Great Product For Control of Many Pests
Horticulture Hotline 06/14/2026
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Depending on where you live in the Lowcountry, you might
have had some rain. Others like me, still dry as a bone. The high tides have provided
a place for mosquitoes to bred, and they are out and hungry (Mosquito Pro)! Summer
is here and 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 “affordable” housing,
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. We all know people like to visit
Charleston!
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
manage.
Here are 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 at your room, put your
luggage in the bath / shower area while you inspect the room.
Bring a flashlight. 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.
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 might have to throw away your stuff. No one likes to throw away their
stuff!
Mole crickets just have had their babies, and they are easy
to control because they do not fly. Hydrate yourself and the landscape (Possum’s
Wetting Agent). Nutsedge (nutgrass) is up – control it while it is young!
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner
can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply
(follow us on Facebook). Possum’s has three locations
