As I shared on Saturday, bedbugs are nasty bloodsucking creatures that quickly infest homes, hotels, movie theaters, cruise ships, buses and subways, hospitals, schools – just about any public place.
Because bedbugs can live up to eighteen months without a meal, they are known to inhabit areas whether people are present or not. They hide in beds, furniture, curtains, carpet, bedding, baseboards, molding, and behind wallpaper. With their flat bodies, they can easily hide in cracks, crevices, box springs, and upholstery seams. And, they hitchhike on clothing, coats, shoes, books, purses, and pets.
Why the resurgence?
While bedbugs seemed to be a thing of the past, they began making a comeback once DDT (DichloroDiphenylTrichloroethane) was banned in 1972. Banning DDT is a good thing – it polluted soil, water, killed wildlife, and caused cancer. It also effectively killed bedbugs. And without it, bedbugs are back.
Ways to prevent bedbug infestations
Since bedbugs seem to lurk in just about in any public place, do you have to become a hermit just to prevent them? No. Fortunately, prevention methods help you live a normal life:
- When staying at a hotel, keep all luggage and purses off the floor, beds, and other upholstered areas like sleeper sofas and chairs. Protect your clothing by packing them in a large sealable plastic bag.
- Whether you’re in a hotel room, dorm room, hospital room, or movie theater, look for bedbug signs. The first obvious thing is to look for the actual bugs. They’re actually hard to see (especially in dimly lit movie theaters!) but resemble an apple seed. Bedbugs are flat, brownish, and about the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny. If you can inspect mattresses, sheets, or mattress covers, look for little stains of blood or rusty colored bedbug excrement stains. The buggers also shed their skin, so check for dried bug shells.
- Bedbugs are known to travel and settle in retail stores – both in warehouses and in actual stores. (Since this happens even in upscale retail stores, I’m sure second-hand shops also are faced with bedbug problems.) To prevent an infestation when bringing new purchases into your home, put your new clothing into the dryer and dry for half an hour.
- Once you get home from a trip or a movie theater – or, if after reading this article you just happen to get the heebie jeebies after being in public places – come home and immediately put all your clothing in your dryer. Dry for a half an hour to kill any bedbugs or eggs. You also can spray your shoes, purses, luggage, and other bags with rubbing alcohol or BedbugLogic Protection Spray. BedbugLogic contains all-natural, non-toxic ingredients and essential oils that immediately kill bedbugs.
Some pesticides are used for bedbug infestations, but they’re not as effective as DDT – plus, they’re hazardous to your health. Heat extermination processes are common, also.
Many times, people who find bedbug infestations in their homes get ride off all the infested furniture and carpeting.
Another solution is to treat bedbug infestations with BedbugLogic Spray. Made with all-natural pest-fighting enzymes and essential oils, the Logic spray kills bedbugs on contact. Since it’s made with non-toxic ingredients, the spray is safe enough to use daily around people and pets. Plus, the spray is non-flammable and doesn’t leave a residue.
The natural ingredients are effective at eliminating pests like bedbugs because the enzymes immediately destroy the bug’s hard outer exoskeleton and exposes the nervous system. Interestingly, the bugs never grow resistant to natural enzymes, even though they resist pesticides. (Lice, ticks, and fleas have similar reactions, which is why the LiceLogic and Tick and FleaLogic sprays are so popular.)
Try your own BedbugLogic spray
.Today, I’m linking up with:
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I always find your blog so informative and useful. I would like to pass on an award to you and your blog, the Liebster Blog award. Congratulations. To find out more and accept if you choose to do so please come over to
Thank you so much! I’m truly honored … and grateful.
I guess my hope is I would never need this! LOL But I’m glad to know there is something non-toxic that kills them.
Tell me about it, Jacque! ;) Even though we don’t have any symptoms and I don’t think we have bedbugs in our house, I’m still checking all around since I wrote these posts. (Just a slight case of paranoia!)