Bed bugs in Phoenix can be a nightmare. If you’ve had to deal with this nightmare, we’re sure you don’t want to deal with it again. But how do you prevent bed bugs from getting into your home? These are hitchhiking pests that you can pick up in a startling number of places. And if you don’t pick them up and bring them home, they can be carried into your home by your kids, your extended family, your neighbor’s, and any other humans that come into your home. It’s hard to stop bed bugs. But you’re not without options. Let’s take a look at the most effective preventative methods available in order of least effective to most effective.

Essential Oils
While essential oils won’t keep bed bugs out of your home or drive them out of your home, they can keep bed bugs from getting into your luggage. If you go on a trip, consider spraying your luggage with lavender or peppermint. You can even spray a little on yourself to keep bed bugs from biting you. But keep in mind that hungry bed bugs will put up with the smell to get a blood meal. You can also store your luggage and bags in sealed plastic bags to keep bed bugs out. But, of course, this is a hassle.

Inspections
It is a good idea to do an inspection any time you stay somewhere away from home, even if it is in the home of a friend or family member. Bed bugs can infest a home for months without being detected. You should also inspect any dark spaces where you intend to be sitting, lounging, or lying down. A movie theater is a good example. Bed bugs can feed on you while you watch a movie. They can also lay eggs on your clothing or in a pocketbook. Use a flashlight or the light on your smartphone to check for:

Black streaks or black fecal spotting

Dried brown bloodstains

Shed insect skin

Tiny white eggs

The presence of bed bugs in any stage of development; (These insects range in size from 1 mm to 4.5 mm in length. They may be pale, tan or brownish-red. If a bed bug has had a recent blood meal, it will have a red abdomen. If it hasn’t fed recently, you may see black feces inside its abdomen.)

Check Used Items
When you purchase a used mattress, box spring, couch, chair, electronic device, or any other item that has seams, creases, or a void within, it is important to check for the warning signs given above. The last thing you want when you purchase a lightly used furniture item is to also get a lightly used bed bug infestation.

Protect Laundry Items
If you stay away from your home for any length of time, you’re going to have dirty clothes to deal with. Bed bugs are attracted to the scent of your skin’s oils on your laundry items. Store laundry in sealed plastic bags to keep bed bugs from getting into your clothes and from laying eggs in your clothes.

Launder Your Items
Bed bugs can get into the clothes you’re wearing. It’s a little more difficult, but it still happens. It is a good idea to run all clothing through a hot wash and a dryer cycle. This will kill bed bugs in all stages of development.

General Tips
You can get bed bugs from work, school, public venues, public transportation, and many other places. Here are a few general prevention tips:

Keep an eye out for warning signs such as black feces, brown stains, white eggs, and shed skins.
Keep an eye out for bed bugs. While bed bugs don’t prefer to appear in the light, you might catch one under some bedding, in the crease of a seat, under a seat cushion, etc. Learn to identify bed bugs and their nymphs.
Keep an eye out for anyone who has several bumps surrounded by a rash. They could be bed bug bites.
Don’t store bags or clothing near the bags and clothing of others.
How A Professional Can Help
At Green Home Pest Control, we offer two ways that you can proactively prevent bed bug infestations.

We offer specialty mattresses that are resistant to bed bug infestations. We make these available at a discounted price.

We offer canine inspections. Dogs have a powerful sense of smell. They’re used to find drugs, guns, ammo, blood at a crime scene, and more. Our trainers use dogs to find bed bugs, and the dogs are really good at doing this. There is no better way to detect bed bugs early and prevent an infestation than to have routine canine inspections.

Bed Bug Control In The Phoenix Area
If you live in Phoenix, you’re in our service area. We provide the highest level of control for bed bugs. Connect with us today for immediate assistance.

company icon