Every place could now be infested by the bloodsucking bed bugs. However, they are a little biased with residences. As you might have read or heard in the news, more of their reported infestations occurred in houses and apartments. The reason is that they always have someone to feed on in those residences.
But between a house and an apartment, the latter is more vulnerable to bed bug presence. That’s because the side by side setup of units allows the pests to transfer from one room to another much faster. And that just easily makes the whole building or complex prone to bed bug outbreak.
The bed bug infestation in one senior housing in Stockton, California is one proof of how easily the vampire-like pests could take over the whole complex.
That housing was particularly the Franco Center at El Dorado and Washington streets. And with its elderly residents being poor and many are ill and disabled, the presence of the small but terrible crawlies was definitely an additional burden.
Based on the accounts of some of the tenants in a report from recordnet.com, bed bugs were a problem in the housing for sometime already. And though the management acted on it, resident Royal Collins said that they only did it for a while, and then the bed bugs came back.
Many of the tenants who have not moved out yet won’t speak about it publicly out of fear. But one vocal resident Robert Oliveira, who has been living in the center for eight years said that “It’s the worst it’s been, ” referring to the bed bug problem.
County’s Housing Authority, the one that operates the residential senior community, though said that they addressed the problem and that they were even doing routine checks.
Here is a part of the said report:
“Franco Center, the large downtown apartment complex at El Dorado and Washington streets, continues to be infested with bloodsucking bedbugs months after residents complained to the county’s Housing Authority that operates the residential senior community.
The elderly residents are poor, many are ill or disabled, and a number of those who haven’t found a way to move out live in fear not just of the bedbugs but of management. Many won’t speak out about the problems publicly, but those who will – or their caregivers – have quite a lot to say.
“You’re going to get a lot of them afraid to say anything because they feel they don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Regina Rucker, caregiver to her 77-year-old mother, a Franco resident who has been staying off and on at Rucker’s north Stockton home because of the infestation.”
Read more about the Bed Bug Outbreak in Senior Housing at: recordnet.com
The bed bug outbreak in Franco Center could happen to any other apartment complex. And worse, it doesn’t matter to bed bugs how clean the building is or what is the age bracket of those living in it. If they are given the chance, they would infest it. With that, you must be therefore ready to block them.
If you are an apartment resident, here are the top ten tips that will prove helpful to your fight against bed bugs.
1. Educate Yourself
Know everything you can about bed bugs. Every little detail you know about the pests could help you fight them off.
There are several indoor pests that are often mistaken as bed bugs. See pictures of bed bugs so you could identify them right when you see them. Apart from their appearance, you must also know bed bug habits and spots. That way, you would know how to deal with them and where to look for them.
But apart from details about bed bugs, you must also educate yourself about existing rules and regulations in your complex. That’s so you could cooperate and help prevent the infestation.
2. Do a Regular Bed Bug Inspection
One thing that makes it hard to kill bed bugs is their size. They are small as an apple seed or even as a grain of rice. And because of that, they could conceal themselves even in the smallest cracks. That and the fact they could stay hidden even without meals for a long time makes them hard to find.
So, to make sure that you don’t have them, it is important that you do a regular bed bug inspection. If you suspect you got them, the inspection will tell you where exactly to concentrate your bed bug treatment. Apart from that, it will help you discover bed bug infestation early on their infestation. Needless to say that will also help you get rid of them early.
3. Communicate/Talk With Your Neighbors
Talk with your neighbors and update each other of any bed bug news in your complex or building. You could also give him or her tips about how to avoid bringing bed bugs home and he or she could do the same. After all, if any of you get the pests, everyone else could be affected.
4. Report Bed Bug Encounter Immediately
Bed bug elimination in an apartment complex or building is generally a team effort. You, your neighbors and your landlord must cooperate to eradicate the pests. It is your responsibility to report to your landlord any bed bug encounter or sign of bed bug infestation.
Once an inspection or treatment is set, prepare your apartment. Don’t move any of your furniture to another unit or place. If indeed, you got bed bugs, doing so will transfer the pests. Put your clothes and other stuff in a clear plastic bag so the inspection and treatment could be done much easier.
5. Get a Mattress Encasement
Bed bugs could hide on any item as you might already know. However, beds are their favorite spots, hence, the namesake. And because it’s simply not economical to buy a new mattress or bed whenever it’s infested, and with the fact that bed bugs could always come back, it’s best to just get a mattress encasement. Not only will that save you money, but it will also trap the pests if ever they are in your mattress.
6. Act Quick
As mentioned, if ever bed bugs get in your apartment, it is important that you eliminate them quick. Else, their infestation will get bigger and it’ll be much harder and more expensive for you to eliminate them.
And so, if you see any sign of bed bugs, act quick. Inspect the areas where they would likely hide. If you find their spot, report it immediately to your landlord. If you think you could handle them yourself and decides to do a personal bed bug elimination, then prepare everything you need and do the treatment as soon as possible.
Here are the three bed bug signs that you must always be wary of so you could spot and kill bed bugs early.
- Dark Spots in Areas Where Bed Bugs Would Most Likely Hide. Those spots are bed bug feces. If you see them, it means bed bugs could already be in your place.
- Discarded Skins. Bed bugs shed their exoskeletons five times. Like their feces, you could their shells in the spots where they hide or anywhere near them.
- Pungent-Sweet Smell. A group of bed bugs could make a room smelling musty-sweet. If you could smell it and see the other two signs, conduct a bed bug inspection as soon as possible. It is highly likely that you already got them.
7. Don’t Let Anything In Without Inspecting
Bed bugs could hitch a ride on anything. They could hide on clothes, luggage and furniture.
Given that, it’s not prudent to just let anything get inside your house, especially secondhand furniture. Without you knowing, bed bugs could be hiding in the item. And though secondhand stuff could save you money, if they got bed bugs, they could have you spending more than the amount you saved.
Inspect the item first and if you could wash it, launder it in high temperature. If not, dry it under the heat of the sun.
You must do the same thing to everything you brought back after traveling.
8. Prepare a Bed Bug Spray
Generally, there are two ways to kill bed bugs – hire an exterminator or do it yourself. With a bed bug spray ready, you could immediately do a bed bug treatment just as long as you could still handle the number of the pests.
Apart from that, a bed bug spray is much cheaper than the charges of bed bug exterminators. So apart from a prompt elimination, the product also reduces bed bug expenses.
But what’s the best bed bug spray to get?
There are now several pesticides available. However, they are mostly made with harmful chemical ingredients. And that makes many of them unsafe.
To protect your health and that of your family, you should pick a non-pesticide bed bug spray like Bed Bug Bully for the process. Unlike the conventional insecticides, it is made with organic ingredients. In fact, FIFRA 25(b) has also approved it as pesticide-exempt. With that and its effectiveness as testified by its users, it could have you delivered a truly safe and effective bed bug treatment.
If you want to prove that yourself, watch this customer review about the product.
And…
What’s the Latest About Bed Bug Bully?
[ic_google_news refresh=”every day at 08:00″ keyword=”bed bug bully”]
