Tag Archives: Bed Bugs

How to Prevent Bed Bug Infestation While Traveling

With Spring Break finally here, and Summer just around the corner, that means it’s finally vacation season! Every great trip means bringing home new memories, souvenirs, and maybe a tan… but something tiny and sinister might be following you home, too.   

That’s right, we’re talking about the scourge of travelers everywhere: bed bugs. The only thing worse than being feasted on by these little bloodsuckers is bringing them back to your home – but don’t worry. Armed with the right knowledge, you can avoid bed bugs in your travels and keep them out of your personal space.  

Read More: Bed Bugs or Carpet Beetles?

Before You Leave

Know What Bed Bugs Look Like

Before you work yourself up into a panic over every dark spot, you need to know how to properly identify these pesky little parasites. 

Adult bed bugs are small, reddish brown insects that vary from 1 to 7 millimeters in length. They are wingless, semi-translucent, and oval in shape. Adult bed bugs are often the approximate size and shape of an apple seed.    

Read More: How to Identify Bed Bugs

Packing Tips

Careful packing can cut down on opportunities for bed bugs to hitch a ride back to your home. Consider hard shelled luggage options to reduce risk – soft suitcase and bag options offer folds, seams, and other spaces where bugs can easily pass undetected. Additionally, packing clothes, toiletries, shoes, books, electronics, and other personal items in their own sealable plastic bags within your suitcase can help prevent (or contain) potential infestations within your luggage. Packing a reliable flashlight can help assist with spotting bed bugs when at the hotel.  

At The Hotel

Inspect the Room

It can be tempting to unpack or crash down onto the bed when you finally arrive at your hotel – but the first order of business when you get to your room should be checking for invaders. Bed bugs are small and excellent at hide-and-seek, so careful inspection can be necessary to spot them. 

Bed bugs conceal themselves within small cracks, seams, folds in fabric, and small openings in highly-trafficked areas. Bed bugs in hotels will be found in the bed, in furniture, or in close proximity to those items. Be on the lookout for live bed bugs, spots of blood, rust-colored stains, or groupings of black spots that look similar to mold. A pungent, musty/sweet smell may also be present. Make sure to pull back and check the sheets, the mattress seams, and the box spring. You should also inspect all sofas, chairs, headboards, baseboards, and upholstery, as well as behind picture frames and furniture. Bed bugs are most active at night, when their hosts are asleep. 

If your inspection reveals any evidence of bedbugs, inform hotel management and request to change rooms (or hotels) immediately.

Keep Your Luggage Neat

Even if your room inspection returned no ill omens, there’s always the slight possibility of being surprised later. These tips can help keep your luggage bug free:

  • Store luggage on the provided luggage racks
  • Store clothes properly – hang them in the closet or keep them inside your sealed suitcase or bags 
  • Keep personal belongings secure in their sealed bags when not in use
  • Store dirty clothes in sealed bags so they may be easily cleaned at home

When You Get Home

Check Your Luggage

Even a small number of bed bugs can cause a full-blown home infestation if you inadvertently carry them back to your residence. For this reason, it’s always best to thoroughly inspect your suitcases and other luggage items outside or in the garage before you bring them into the house. For apartments, you can check your luggage on the balcony or even in the bath (smooth surfaces like baths and showers are difficult for bed bugs to climb). Closely inspect seams, corners, folds, and pockets. 

Unpack Clothes Over the Washer

Don’t wait to unpack! Take items out of your luggage and inspect them right away, and move clothes directly from your bag into the washer to avoid dropping potential stowaways on the floors of your home. All clothes from your trip should be washed on a hot water cycle, even the ones you didn’t wear. 

Vacuum or Steam Luggage

Before storing your bags again, vacuum or steam clean all luggage from your trip. A heated garment steamer will kill any bed bugs that may be riding on your suitcase, as bed bugs and their offspring cannot survive in temperatures over 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Related: The EPA’s Top Tips for Preventing Bed Bugs 

When to Call the Bed Bug Exterminator

If you do end up spotting these dreaded pests in your home, or if you start waking up with small red bite marks on your body, don’t fret – the bug experts have you covered. Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to treat, but Bug Zapper’s highly-trained staff and cutting-edge extermination methods ensure incredible results every time.

Our helpful pest control technicians will get you started with a comprehensive bed bug inspection to determine the root of your problem (bed bug or otherwise), we’ll provide expert guidance during and after the process, and we’ll ready an individualized treatment plan to get you living pest free as fast as possible. Satisfaction is always guaranteed with Bug Zapper, and our bed bug treatments come with a 90 day 100% bed-bug-free guarantee.  

