Identifying the presence of bed bugs and starting service to eradicate the problem is something only professionals can do. Store bought products, such as sprays and aerosols, will only serve to drive them deeper into hiding, and since they can go up to a year without feeding, they will wait you out!

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We service the following areas/locations: Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Pueblo West, Calhan, Falcon, Peyton, Elbert, Ellicott, Security, Widefield, Black Forest, Monument, Larkspur, Palmer Lake, Manitou Springs, Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and the US Air Force Academy.

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Bed Bugs & Traveling Tips | Mug a Bug Pest Control ...

Bed bug infestations are increasing in the United States and internationally. Bed bugs are small (adults are no more than inch in length), wingless insects that feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals. They can fill themselves with blood in less than 15 minutes and can lay between 1-5 eggs daily. Bed bug eggs hatch in about 10 days.

Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, but repeated bites may cause an allergic reaction to the saliva and continued scratching of the bite sites can cause an infection. Bite marks typically occur on the skin of the upper torso in groups of three.

The brochure above provides all the information needed to prevent and get rid of bed bugs, including:

Populations of bed bugs are increasingly becoming insecticide resistant because of the widely ineffective use of pesticides to treat dwellings. In some cases chemical treatments are used when there is not a bed bug problem.

A 2010 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found that an increases in bed bug populations is causing bed bugs to become resistant to commonly available insecticides and might cause increased misuse of pesticides. Between 2003 and 2010 there were 111 cases of serious acute illness associated with the misuse of pesticides used to treat for bed bugs.

Many people have started pesticide treatments who later found they do not have bed bugs. Look for:

Identify the bug yourself by placing them on white background and using a magnifying glass to compare them to one of the following:

An expert can examine the specimen and notify you of the bugs identification.

E-215 Plant Sciences Building Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523-1177 970-491-6950

Successful eradication of bed bugs in a home requires non-chemical as well as chemical insecticides treatments to be fully effective.

Use insecticide in all areas where bed bugs are present such as crevices in rooms, walls, and furniture especially bedroom furniture. Ensure pesticide directly contacts the bed bugs during application - use low volume but higher pressure application nozzles for crevices.

Bed bugs live in cracks and crevices such as:

Bed bugs can survive with food for one year so multiple inspections and non-chemical and directed chemical treatments needed to eliminate them. Any effective control measure for bed bugs requires support from all residents in affected buildings and ongoing monitoring for infestation from other housing units. When hiring a pest control professional, make sure:

Colorado Department of Agriculture at 303-239-4178.

Nonchemical methods to control bed bugs include:

Experts recommend using pesticide treatments and all of the non-chemical practices to effectively eliminate bed bugs from your home. Professional pest control companies will know the safest types of chemicals to use and the safest methods to apply them and how to apply them directly on the bugs.

A bed bug elimination service agreement should be specifically for bed bugs, or include an addendum to a standard service agreement that addresses specific bed bug issues, and should include:

Many service agreement issues are unique to bed bug service (difficult pest to control, probability of re-infestation, need for cooperation, etc.).

Boulder County Public Health does not mediate tenant/landlord issues. Mediation is available through the following organizations:

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Bed Bugs - Boulder County, Colorado