How many hours a night do you sleep? Studies show that the average adult needs seven or more hours of restful sleep each night to be healthy. To get this sleep, people invest a lot of money on mattresses, pillows, and bed coverings. Unfortunately, these things do not protect against sleep-wrecking pests like bed bugs. If you have never taken a look into bed bugs and why you should be careful about them when sleeping in a hotel, we are here today with some things to consider.
Bed Bugs Love Beds
Seeing that the word “bed” is in a bed bug’s name, one might assume that these pests enjoy spending time around sleeping areas. This is only partly true. Bed bugs only crawl into sleeping areas when their host is sleeping to draw blood without being noticed. Once they are full, they will then crawl away into secluded areas around rooms. Sometimes they find shelter inside of box springs; other times, they will skitter all the way into wall voids and other impossible-to-check locations.
Bed Bugs Use People To Travel
Bed bugs do not live out in the wild. Their biology and lack of mobility make it impossible to survive outside of protected environments. This is why bed bugs mainly live inside areas where people live and congregate. Bed bugs hitch rides on items people carry, such as backpacks and luggage, to get between protected locations. These pests find their way onto items using scents like carbon dioxide, a gas released by humans and animals.
Hotels Are Bed Bug Hotspots
Although bed bugs can be found in any indoor area, they prefer to live in places where humans sleep. Hotels provide these pests with extra protection because of the ample places to hide and the nightly options for food. Infestations also grow quicker inside hotels because of the sheer volume of food. It is not uncommon for bed bugs to infest one room and then spread rapidly when left unchecked.
How To Identify Bed Bugs
Whether you own a hotel or are a person who frequents hotel rooms, it is important that you understand what signs bed bugs leave behind. Here are three clues to keep your eyes out for:
- Bloodstains: After bed bugs finish feeding, they dribble blood onto bed coverings. If a hotel room has not been cleaned or cleaned well, you will notice these stains around sleeping areas.
- Fecal Droppings: A bed bug’s excrement is reddish-black and color and is found near areas these pests hide. Look for this sign around outlets, along baseboards, and in the seams of mattresses and boxsprings inside hotel rooms.
- Live Bed Bugs: Although bed bugs have a habit of hiding, they occasionally come out into the open. Identify a live bed bug by its reddish-brown oval-shaped body. When engorged with a blood meal, these pests take on a brighter red hue and grow up to five times larger.
What You Should Do About Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are a constant threat for both hotels and homeowners around Southern California. To help you deal with these pests, let the experts at Excel Pest Management find a bed bug control solution that best fits your need. Our team has the training and tools needed to identify bed bugs inside homes and businesses and the treatments to handle infestations effectively.
Give us a call now to find out more about our comprehensive service options and schedule your Southern California property for a visit today.