We often think about home bed bug control, but did you know that they often travel with us as well? This article looks at how they can hitch a ride in airplanes and rental cars, and what you can do about it.
Bed bugs are terrible traveling companions and even worse guests to take home with you. News reports tell us that hotels have started taking bed bug control measures to get rid of the hearty critters. And while the hotels are enjoying some success,
the monsters have taken to traveling on airlines and in rental cars!
With travelers continually occupying various airline seats and bringing carry-on luggage into airplane cabins, these critters are hitching a ride with business and vacation flyers. When these troublesome insects decide to deplane, they find new transportation opportunities with departing passengers and carry-on bags.
How You Can Do Your Own Bed Bug Control
You can do your own bed bug control by checking before you sit. However, searching one's seat for signs of them before sitting down is an effective but impractical idea. In the everyday rush for passengers to find and get into seats, a person blocking the aisle while inspecting for insect fecal spots, bug eggs or shells, and/or live bugs is not going to work.
Better ideas to avoid first class and coach insect hitchhikers include packing all luggage and carry-on bags with insect-free luggage liners and voiding airline provided pillows and blankets by bringing your own in carry on luggage works too.
If you're coming from a hotel, make certain you kept your luggage closed, shoes and laundry off the floor, and cloths hanging in you hotel room—those rules help keep you from carrying the bugs onto the plane.
Rental Car Bed Bug Control
Going from an airplane to rental car creates yet another opportunity for them to hitch a free ride with you. Before deciding on a rental car company, do some Internet research. Look for customer complaints about cleanliness of cars and any items about drivers finding bugs or signs of insect visitors in a car. Ask the rental agent what kinds of bed bug control efforts they are undertaking.
Do take the time to look for signs of them in the rental car before you are your luggage get in. The car should have been fully cleaned inside and out before it's issued to you. Look in the trunk as well as in the interior — they leave evidence of their visits under spare tires and in the folds and seams of upholstery.
A Few Advanced Techniques
Don't lay your coat or other cloths on the seats of the rental car. Whenever possible, hang them to prevent contact with seats and floors.
In hot climates, park the car in the sun where it will heat up the interior the car. Let the sun do your bed bug control! Heat kills bed bugs, and a blazing hot car interior will do them in. Extreme cold works too. Let your travel gear grow ice in a cold rental car before unloading.
As in hotel rooms and planes, keep luggage closed, and clothes and personal items in insect free luggage liners while in the car. Unpack out-of-doors if possible. If found, let these tiny hitchhikers know they're unwelcome in your home by washing and drying or otherwise subjecting clothes and travel items to extreme heat or cold.
Finally, inspect yourself and your personal possessions as soon after traveling as you can.
With a little of your own bed bug control, you can take souvenirs, new business, photographs, and fond memories home from your travels and leave unwelcome pests behind.
