As Indianapolis property owners, we know the value of a good night’s sleep. We work hard. Indianapolis isn’t the biggest city in America, but it’s a busy one, and it sure keeps our schedules full. That’s why sleep is precious.
Bed bugs in Indianapolis are more of a threat to our sleep and our health than we give them credit for, and we rarely give them a thought until we have a severe problem. But here’s a crazy idea; what if we got out in front of a potential bed bug problem before we wind up with long term sleep problems?
Bed Bug Infestations
When you incur a bed bug infestation, they are nearly impossible to get rid of on your own. And, even more worrisome, their nightly attacks will leave you with severe insomnia issues even after the infestation is gone. Bed bugs will bite you in your sleep, and, even if you don’t feel the bite, waking up to red bumps will make it very difficult to fall asleep the following evening. So how can you keep them out of your house?
In order to keep them out, you’ll need to understand how bed bugs travel. Bed bugs get around by hitching a ride on whatever they can cling to, including you, your clothes, or your bags. Wherever you travel to or visit, whether it’s a vacation stay in a hotel, a meeting in a hospital or office building, or even just a short ride on a bus, bed bugs will try to find a way to jump onto your bags.
That’s why travel hubs like train stations, airport terminals, and bus stations, are hotspots for bed bugs. You might have been careful enough to avoid picking up bed bugs at the hotel, but whoever you’re traveling with may not have. If you leave your bags lying around near other bags, they can easily have bed bugs crawling on them before you notice. Always check your luggage before you bring it into your house.
Another problem area that you need to watch out for is buying secondhand furniture. Just because it’s a great deal on a used desk, couch, or mattress doesn’t mean that our hitchhiking friends won’t tag a ride straight into your home (even if you buy the furniture from an office building or somewhere that has no beds). Always double check furniture before you bring it into your house, or better yet, before you buy it.
Signs of Bed Bugs
To tell if furniture has bed bugs or you already have them in your home, look for the following signs:
- Rust-colored excrement: Bed bugs will leave this excrement on almost anything they inhabit.
- Musty odor: This musty smell accompanies severe bed bug infestations.
- Bloodstains: As they suck your blood through a tube, they’ll often leave droplets around as a telltale sign. (And if you’re buying furniture with bloodstains on it, then we probably need to have a separate talk.)
- Straight-lined or zig-zagged bite marks: If you find these bite marks on your skin in the morning, bed bugs are the likely culprit.
Unfortunately, these signs don’t mean it’s time to fix the problem yourself. Home remedies like vacuuming and sprays only kill the surface level, but bed bugs typically lay eggs far below the surface, so you’ll have recurring attacks that lead to insomnia. Before your problem gets out of hand and your lack of sleep becomes dangerous, call the bed bug control pros at Action Pest Control and stop bed bugs from infesting your Indianapolis home.