It sometimes feels like an understatement to call bed bugs a pest—especially here in Baltimore, a city often regarded as the most bedbug-infested in America. They are a royal annoyance and pain. In our last blog post, we looked at bed bugs and some of their traits and habits, and what to do if you’ve been infiltrated. In this week’s post, we are going to shift this focus to prevention.
Bed bugs are hitchhikers that often travel by latching onto clothing, luggage, and furniture. For this reason, it can be nearly impossible to truly prevent them from entering your home. However, there are some steps you can take to protect your home. To help keep these pests out, Armor Pest Control has put together this list.
Simple precautions to protect your home from bed bugs:
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Reduce clutter and therefore the number of hiding places for bed bugs.
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Proactively cover your mattress and box springs in an encasement. This will eliminate hiding spots, and by using a lighter colored encasement, it will make spotting them easier.
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Keep your home clean and vacuum regularly to sweep up any unwelcome guests.
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Take caution when using shared laundry facilities. Since bed bugs love fabrics and clothes, laundry facilities can be a haven. Transport clothes in tightly sealed plastic bags and set your dryer to high heat—intense heat can kill bed bugs.
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Isolate your room or apartment. This might include plugging and sealing cracks and crevices around the baseboard, light sockets, doors, and windows. This will impede the movement of invading bed bugs.
If you fear your home has been infested by bed bugs or some other pest, contact Armor Pest Control. We are Baltimore’s go-to pest control company!