09/08/16

Learning About Bed Bugs In School

Learning About Bed Bugs In School

9/8/2016

Before you get too excited, we’re not going to be talking about a fascinating new high school or college level course about bed bugs. The focus of this article will be on showing why schools are potential swap zones for these blood-eating pests. So, if you’d like to make sure your kids don’t bring bed bugs home with them, you’re going to want to keep reading. You might want to get them to read this too.

Bed Bugs 101

The very first thing you need to understand about bed bugs is that they are a hitchhiking pest that dwells almost exclusively with humans. You’re not going to get these bugs while walking through the woods, and they aren’t going to crawl across your lawn to get into your home. These pests need to hitch a ride on someone. That someone could be your kids.

When a bed bug begins its life, it is very small–about the size of the tip of a pen, and their skin (cuticle) is transparent. This makes them extremely hard to see and, as you can probably imagine, easy to miss if they’ve decided to hitch a ride.

Bed bugs can also hitch a ride as a tiny white egg. Since these eggs do not require the mother to hatch, they can be the beginning of a new infestation all by themselves. These eggs will most often be in the seams of clothing and bags.

In a school environment, it is impossible to know who might be carrying bed bugs. These pests can live in the cleanest of homes. Visual identification is your kids best bet of making sure these bugs don’t come home.

When you kids get back from college, do a quick inspection and wash all their belongings on the hottest temperature. If you have high school-age kids, teach them what bed bugs and bed bug bites look like, and keep an eye out for signs in your home.

Bed bugs are most often found where people sleep, but they can be picked up anywhere large numbers of people congregate. Be on the lookout for the signs.

Advanced Bed Bug Studies

If you’re worried that you might miss seeing the warning signs of an impending infestation, you may consider calling in an expert. At Schendel Pest Services, we perform fast, effective bed bug inspections with canine bed bug inspectors. Dogs have an amazing sense of smell that can locate bed bugs in all stages of development without disturbing the items in your home.

Don’t let the bed bugs bite. Get routine canine bed bug inspection from Schendel, and stop those bugs in their tracks.