The summer is a great time to travel to that favorite vacation spot or destination for some much-needed relaxation and time off. By the time August or September rolls around many people are back into their regular schedule. It’s usually within several weeks to a couple months that pest problems start to show up. Many Exterminating companies see an increase in phone calls for bed bug problems after vacation time. The first step is knowing if there is a problem and identifying it. I usually ask customers a two-part question. The first question is are a lot of the bites close together? The reason I asked that question is that bedbugs are very social and tend to like to bite in around the same area. The second question is are the bites itchy which most people find that they are. In fact, the bites can be so irritating that they turn to welts and with the possibility of becoming infected. I’m usually interested in knowing where the bites are occurring on a customer for example arms or legs? It’s one of the best ways to help me learn where to start my inspection and try to best locate the problem.

After identifying the problem and doing an inspection the next step is to get a game plan together to decide the best approach to correct the problem. Often times the initial service and two or three follow-ups are recommended. The name bed bugs can be rather misleading since people don’t always know that the bed bugs can actually infest different parts of the structure. Preparation is vital to a successful bed bug treatment. It’s best to go through closets and dressers to make sure that clothing is not harboring infestation. This usually means washing or drying cleaning clothes or at least finding sealed containers to put them in. Eliminating any clutter and stored items around the room are vital to a successful treatment. In other words basically going through everything and being prepared is the key to a successful treatment and follow-ups. Have the bed stripped down and ready for treatment. Other things like vacuuming and steam cleaning are also beneficial to helping gain and eliminate these unwanted pests. Work with your exterminator and following the recommendations is the best course of action to develop a game plan to a better bug-free environment.