Bed bugs are one of the most commonly experienced pests in the U.S. today. These pests were almost completely eradicated from homes in the United States for a long time, but today they commonly experienced in homes around the nation. If you’ve recently stayed at a hotel or hostel there is a good chance that these pests could find their way into your home.

If bed bugs do find their way in you almost certainly need a professional bed bug treatment. These aren’t the kind of pests that will go away with time or can be removed with store bought sprays or do it yourself treatments. If you think that you may have bed bugs in your home you should give a pest control provider a call right away.

Types of Bed Bug Treatments

One of the most commonly used tactics for bed bug removal are heat treatments. These treatments involve raising the temperature in your home to a level of 117°F to 120°F degrees. Bed bugs are not capable of surviving at these extreme temperatures. The same results are seen when treating beds and other furniture using steam cleaning devices. These devices push steam into the fabric, and if used correctly they can kill any bed bugs within the furniture.

These types of treatments may seem easy, but none of them should be attempted on your own. There are subtleties to all of these treatments that are very hard to master. Without being trained by a professional you can’t be sure that you are correctly applying the treatment.

How Do Bed Bugs Travel?

The way that most bed bugs travel into American homes is by hopping onto luggage or clothes during a stay at a hotel. You can prevent this by always using the luggage racks found in hotel rooms – sitting your bag on the floor or the bed makes it much easier to these pests to find their way in. Once they’ve found their way into your home bed bugs can easily spread to the homes of your friends or neighbors.

When arriving home from a vacation immediately wash all clothes and baggage as soon as you bring them into the home. Store all washable items in a plastic bag within your luggage so that you don’t have to sort through the contents of your suitcase before getting everything washed. Washing in hot water and then drying on high heat can usually remove the treat of these pests as long as your dryer reaches temperatures of at least 120°.

Spotting Bed Bugs

Bed bugs aren’t always easy to detect. Most homeowners notice these pests following night-time bites, but there are other ways to spot these pests within your home. You may need a flashlight and magnifying glass in order to locate these pests, as they are only only about a fifth of an inch large. If you don’t see the pests themselves you may still spot their droppings or their light-brown discarded shells. Taking apart your bed and removing bedding may be necessary.

If you find bed bugs you should get in touch with an experienced pest control provider right away. These pests feed on human blood and will target you and your loved ones as you sleep. Attempting to remove these pests on your own does little other than give them more time to spread throughout your home and become a harder and harder problem to control. Don’t wait until bed bugs have taken control of your home, get in touch with a provider right away.