Unless you own a hotel, hostel, hospital, or some other business with a lot of beds, you probably don’t think bed bugs are your problem. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Regardless of whether you’re in the business of bedding, bed bugs can be your worst nightmare! Below, we’ll go through some of the most common misconceptions business owners have about bed bugs, how to avoid these creepy crawlies, and what to do if you wind up with an infestation.
Where Can Bed Bugs Invade?
Short answer: anywhere they want. Bed bugs get a reputation for living exclusively in beds because of their name and their penchant for hanging around where people sleep so they can feast on our blood in the middle of the night. However, bed bugs are industrious hiders who can conceal themselves in some pretty insane places. They like tight spots that completely cover their tiny bodies, concealing them from their predators and their prey. So pretty much anything goes; keyboard keys, appliance buttons, electrical outlet covers, and even picture frame seams.
Bed bugs in Raleigh don’t need beds; they need bodies. They’re attracted to the carbon dioxide people expel every time we exhale, and they love to hitch rides in our clothes and our stuff. While they prefer beds for the convenience of proximity to sleeping people, they don’t need them to hide or breed, or even feed. All this means if your business has people in it, it has the potential for bed bugs. In fact, a lot of bed bug hot spots don’t have anything to do with beds. Train stations, rental cars, laundromats, airports, buses, and thrift stores all commonly serve as vectors to help bed bugs proliferate.
How To Spot Bed Bugs
Contrary to the popular myth, bed bugs aren’t microscopic. They are tiny, but they’re totally visible to the naked eye. So the easiest way to see if you’ve got bed bugs is to actually check around for them. In addition to the crazy places we listed above, bed bugs love to hide between or inside the creases of seat cushions, under blankets, in between carpet fibers, and pretty much anywhere else they can squeeze in tight and avoid being seen. Other signs of bed bugs include:
Droppings – these look like black, crusty pellets smaller than a grain of sand. They’re very similar to the flea droppings you might find on your dog.
Round, small blood stains on beds or furniture cushions. Bites – these are small and red and usually come in lines or clusters. You or your customers also may not remember being bitten.
Exoskeletons or eggs – again, these will be tiny. Eggs are oblong and white, kind of like miniature grains of rice.
What To Do About Bed Bugs
Unfortunately, if bed bugs are tough to keep out, they’re even tougher to get out. Once they’re in, they can avoid detection for a long time, flying under the radar until they’ve bred themselves an almost unkillable population. By the time your customers start noticing bites and other signs of bed bugs, they’re probably already embedded and endemic throughout your business. What’s even worse is they’re almost impossible to get rid of on your own. In addition to being master hiders and prolific breeders, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest bed bugs are evolving resistance to the most common pesticides on the open market.
All this means you’re going to need professional help. Here at Pest and Termite Consultants, we’ve been beating the bugs out of beds since 1993. Our certified technicians know all the tools and tricks to get these irritating and stubborn pests off your property for good. Give us a call at (919) 870-8003 or visit our contact page to schedule your appointment today.