Once homeowners realize they have bed bugs in their home they often wonder how bed bugs there. It’s important to know how bed bugs spread to answer these questions and to prevent future exposure to bed bugs. Bed bugs are tiny, wingless, oval-shaped parasitic insects that have been around for thousands of years. These creatures like to live near places where people sleep since they feed on the human blood in the dead of night. While there’s still no evidence that bed bugs spread any disease, their main danger is that they inflict itchy and irritating bites, and their mysterious nature gives you shivers at night.
While there’s a notion that bed bugs are from filthiness and dirt, this is far from the truth. As long as these pesky creatures get their rightful share of blood and excellent breeding conditions, it doesn’t matter whether the environment is sparkling or filthy. Dirt, clutter and debris, however, help bed bugs hide better, so keeping areas clean is best.
If untidiness and filthiness are not what bring bed bugs to your home, then how do these invasive creatures spread from one place to the next? This piece will help you understand how bed bugs spread from one point to another.
How Do Bed Bugs Spread? Here’s How:
Public Transport
In most cases, public transport is highly attributed to the perverse spread of bed bugs from one place to the next. Essentially, what happens is that a person whose house has an infestation carries a bed bug on their purse, clothes or bags. And once they sit on a bus, plane or taxi, the bed bugs are left on the seat. Then, when the next passenger comes and sits on the same chair, the bed bug can hitch a ride to their house. And since bed bugs reproduce faster when they get food and get the right conditions, they multiply within a short time.
Second-hand Items
Another way bed bugs can move from one house to the next is through second-hand items. Although they’re called bed bugs, these creatures don’t only live on beds. They also hide on other things such as wall charts, curtains and furniture, including sofas, cabinets, chairs and even wardrobes.
Purchasing second-hand items can go easy on your pocket, but it might be the cheapest flight that bedbugs can get to your house. So, if you are used to buying used furniture and other items such as clothing, mattresses, or even wall arts, be aware of possible bed bugs. So, check for bed bugs and eggs on any second-hand item you want to buy.
Hotels and Resorts
When going on vacation, it’s common to spend the night in a hotel or any other facility that offers accommodation. Did you know that such facilities are highly prone to bed bugs infestation due to high human traffic? Due to hotel room traffic, you never know who comes from an infested home. This is the most common answer to how do bed bugs spread.
Once an individual from an infested home spends a night in a hotel, they might bring bed bugs from their house and leave them in the hotel. These parasites attach themselves to your clothes and bags and hitch a ride to your residence. If you book the same room by chance, you’ll have a lot of items that can provide accessible transportation for bedbugs from the hotel to your home.
Schools & Workplaces
Bed bugs can also be in places you least expect, such as schools and workplaces. If a pupil comes from an infested residence, they might carry these creatures to school through their clothes, bags, or even books. If your kid is in the same school, the bed bugs can attach themselves to their clothing or bag and get easy transport to your house.
Conversely, if one of your co-workers has a bed bug problem in their homes, the parasites might hitch a ride on their purse, clothes or work files. Once the bed bugs find their way into the office, anyone can pick them up and take them to their homes.
Other Public Places
The one sure thing about bed bugs is that they don’t just originate from thin air – they come from somewhere. So, public amenities that witness heavy human traffic can be the picking points for bed bugs. For instance, hospitals have had severe problems with bed bugs. So, if you work in a hospital or have spent time there as a patient, bed bugs might latch onto your belongings and get a free ride into your house. Other places where you can pick these pesky parasites include movie theaters, nursing homes and college dorms.
How Do Bed Bugs Spread? Crawl next door!
If you live in an apartment building with multiple houses, bed bugs can quickly spread from one home to the next. Although bed bugs can’t jump or fly, their oval-shaped bodies and strong legs allow them to efficiently crawl on floors, ceilings, walls, and even through openings such as pipes. Therefore, bed bugs can cross from your neighbor’s house, but this infestation spread is slow. Check with your landlord and review your lease if you think your neighbors are causing an infestation in your place.
How to Stop the Spread of Bed Bugs
- Avoid used and second-hand items such as furniture, wall arts, paintings and clothing. If you can’t do without them, ensure they are thoroughly inspected and sprayed with pesticides before entering your house.
- Inspect the sleeping area when you travel and stay in a hotel. Also, keep your bags on the bag stand and not on the floor.
- Vacuum your resident regularly and also make sure you declutter your bedroom.
- When you come home from a trip, ensure you take all the clothes you wore to the laundry room before doing anything else.
- Seal all cracks, holes or crevices on walls or ceilings to avoid bed bugs from your neighbor’s house.
- Inspect your items and clothes for bed bugs once you come from a movie theater, school, hospital, nursing home or office.
