How do bed bugs spread and how to control them?

Bed bugs may not be associated with the type of disease or infection that is connected to other types of pests, but they are considered one of the most difficult of pests to eradicate.  They spread quickly and are notoriously resistant to most insecticides. One of the best ways to handle bed bugs is to prevent them from spreading. 

Bed bugs spread in two main ways: passive and active movement.  Bed bugs are often passively transmitted from place to place by others.  They are tiny and crawl very quickly, so they can hide in bedding, clothing, and luggage.  Once in hiding, they are easily transported from place-to-place.  This is how bed bugs get into hotels, motels, and rental properties in the first place.  They are also easy to transport back home after you have been travelling.

In addition, bed bugs are known to intentionally migrate.  While they are not as likely to leave a building, they will move from room to room in a building.  This means that they can travel to multiple rooms in a home and travel to other apartments or hotel rooms in a multi-dwelling building.  They do not fly and cannot jump, but they can move using the walls, ceilings, wiring, doorways, and pipes. 

Bed Bug Control is not DIY Territory!

To keep bed bugs under control, you want to prevent them from moving around to other rooms in your home or building.  If you have bed bugs in one room, you want to contact Flick and see how much of your home you need to treat.  They may see evidence of bed bugs in adjacent rooms or suggest a prophylactic treatment.  If you own a hotel or rent your place or rooms during the holiday season and one room is infested, you probably want to treat adjacent rooms as well. 

You also want to prevent bed bugs from hitchhiking.  Here are steps you can take while you are travelling to help prevent spreading bed bugs that you may otherwise accidentally carry from place to place. First, you want to visually inspect anything you are taking with you.  Using a flashlight and a magnifying glass, you can check luggage, clothing, shoes, socks, jackets, and any bedding or pillows that travel with you.  Pack your clothing and any other soft items in double plastic bags for your trip home. 

Contact us at the first sight of Bed Bugs

If you see any evidence of bed bugs, call the Flick experts for help! We’ll help you eradicate them for good by using either a pest control solution or our innovative tailored pest control treatment.