They don’t discriminate you by where you live or how much money you make or if you’re a renter or a home owner. They may not be able to live as long in your home if you’re an avid vacuum-er and steam-cleaner, or if you wash all your bedding every day but that wouldn’t stop them from trying to infest your home.
First of all, looking at where the bugs came from is a good idea because there’s a difference if the problem started at home, or if they were brought from an outside source. Bedbugs can easily be transported into your home. The idea isn’t to find someone to blame, just to narrow down some possibilities. When you locate the source of the problem, you will be able to deal with getting rid of the pests easier. Here are some possibilities to look at:
1. Hotels, Motels and Hostels.
If you recently went on a trip, it’s possible that you helped a stow-away bedbug hitch a ride in your luggage. It would be a good idea to call the hotel and ask them if they are having a bedbug issue and inform them that you believe you may have picked some up while you were there. Let the staff know that you aren’t upset (at least pretend not to be) so that you receive an honest answer. Many hotels are infested... even 4-5 star establishments. Again, bedbugs are not attracted to filth...they are attracted to people. Chances are there won’t be much the hotel can do for you, but it’s best to find out the source.2. Neighbours
If you live in any type of multi-dwelling building, then you must inform your neighbours that you are having an infestation and find out if they are having the same problem as you. If it’s a building wide problem, then it’s a big issue and you will need to call the landlord and a professional extermination company that has experience with bedbugs (check with them), right away.Bedbugs can crawl through ventilation pipes, through small cracks in older buildings, come in through windows and under doors (they are practically paper-thin, after all). They crawl along walls, across ceilings, and along pipes. If your neighbours have bedbugs, there’s a good chance you will get them and vice versa.
3. Your Workplace
Offices can easily be infested with bedbugs. Although there are no beds in offices, there are some sedentary people, sitting relatively still for hours at a time, which still makes an easy meal for a bedbug. Also, many offices are not thoroughly cleaned daily, which makes hiding in carpeting or in tiny cracks easy for bedbugs.4. The Laundromat
Bedbugs are surprisingly hardy and many can survive a spin in the washer and dryer, provided that low heat was used.5. Pets
Bedbugs don’t generally go for cats and dogs when they have a choice, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t swing a ride into your home on Fido.6. Other Public Places
Restaurants, cinemas and theatres and even clothing stores can harbour bedbugs and be brought home, which is probably a lot more than you had bargained for going in.Of course you can’t go through life avoiding these places altogether. Until you have an infestation, don’t let the fear of picking up bedbugs somewhere stop you from going out.
The information about bed bugs that I have researched, collected is to help the growing numbers of bed bug sufferers.