Contact us today to get started! With Bug Zapper, the only things you have to lose are the bugs. 

Bug Zapper services Albany, Grants Pass, Roseburg, Ashland, Hillsboro, Salem, Aloha, McMinnville, Sherwood, Beaverton, Medford, Wilsonville, Corvallis, Newberg, Woodburn, Eugene, Portland, Tigard, and Tualatin.

prepare for bedbug inspection

How To Prepare for a Bed Bug Inspection

Bed bugs are one of the few pests that truly terrify people. A professional bed bug inspection and treatment will identify the extent of the problem and quickly eliminate the unwanted pests.

If you suspect you have bed bug bites—likely because of the tell-tale red bite marks they leave on you and your family members—it can lead to anxiety and fear, which can feel uncontrollable. Scheduling our team of bed bug experts is the easiest way to restore the peace of mind you and your family deserve.

Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to find and wipe out, but preparing for bed bug extermination will help our experts do their job: the specialized work of finding where the bed bugs are, learning how far these creatures have traveled, eliminating them, and making sure that the proper steps are taken to prevent a re-infestation

Here are some things you need to know about the process of preparing for a bed bug treatment so you can eliminate your family’s worries.

Step 1: Bed Bug Inspection

Having a professional inspect for bed bugs as part of the first treatment allows a trained technician to make adjustments in the treatment plan based on the following:

  • What life stage the bed bugs are in
  • Where they are getting their feeding source
  • Where their shed skins, eggs, breeding grounds, and travel lines are found.

By completing an exhaustive search of your home, our experts are much better equipped to craft a treatment plan that will eradicate adult bed bugs and their offspring quickly.

A typical bed bug inspection is completed just prior to completing treatment and takes about 30 minutes to complete. A professional will check your beds, nightstands, baseboards, couches, sofas, wheelchairs, and any other places where people sleep, relax, or watch television for an extended duration.

Once the inspection is carefully completed, you will be provided details regarding our findings. In the event of mistaken identity, we’ll give advice on what to do next.

Step 2: Bed Bug Treatment

 

How to Prepare Your Home for Bed Bug Treatment

Our bed bug inspection and treatment is completed on the same visit to avoid delays in effectiveness. Prior to our arrival you’ll need to ensure that your home is ready for the inspection and treatment of bed bugs.

Prepping your home for a bed bug extermination takes time. Following these steps in advance to prepare your home for a bed bug treatment will help ensure the fastest results.

(Warning: Completing every step is mandatory to a successful treatment. If all preparation steps are not completed upon arrival, then your first treatment may need to be rescheduled.)

  1. Pick up clothes on floors and hanging over chairs and run through a hot dryer cycle for a minimum of 40 minutes. Place, these clean dry clothes in a large garbage bag sealed at the top until the treatment has been completed.
  • Cabin beds/beds with built-in storage. Remove all clothing items from these storage areas and dry at high heat for a minimum of 40 minutes. Place these clothes in a large garbage bag sealed at the top until the treatment has been completed.
  • De-clutter. This will assist in removing potential bed bug harborages. Check items for signs of infestation.
  • Move all furniture items away from the walls to allow access to the baseboards around the entire room.
  • It is not necessary to remove clean clothing or other items from drawers or cupboards unless these items within 5 feet of a bed or clearly infested (visible bed bugs). Ornaments and other items can be left in place.
  • Vacuum baseboards to remove dust build-up from these areas. Remove the vacuum cleaner bag or contents of the canister, place in a plastic bag, and dispose of in the trash can outside your apartment/home.
  • Cover fish tanks, terrariums, and small animal cages with a clean towel or sheet.
  • Dismantling of bed frames will be performed as part of the service program. If your bed frame requires special tools to dismantle, please have these tools available for your technician.
  • We will remove the cheesecloth on the underside of each box spring for the required treatment application.
  • Finally, remove all sheets, covers, dust ruffles, comforters, pillows, and any other bedding covers from your mattress and box spring in all bedrooms being treated. Wash all bed linens in the hottest water possible and then run through a hot dryer cycle for a minimum of 40 minutes.
  • DO NOT RE-ENTER TREATED AREAS FOR 4 HOURS AFTER SERVICE.
  • DO NOT SPRAY ANY PESTICIDES OR CLEANING PRODUCTS IN TREATED AREAS AFTER THE TREATMENT. THIS WILL RESULT IN CONTROL FAILURE.
  • IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT SLEEPING LOCATIONS NOT BE CHANGED AFTER THE INITIAL INSPECTION. CHANGING SLEEPING LOCATIONS CAN PULL BED BUG INFESTATIONS TO NEW AREAS OF THE HOME AND INCREASE THE TOTAL TREATMENT COSTS.
  • Allow the treatment time to work, do not clean, or remove the spray barriers. In most cases, barriers will have been applied in inconspicuous areas, but if the infestation was suspected behind baseboards or electrical outlets, a 2” spray barrier may have been applied on the wall above or around these installations. Under certain lighting conditions, these barriers may be visible. Leave these in place until you are certain that the infestation has been eradicated. The barrier will remain active for up to 3 months if left undisturbed but is easily removed with kitchen or bathroom cleaner when required.

