5 Places You Can Pick Up Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are a growing problem around the United States. They are becoming more common in homes and in businesses. They are also hard to deal with because they have become more resistant to a number of chemical treatments, and they are very good at hiding. It"s important to know how to check for bed bugs since they can go up to a month without feeding which may make it difficult to determine if you have a problem initially. Here are five places you may inadvertently pick up bed bugs.

1. Hotels

Hotels are the most likely culprit of picking up bed bugs and bringing them home. It is important to check your room before you stay and your luggage before you leave and when you get home. Look at the headboard and the bedding for droppings and rust colored stains. If you travel a lot you may want to invest in a luggage heater that can eradicate anything you might have brought home from you on the trip.

2. Gyms

Gyms are another area where it is easy to pick up bed bugs. People will bring their gym bags into the gym and leave them in a locker, on the floor or even on top of the lockers. The bed bugs crawl out of their bag and into yours. Then you unknowingly bring the bed bugs home with you. If you hear reports of bed bugs around your gym, you may want to leave your gym bag at home and travel to the gym in your exercise clothes. Bed bugs do not travel on people so you should be okay.

3. Schools

There are have been reports of bed bug outbreaks at schools around the country. This is usually the result of one the students bringing bed bugs with them when they have a problem with them at home. The bed bugs wander out and then start infesting the building. Students may end up bringing them home in backpacks. Schools may put a ban on all backpacks to try to stop the infestation.

4. Second Hand Furniture

Another way that people end up catching bed bugs is after buying secondhand furniture. They may not realize that the furniture is infested. Bed bugs can also live in couches or hide in headboards or cracks in bookshelves. It is important to thoroughly inspect anything that you do buy second hand and possibly treat it before you bring it into the home.

5. Moving into an Infested Apartment

Another way that you may end up with bed bugs is if your new apartment or condo is already infested with bed bugs. It is important to check your home and especially the baseboards in the bedrooms before you move in. You may request that your landlord treat for them before you move in if you live in a part of the country that has a bed bug issue.