Horticulture Hotline 07/23/18
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Summertime is here. That means the kids are out of school, maybe
time to look at colleges and summer vacation. The talk of bedbugs is not in the
news like it used to be, but if you saw our sales of bedbug control products at
Possum’s, you would be amazed. Whether you live South of Broad or in a housing
project, we have helped you with your bedbug situation. We have learned that is
not necessarily the homeowner that brings in the bedbugs, but often it is a
guest that is travelling from place to place.
When you are in a hotel, do you feel phantom insects
crawling on you as you sleep? Does your work or sports with the kids require
you to stay in hotels, when you would rather be at home in your cozy bed with
the dog and his fleas? The worse thing about bed bugs is bringing them home to
infest your house in your luggage or on you person. Bed bugs are difficult
(expensive) to get manage.
Here some tips for the traveler:
Treat the outside of your luggage with a repellent material
labeled for bed bugs on luggage. There are nice smelling organic products
(EcoVia) and standard control products labelled for this.
Put all your clothes and toiletry items in see-through
plastic bags that you can seal tightly. Upon arriving to your room, put your
luggage in the bath / shower area while you inspect the room.
Bring a flashlight, Climb-up Bed Monitors and a Bed Bug
Detector. Before you unpack, inspect the mattress and box springs for blood
stains, cast skins and live insects. The rope-like band around the mattress
will usually have some signs of bugs if there is an issue. Look around the headboard and any adjacent
bedside tables especially in the crack and crevices.
Check these areas with the Bed Bug Detector as well. The Bed
Bug Detector detects the gases that bed bugs release (affectionately known as
The Bed Bug F@rt Detector in the business).
The Bed Bug Detector is very accurate and easy to use. They are used all
over the world by hotels, airlines, bus lines, college dorms, pest management
professionals, hospitals, movie theaters, clothing stores, just to name a few. A
great gift (Mother’s Day / Father’s Day) for the business or leisure traveler.
When you check in ask if the hotel has had an outbreak of
bed bugs in the last year in the room you are checking into. Also ask if any of
the adjacent rooms above you, below you, or on either side have been treated
for bed bugs. If they have, request another room far away from any outbreak
hotspot. Many states have a bed bug registry you can check.
Attach the Climb-up Bed Monitors to the legs of the beds,
headboard and the bed stands. These monitors will prevent bed bugs from
climbing up the bed for a nighttime attack.
Sleep soundly!
When you get home, leave your luggage outside and run your
clothes through a hot dryer cycle. The dryer should dry out any unwanted
hitchhikers. Check your toiletry items and re-treat your luggage.
These few simple steps can save you thousands of dollars. Out
of the hundreds of customers whose houses have become infested with bed bugs that
I’ve talked to at Possum’s buying bedbug control products, I’m sure every one
of the wishes they took these few precautions. Bed bugs bite children, babies
and adults. They are very difficult to control, and you have to throw away your
stuff. No one likes to throw away their stuff!
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