Our bed bug treatment process is 100% effective and is used in hotels, apartment housing, homes, and many other locations all over Oregon. One of the reasons our bed bug treatment process is so effective is that we are highly detailed. No corners are cut, no steps are skipped.

When the inspection and treatment process is carefully followed, we have no doubts about the effectiveness of our service, and we can confidently guarantee complete bed bug eradication.

 

What Happens after We Treat for Bed Bugs?

Usually, after a bed bug service, your technician will explain the extent of the infestation found, the locations of the bed bugs, and details regarding the service performed. Follow up services will be performed as needed 30 days after the initial service to ensure 100% eradication of bed bugs.

Live bed bugs may be visible for 2-3 weeks after the treatment. Affected bugs may be seen wandering in unusual places, this is a sign that the treatment is working. Remember that bed bugs may not leave their harborages for a number of days after treatment, and nymphs hatching from eggs will not be affected until they cross a spray barrier. However, all bed bugs will die within 3-7 days after coming into contact with treated areas. Please contact our office at 541-636-0146 if you still see live bed bugs 30 days after treatment.

It’s important to note that rather than using heat treatments that are expensive and potentially damaging to your belongings, or using harsh chemicals in your home, we use a natural product developed within the last few years. It uses natural spores that attach to the bodies of bed bugs that cross treated areas. Foraging bed bugs will bring our product back to other bed bugs in hiding and spread the product before dying. Essentially, that allows the product to be effective without directly spraying every bed bug on site. That’s important because bed bugs are incredible at hiding and can go weeks without coming out.

Our detailed inspection and treatment leads for 100% guaranteed results, that are much safer, faster, and less expensive than alternative options.

 

Why DIY Methods Fail

While there is nothing wrong with trying to solve a bed bug problem yourself, the success rate of those who attempt it is quite low. More often than not, the infestation seems to go away but only returns in the weeks to come. This can be very costly, and mixing store-bought pesticides is a dangerous idea. You may end up exposing yourself and your family to harmful chemicals. Not only that, but if those DIY chemicals are not effective and you call a professional in, the chemicals you applied will signifcantly slow down the effectiveness of a professional treatment.

Also, most do-it-yourself products act as repellents, which means they can push bed bug populations away from treatment areas into other parts of the room or into other portions of the house. This makes the whole problem much more difficult to solve.

As a general rule, removing bed bugs from a home on your own is a much-bigger job than you’ll initially suspect it to be, and it’s going to take diligence, time, and multiple treatments with very carefully chosen products applied just the right way to make all of it work. A misstep or unknown factor during DIY treatments can end up multiplying the cost of treatment several times over. In short, going it alone for bed bug removal is generally a bad idea.

 

Got a Bed Bug Infestation? We Can Help You with That!

Professionals have the experience, equipment, and knowledge to eliminate bed bugs in all stages of their life cycle. These experts can also provide you with advice on how to prevent future infestations.

Bed bugs really are a solvable problem, and we’ll act promptly to restore peace to your home and your life. If you think you have bed bug activity at home, call all or text (541) 636-0146 for information today!

