Horticulture Hotline 04/11/22
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Summertime is approaching. 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 can be difficult 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 application.
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 and a four pack of Climb-up Bed Monitors. 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.
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 many sleepless nights and some 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 can be very difficult to control, and you have to throw away your stuff. No one likes to throw away their stuff!
Control those winter weeds before they add to the seed bank of weeds for next year!
Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum’s has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at http://www.possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com.
