How did I get Bed Bugs in my HOME?

1. Luggage and Shipped Boxes

Because of their small size, less than 1/4",  they can hide in the seams of baggage when you travel and sneak a ride home with you. Boxes shipped from an infested home can easily make your home their new habitat. College dorms are a great food source for the bugs so when your college student comes home  they can unknowingly have bugs hidden in bags and boxes. If you rent to a new roommate, the bugs can come along in boxes, bags and hidden in furniture.

2. Neighbors

If you visit a home that has an infestation the bugs can hitch a ride home on your clothes or in anything you bring back with you. A neighbor can bring the bugs into your home on their clothes, boxes or bags. If your unit is close to another that has an infestation the Bed Bug can crawl along pipes, on wires, through heating and cooling vents or just through the dead spaces between walls. The bugs may move between units because they have grown in numbers to a point where they need an additional food source, the resident has moved out or because the unit is sprayed to try and kill them. 

3. Furniture

One common way that homes are infested is by bringing used furniture home that has been discarded on the streets, bought from a neighbor or even purchased at a used furniture store. If someone has an infestation, one of the first things that they will often do is get rid of infested furniture. Bedbugs can last a year or more without feeding so if you buy from a used furniture store, even if the item is not obviously infested, you may be bringing home someone elses problems.

Infestations of Bed Bugs are up 5000 percent as are the number of reported attacks! The nightmare begins when a Bed Bug finds its way into your clothing; it usually happens at a hotel but can start anywhere.

Hospitals, businesses, homes, buses, apartments and hotels are just a few places where bed bugs are being reported. It is said that bed bugs don't transmit disease from feeding on your blood; however, an engorged bedbug can burst at the slightest bit of pressure exposing you to human blood. If that blood is infected, then you run a risk of infection as well.

If you suspect you have an infestation, you should contact a licensed exterminator like 855-855-Bugs. You can try to do it yourself using some published tips, but your odds are a lot better letting a licensed professional handle it.

Chicago and Bed Bugs!

Chicago is one of the most bed bug-infested cities in the country, according to a recent survey.

New York City tops the list followed by Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati.

Bedbugs are mostly nocturnal. They are small, but visible to the eye and when they bite it's painful. These creepy crawlers are elusive and they are forcing homeowners to spend thousands of dollars to get rid of them.

The problem has gotten so bad that in April 2010 representatives from government agencies, including the Department of Defense, met in Ohio to talk about these parasites that like to hide in mattresses and box springs and other places where people sleep. They also prefer cracks and crevices like electrical outlets.

Experts say the bugs tend to hitch a ride from one location to the next so they are particularly fond of hotels, motels, airplanes and cruise ships.

Travelers should use the following tips to protect themselves: check headboards and mattresses for dark blood spots these insects leave behind; avoid storing clothes in hotel furniture drawers; store baggage on luggage racks and vacuum luggage after trip.

The bed bugs were eradicated from the U.S. around the end of World War II but in the last decade they've been making a comeback. They are not limited to beds. Theaters have been shut down as well as several retail stores after the bugs were discovered. 

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