Bed bugs are back after a long dormancy and are on the rise in Madison, Green Bay and throughout Wisconsin. They are rapidly infesting homes as well as many commercial facilities especially those with high turnover rates such as: hotels, movie theaters, college dorms and hospitals.
Imagine you are driving down your street, and as you go to pull into your driveway, you notice that your neighbors house looks like a scene right out of the X-files. Giant hoses run from several windows down to official looking machines littered about the lawn. What would your first response be? Probably something like, "great! The neighbors have bugs." This would be followed by a quick mental checklist of how many times your neighbors have visited your house in the last year. It is only natural. You'll want to protect your family.
You've heard the old saying, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen?". Well, in the case of bed bugs it's, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the house." If you've discovered bed bugs in your home, someone may have told you this already. Heat is how you get bed bugs out. But heat alone will not solve a bed bug problem.
Avoiding bed bugs during the holiday season can be more challenging than during the rest of the year. With people traveling to see friends and families for the holidays, there will be even more bed bugs around than usual. Visiting hotels, using public transportation and even visiting the homes of friends and families can all cause you to come into contact with bed bugs. And when you’ve come into contact with these hitchhiking bloodsuckers, there’s a very good chance you will unknowingly pick them up during your journeys.
As we get ready to travel for the holidays, so do bed bugs. These insects are excellent hitchhikers, catching a ride on anything they can find so that they may follow you to your next destination. If you have bed bugs in your home, they may hide away in your suitcase, joining you on your holiday travels.
Bed bugs in Wisconsin are not making quite as many headlines as they were last year at this time, but that doesn’t mean they are going away. At Wil-Kil Pest Control, we still get phone calls daily from people that have a bed bug infestation. Almost every customer we have heard from tells us that they’ve tried everything on their own to get rid of these bugs to no avail.
Imagine lifting up your mattress and finding these everywhere. A mini colony of bed bugs, living and breathing right under the place you sleep.
This story also appeared on WMTV Madison; Click here to read.
In the hospitality industry, safety and cleanliness are two very important aspects for success. So when it comes to pest management, there must be high standards for both lodging and dining facilities. Bed bugs remain a prevalent problem across the country and for those companies whose business is providing accommodations for travelers, it is a tough challenge.
