Bed Bugs In Chattanooga Apartments

Are you dealing with bed bugs in your apartment or housing unit? These bugs can be a torment. Not just because they feed on you while you sleep. When you have bed bugs, people think you’re a dirty person. This bug has earned a reputation of living in filth and unsanitary conditions. Though it is true that bed bugs thrive in bacteria-filled environments, the truth is, they’ll live anywhere that has a food source, no matter how clean. Here are some questions you may be asking yourself, and a few answers to protect your apartment from bed bugs.

How do bed bugs move through an apartment building?

Bed bugs are hitchhikers. They ride inside items we carry, and even on us. If you’re wondering how you can miss bugs crawling all over you, a baby bed bug can be the size of a sharpened pencil tip, and these bugs like to crawl along seams and in creases and crevices. And, sometimes, only their eggs hitch a ride on you–eggs that don’t require the mother in order to hatch. One tiny batch of eggs in the seam of a sweater can turn into a full-blown infestation.

For homeowners, this is a bug that will never work its way in through their exterior walls. These little blood eaters live inside, near their food source. But in an apartment building, they will travel through outlets and into wall voids to pass from one apartment into the next. As long as they don’t have to go outside, they’ll be happy to explore.

Does cleaning prevent bed bugs?

Bed bugs can live in the cleanest apartments, but keeping a clean apartment can deter them. If a momma bug enters your apartment and finds it free of bacteria and limited on nesting sites, like mattresses, upholstered furniture, and clothing laying on the floor, she may decide to continue on to another apartment. Using a mattress cover and keeping things clean can slow these bugs down.

What should I do if I find bed bugs in my apartment?

Contact your apartment owner or manager. Most owners and managers have a plan for taking care of bed bugs. On rare occasions, like recently, in a Chattanooga apartment building, drastic action is needed, but usually this is not the case. Apartment owners know that bed bugs have an adverse effect on their bottom line, and they are aware of the sensitive nature of this invading pest. If you work together and get a pest control company involved, you can solve this problem quickly and effectively, for everyone involved.

Bed Bugs And Your Summer Vacation

Summer is only days away. You’re already seeing the signs in the weather forecast, it might even feel like summer is already here. Are you planning a summer getaway? Maybe a trip to the amusement park or perhaps you’re planning on sinking your toes into a the sand and not budging for a few days. Whatever your plans, vacation is a time to relax and recharge your battery. It can also turn into a disaster if you find that you brought bed bugs home.

For many pest control companies across the country, calls about bed bug infestations increase during the summer months. That’s because people are traveling more and that means they are increasing their chances of encountering bed bugs.

Here at Active Pest Control, our Tennessee pest control experts are here to help make sure that you’re not making a bed bug SOS call this summer. Listed below are some helpful tips to help prevent bed bugs from coming home with you as a summer vacation souvenir.

  • When traveling and spending time in airports, train stations, or bus stations keep bags, coats, and suitcases up off of the floor. Inspect your seats for signs of bed bugs or actual live bed bugs in the cracks or crevices of seats.
  • Before booking your hotel research it for incidences of bed bugs and read the reviews from other customers.
  • At the accommodation you choose, conduct a thorough inspection of the bed. Pull back sheets to inspect seams, search the box spring for blood, excrement and bugs.
  • Inspect furniture in the room too. This includes sofas, chairs, nightstands etc.
  • Keep your suitcase up off of the ground and keep items that are not being used in sealed plastic bags.
  • When returning home, do not bring your suitcase or bags inside. Rather unpack in the garage or even driveway.
  • Wash all clothing in the hottest temperature the fabric will permit.
  • Vacuum out and wipe down your suitcase before storing it.

Though bed bugs are not a threat to your health or your home, they are a very stressful pest problem and can be difficult to eradicate. A single, pregnant female can become a major infestation quickly. Be proactive before, during and after your trip and keep an eye out for these bugs.

If you suspect that bed bugs may have arrived home with you, contact Active Pest Control for help. Our trained bed bug control experts will inspect your home and treat for bed bugs if detected. We offer a few options in bed bug removal including bed bug heat treatment and will let you know what method of remediation would work best for your situation. Don’t stress about these biting insects this summer, give us a call instead.