10 Facts About Bed Bugs In Eugene, Oregon

Our experience shows that Lane County homeowners are VERY unlikely to be able to eliminate a population of bed bugs without professional help.  In fact, most of the time your efforts to use natural products and bomb their homes actually spread the problem and can make an infestation worse. What makes these tiny pests so difficult to eliminate?  Should you really be worried about bedbugs in Eugene, Oregon?  Yep.  Here’s why:

Bedbugs in Eugene Oregon

Facts About Bed Bugs 

  1. While feeding, bed bugs will inject an anti-itch compound so they can feed from you without being discovered.
  2. They will alter feeding habits to correspond to your day or night sleeping schedule.
  3. Populations of bed bugs explode in organic chicken farms. With millions of them around the chickens, they get transported as the chickens are moved to processing facilities and other places.
  4. They move with you for feeding. If you move to sleep on the couch, then they will simply follow you to the couch.
  5. Bed bugs can go months without eating.
  6. They can survive in below freezing temperatures for months.
  7. Bed bugs can feed on pets and birds but prefer humans.
  8. They do not have wings for travel but can run remarkably fast.
  9. We have found bed bugs behind picture frames on walls 15 feet from the bed or more.
  10. They don’t just stay on beds. Some of the common places they hide are inside electrical outlets or alarm clocks, behind photos on the wall, in dressers and behind baseboards.
Definitely local:  Bedbugs in Eugene, Oregon; their feces and their skins found on this bed frame.
bed bug traces on bed frameBedbugs in Eugene, Oregon on mattress Bed bug feces reveal hiding spots and look like mold on mattresses.

Let Us Help With A PRO Bed Bug Inspection 

Since bed bugs are so small, our trained eyes can make the whole inspection process much faster and more accurate. Call 541-636-0146 to schedule a Bed Bug Inspection. We will inspect your home and make suggestions for eliminating or monitoring any pest problems.

Protect your home and family from Bed Bugs. Contact us here or call 541-636-0146 to join our family and experience…

Bug Zapper’s GUARANTEED Bed Bug Elimination System.

Bug Zapper is the best! My technician is consistently thorough and meticulous. He is courteous and timely, always letting us know that he is on his way to the house. I would recommend Bug Zapper to anyone looking for a great Pest Control service. — Dustin T. — Yelp Review

Locally owned for fast, exceptional service.

5 Star Bed Bug Control Service available in Albany, Ashland, Corvallis, Eugene, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Medford, Newberg, Roseburg, Salem, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Tigard, Tualatin and surrounding areas.

Bed Bug Arrival in Roseburg

Bed Bug Arrival In Roseburg–Beware!!!

Bed bug arrival in Roseburg is now a real issue. Bed bugs are no longer just an east coast problem, and you need know what to watch out for to protect your home and family.

Bed Bugs: What To Watch Out For

People are often confused when they start seeing bumps on their skin that look like bites. When they don’t actually see any bugs they wonder if the problem might be fleas, bed bugs, spiders or something else? Successful bed bug control starts with early detection and accurate identification. Let’s see what bed bugs signs you should be watching out for and how to successfully get rid of bed bugs.

Start Here To Detect Bed Bug Arrival in Roseburg

Click below to watch this video about bed bugs:

Don’t be fooled. Bed bug arrival in Douglas County is quickly becoming a serious problem. We have treated bed bugs in homes, hotels, apartments and other structures throughout Douglas County. In fact, every year bed bug infestations nearly double across the United States.

Successful bed bug treatments can be time consuming and require great detail to achieve complete eradication. Successful bed bug control is not likely without the services of trained professionals and often do-it-yourself products actually make bed bug infestations worse. Don’t mess around with these guys. Trying to resolve a bed bug infestation yourself might actually make professional extermination more difficult and costly.

If you are not sure what bed bugs look like, Bug Zapper helps you identify them!

If you think you might have bed bugs, then call Bug Zapper Pest Control. We offer a FREE Bed Bug Inspection. Let our trained bed bug specialists accurately identify bed bugs and  help you discover the best solution to effectively eliminate bed bugs from your home. Our bed bug eradication system works every time. Actually, we’re so confident we guaranteed every bed bug service to be 100 percent effective.

I worked extensively with this company!  Awesome people! Honest, and dependable!

– Darin H. – Roseburg – Yelp Review

5 Star Reviews:

We have never employed the services of an exterminator before, and were not sure what to expect. I called several places and Bug Zapper was the only one who returned my call in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., same day). The technician came over to walk through our house and give us an estimate.  He was fantastic with our son and dog, and was thorough with his explanation about the products he uses and his methods. When he returned to work on our house, he was again thoughtful about his methods and thorough. It’s only been a few days, but we definitely notice a difference! We will definitely call again when we need an exterminator!

– Katrina H. – Roseburg – Yelp Review

#1 Oregon Pest Control Service

Locally owned for fast, exceptional service.

Call or Text 541-636-0146 or contact us here to schedule today.

5 Star Pest Control Service available in Albany, Ashland, Corvallis, Eugene, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Medford, Newberg, Roseburg, Salem, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Tigard, Tualatin and surrounding areas.