Quick guide to bedbugs

Brianne Spaeth

Have you ever driven from the airport in a taxi or stayed in a hotel or Airbnb? Well, if you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then you are at risk of bedbugs! Whilst these can be sorted in your home by hiring a company like www.pestscontroledinburgh.co.uk, it is harder to avoid when staying somewhere.
This week at the rotary, Tim gave us a quick and easy plan to follow to avoid becoming affected when staying at any one- to four-star hotel.

1. Never place your suitcase on the bed or the carpeting, instead use the suitcase stand or bathtub.

2. Keep all of your toiletries in a sealable plastic bag.

3. Never have your clothes on the floor. Instead, place your dirty clothes in a black trash bag.

4. Never put your clothes into the dresser drawers, instead hang them directly into the closet (without placing onto the bed or floor).

5. Most importantly, when arriving back home, immediately throw all dirty clothes from the trash bag and even the ones that you’re currently wearing directly into the drier for 40 minutes to kill any bedbugs who may have tagged along for the ride home. Just make sure that you left a clean pair at home to change into near the drier!

Tim also recommended doing a brief investigation of the bedroom before bringing in your possessions. This included examining the mattress and running a credit card against the headboard to look for any evidence of the bedbugs. If you notice any red stains or coloring, run out of the room! This is a sure sign of a bedbug infestation. He also recommended the usage of an Active Guard Bed Liner, which you place between the boxspring and the mattress. It uses a low dosage of permethrin to kill the bugs and lasts for two years. If you are worried that the problem has become out of hand and you can’t control it, hire pest control services to help you, they are professionals and will be able to sort your problem out. Obviously, it’s best to take preventative measures to avoid having to call up pest control. If you have heavy concerns about bed bugs and want to avoid them at all costs, it’s best purchasing a mattress that is resistant to them, just like this organic orthopedic latex mattress. As well as being resistant to all sorts of nasty critters that you don’t want to invade your bed and disturb your sleep, this mattress is more durable than any other material on the market and varies in firmness and softness for your preference. It’s hard to ignore benefits like these!

Furthermore, back at home, it is advisable to regularly clean your mattress. You should also replace your mattress every 7-10 years. If you are due a mattress upgrade, check out this blog post that you can view at Mattress-Guides.net which outlines the best mattress type for you based on your sleeping style.

Tim, thank you for a very informative speech.

SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is proud of all our members, who make contributions of time and money to assist those within our community and over the world. We meet every Thursday at noon at the MountainView Country Club. Please contact Ron Lenz, membership chair, at 262-358-0130. Come and check us out, join our club, become a Rotarian.