Unusual Bed Bug Hiding Places

As the name implies, bed bugs can generally be found in the areas in and around a bed such as the mattress, boxspring, and bed clothing. They are tricky little critters, however, and can hide out in many places that have nothing to do with the bedroom at all. Today's blog will investigate a few of those unusual areas that you should examine if you suspect a bed bug infestation.

Bed Bug Behavior

To understand why a bed bug would choose a certain area to hide out, one needs to take a closer look at bed bug behavior. Bed bugs are night creatures who come out once the host is asleep. They survive on the blood of their hosts and need to feed several times a night.Bed bugs do not jump or fly so they need to be fairly close to a blood source in order to access their next meal. This makes the bedroom a perfect place to hang out during the day.Bed bugs are also extremely small and have the ability to crawl under and behind things that you may think are too small to access.In addition, bed bugs are known hitchhikers who can attached to items such as suitcases, clothing, sneakers, purses, and laptop cases fairly easily. This makes access to your home a cinch, especially if you tend to travel.

Electrical Outlets and Behind Switch Plates

Coming in as one of the stranger places that homeowners have found bed bugs are the electrical outlets and switch plate covers that are all around every home. Bed bugs can sneak behind and inside these areas fairly easily. Add their size to the fact that these outlets are usually everywhere in a home and you have a perfect place to hide out during the day and access a meal after hours when the homeowners have fallen asleep.If you suspect that you have bed bugs and can not locate a hiding space that is obvious, unscrew your switch plates and take a look behind to see if this is where your bed bugs are hiding out.

Purses and Bags

Many people who find that they have an infestation, discover that these critters are hiding out in places that they use all the time. Check your purses, laptop cases, backpacks, and suitcases. These areas make for easy hiding due to the liners, seams and dark hiding spots that these pests love.Use a vacuum to remove all pests, and if you suspect that you have not found them all, it may be smart to dispose of the item or have it professionally cleaned using thermal heat remediation.

Clothing

It is well known that bed bugs make for exceptional hitchhikers. They have the ability to attach to clothing and find their way to a new home. For this reason, many business travelers choose to wash their clothing in scalding hot water and dry on high heat. This will potentially solve the problem upon returning home from a trip where you were exposed to bed bugs. Remember bed bugs have been documented on planes, buses, at hotels, trains, movie theaters, hospitals, nursing homes, and even doctor's offices.Do you suspect a bed bug issue in your home or business? Call Pest-End Exterminators immediate for our comprehensive evaluation and remediation process.