Sadly Bed Bugs are all over the news lately
School has just started back up, and you have so much to worry about. You get up early to get the kids ready, feed them, drive them to school through rush-hour traffic. You expect them to be safe at school and come back to you at the end of the day with home-work, and hopefully a great story about how well their day went. Little did you know that Johnny’s friend Billy has been staying in a house that has had a bed bug problem. Or maybe Billy’s family went on vacation right before school started back and they stayed in a hotel that had bed bugs. Billy’s family may not even know they have a problem yet, but those bed bugs or even bed bug eggs could be being transferred from Billy’s house to school on Billy’s backpack, clothing or lip of his shoe. Bed bugs are so small and can flatten themselves out to get just about anywhere, they can be easy to miss. It may not be until a few generations have hatched and spread enough to be noticed. Signs to look for are small blood spots or streaks on sheets, black specs (bed bug feces) in crevices of bed frame or seems of sheets. Small red clusters of bites on skin, usually near hot spots like the inside of elbow, back of knee, the neck or even the inside of wrist (bites can show up anywhere but hot spots are more likely). We get calls from schools in almost all school districts with bed bug activity in classrooms. It has become a much more common occurrence over the last few years.
Unlike lice brought home by school age children, you can’t just treat a person for bed bugs. Treating the home for bed bugs can be quite costly. There are some companies that offer chemical treatments, but those don’t typically stand behind their work. The best way to treat for bed bugs is through Thermal Heat Remediation. This process involves special equipment that is brought into the home including, heaters, fans, sensors and computers to monitor it all. After placing all the equipment in the ideal locations throughout the home, we then heat the home to approximately 135 deg. Fahrenheit. It typically takes several hours to get the temperature in all areas at or above this mark. This heat penetrates into bedding, furniture, carpets, and clothing killing all bed bugs even eggs.
Some tips for making sure your kids don’t bring bed bugs home from school
- While at school, have kids place jackets and backpacks in large resealable plastic bags. Don’t leave these items sitting piled up with other children’s belongings or on a floor.
- Once home, empty backpacks completely, before going inside your home. Try to inspect bags and items for any bed bugs.
- Once inside store bags & backpacks in sealable storage bin or large plastic sealed bags. Don’t store in or near bedrooms or sleeping areas.
- If the school reports of bed bugs, have children remove clothing immediately once they get home. Put clothing in seal bag until you can get into dryer, and then run on high heat for an hour. Bed bugs can’t survive the high heat.
- Contact the school and ask them what precautions and proactive measures they are taking to prevent the spread or introduction of bed bugs. Encourage them to educate students on the identification of bed bugs.
If you do find yourself in need of professional help for bed bugs, look no further than the bed bug experts at Walker Pest Management. We have the equipment, knowledge and understanding to rid your home of these pests with the Walker Pest Guarantee. Walker Pest Management also offers a bed bug prevention program to customers who have had us treat their home for bed bugs. This service has a guarantee that if you get bed bugs again we will retreat at no additional charge.
