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Health & Fitness

Rule #1: Don't bring them in your home!

You may be wondering how bed bugs may get into your home in the first place.  The answer is very simple.  If the bugs weren't already in your home when you moved in, YOU BROUGHT THEM IN!  That's right.  Unless you live in an apartment with neighboring units adjoining yours, you brought those bugs into your home if they weren't already there when you moved in.

A common way of unknowingly bringing bugs into your home is on boxes or on furniture (especially re-used, which has become a huge problem since we've adopted this wonderful culture of 'recycle/re-use", but there's another common method of bringing them into your home that many people just don't think about.  Sometimes, they simply ride in on your clothing.

It's easy for a bed bug to crawl into your pocket, or into your shoe without you ever knowing about it, and hitchhiking his way right into your home.  A great way to make sure you don't invite this hitchhiking intruder into your home is by pealing off your clothes before you enter your home (drop them on the porch/patio and step into your home without them) putting on fresh clothes, and taking the old clothes directly to the laundry and wash/dry them before bringing them in.  If your laundry machines are located in your home, place them into a bag outside, and carefully carry the bag to your machines, and carefully empty it completely into the machines.  Washing your clothes with hot water and drying them with hot air will completely kill any bugs on your clothes.

Of course this sounds like an extreme measure, and probably isn't something you'll do every time you enter your home, but it should be done anytime you come home from a place with a higher risk of exposure to bed bugs, like after spending a night in a hotel or after flying on an airplane.

You may be thinking to yourself, "WTH?  I can't take my clothes off outside my home!!"  Well, take a deep breath and relax, and then realize you're only talking about being outside for an extremely short amount of time, right in front of your door.  So short, in fact, that it's very likely anyone will see you, and if someone did, they wouldn't even realize what they were seeing until you were already inside with door closed.  Compare that to the horror of dealing with the expense, the hassle, and the "yuck factor" of a bed bug infestation and it quickly becomes a much more attractive option.  It really is a good way to ensure you don't carry bugs in on your clothes and shoes, which a common method of introducing bugs into your home.

Make sure you include the clothes located in your suitcases.  You can leave your suitcases/briefcases outside for several days and then inspect them well before bringing them inside, but make sure the clothing inside the suitcases goes directly into the wash before being put down in your home.

The best way to inspect your home to know that you don't have bed bugs feeding on you at night, is to have a K9 Scent Detection Team check your home for you.  To schedule a time for me to inspect your home for bedbugs, call me at (408) 389-4225 or email me at jay@k9bugfinder.net.  My partner Maggie and I will be happy to provide you some peace of mind.

For more information, visit my website or follow me on facebook!

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