If you have ever had bed bugs or heard of someone who has, you probably know that these bugs are not the type you want in your house. Not only are they hard to get rid of, but they also bite, and this can leave you with itchy, irritating, red spots on your body. The best way to deal with bed bugs is to avoid getting them. While this can be tricky, because they are so small, there are steps you can take that may help you prevent getting bed bugs in your home. Here are three tips to help you with this.

Be Extremely Cautious When Returning From A Hotel Stay

Staying at a hotel is one of the most common ways people develop a bed bug problem at home. If a hotel does not take special precautions, they can end up with a bed bug infestation in some or all of the rooms. If you stay in a hotel that has bed bugs, you might not even realize there is a problem.

Bed bugs are small and hard to see, and they can crawl into your suitcase, purse or anything else you carry into your hotel room. Every time you stay at a hotel, you should use extreme caution when returning home. You should check your body to look for signs of bites, and you may want to set everything you had in your hotel room in your laundry room before carrying the items to the places they belong.

If you suspect there were bed bugs at the hotel, notify the manager of the hotel and wash everything you own before using it.

Treat Used Clothes Before Putting Them Away

When you purchase used clothing, you also take the risk of unwillingly bringing bed bugs into your house. Bed bugs can easily hide on clothing, making it terribly difficult to see if there are any bugs present. To protect yourself and your home against bed bugs, make sure you:

• Wash all used clothing items in hot water – Bed bugs cannot survive heat, and they do not hold up well in water either.
• Dry them on the hottest setting – Because bed bugs cannot live in hot places, drying the clothes you purchase will kill any remaining bed bugs that survived the washing cycle.

Following these steps will help you prevent a bed bug infestation from buying used clothing. This includes used clothing you purchase from thrift shops or garage sales, but you should also take these steps when anyone gives you hand-me-down clothing items. You may also want to use caution when purchasing used furniture too.

Buy Mattress Covers

Finally, you may want to invest in mattress covers for all the mattresses in your home as a way of preventing bed bugs. Exterminators often recommend this step because bed bugs commonly live in mattresses. They can crawl into the box springs, hide around the wooden bed frame, and dwell in any type of mattress you may have.

As you choose the right covers for your mattress, make sure you choose a type that is waterproof and bite proof. Vinyl covers are a good choice, but there are many others you can choose from too.

If you have covers on your mattresses, it can prevent bed bugs from taking over your bed. It will stop them from entering the mattress and other parts of the bed, and the bugs might go look for a new place to live.

Trying to get rid of bed bugs can be a nightmare, and that is why it is better if you can prevent them. If you do end up with bed bugs in your home, call an exterminator for help, as this will make it much easier to get rid of these bugs than trying to handle the job on your own.