Bed bugs can appear anywhere, and they are. There is some debate as to “why,” but overall this rise in bed bugs for the first time in 50 years is attributed to international travel, immigration, and the EPA banning products that used to work on bed bugs. Now found in hotels, retail stores, movie theaters—wherever people go, no place is off limits. They hitchhike every chance they get and you may unknowingly take them home. Since their food source is you or your pets’ blood, they soon make their way to those areas where they can come out at night and feast on your bed or Fido’s bed.

Not to be confused with dust mites that cannot be seen with the naked eye, bed bugs are usually found in your mattress and box spring or within 15 feet of your bed according to studies. Some companies may say that bed bugs cannot live on a latex mattress and that is absolutely FAKE. Bed bugs live anywhere they can find a living host. While you can visually see them as tiny black specks and can see evidence of them in their droppings, you can’t see their eggs or hatchlings…they’re microscopic.

As a preventative measure, it is a good idea to cover your latex mattress with a zippered cover that is tightly woven to prevent the mattress from harboring bed bugs. This protective bedding works by covering the entire mattress and preventing any infestation from occurring. If bed bugs are already present, the bed bugs will be eradicated over time because the mattress is sealed. It will take at least one year in a sealed box so that all bed bugs die. This fact alone could be an incentive to take preventive measures in advance. Similarly, the base and pillows should also be covered. While a bed bug bite is not life-threatening, many people are affected by the bites or rash and need to apply a topical cream to counteract the skin reaction. Living with these bugs is more than annoying.

Bed bugs are flat, as thin as the width of a piece of paper or a credit card. They move from one bed to another quite quickly in your home and can be a major problem. They are black and visible to the naked eye, about the size of a crushed apple seed. Their color changes when they have been filled with blood. They avoid light and come out at night more often, but if they are hungry they will venture outside and get their food from a person sitting in a computer chair in broad daylight.

The appearance of your penis may vary. It usually looks like a white or red welt. If they bite into the vein, you may have a bite. Other times there may be a series of biting where they were looking for food or when they were biting they may have been interrupted by your movements causing them to start again. Bed bugs are attracted to heat and carbon dioxide. You can have two people in the same bed bitten by the bug and one has a reaction and the other doesn’t.

How do they get there? Any place that bed bugs harbor can be a place where they hide and become the secret traveler. You visit a hotel and throw your suitcase on the floor or on the bed. Buy some secondhand furniture or pick up items at a garage sale. Your college kids drag their bags home from the bedroom. They are showing up in movie theaters, gyms, hospitals, and nursing homes.

Where are they hiding? Since they keep out the light if they haven’t crawled into the mattress or found a place under the bed frame, they’ll hide behind the skirting at the head of the bed, in the drawers of the nightstand, electrical outlets. , lamps, chairs and sofas with soft cushions or on your walls behind paintings. Although they are usually concentrated in a small area of ​​the home that can change.

How to fight? Number one is always prevention by covering your mattress, box spring, and pillows. Also, thoroughly inspect and vacuum all areas around your bed. Wash all your bedding in very hot water. Dry your clothes twice. If you discover them in your bed, don’t go to another bed, as this can quickly spread them. Of course, there are chemical sprays and pest control companies with a variety of remedies, from sprays to dusts to heat treatment machines.

Remember this… prevention is always the best medicine!