Bed Bugs...ways to prevent them...

I got this from a friend and wanted to pass it on...I also included a website and some information on bed bugs.  I would flip if I saw one  of these.  I hear that people are taking them to work on clothing and passing them around at work now also. Gives me the heebie jeebies.


Hi
 All:

 A bit
 of information that you might like to know about. We have friends
 here in our community and one of their sons is an entomologist (insect
 expert), and has been telling them that there is an epidemic of bed bugs
 now occurring in America. Recently I have heard on the news that
 several stores in NYC have had to close due to bed bug problems, as well
 as a complete mall in New Jersey.

He says that
 since much of our clothing, sheets, towels, etc. now comes from
 companies outside of America, (sad but true), even the most expensive
stores sell foreign clothing from China, Indonesia, etc. The bed
bugs are coming in on the clothing as these countries do not consider
them a problem. He recommends that if you buy any new clothing,
even underwear and socks, sheets, towels, etc. that you bring them into
the house and put them in your clothes dryer for at least 20 minutes.
 The heat will kill them and their eggs. DO NOT PURCHASE CLOTHES
AND HANG THEM IN THE CLOSET FIRST. It does not matter what the price
range is of the clothing, or if the outfit comes from the most expensive
store known in the U.S. They still get shipments from these countries
and the bugs can come in a box of scarves or anything else for that matter.
 That is the reason why so many stores, many of them clothing stores
have had to shut down in NYC and other places. All you need is
to bring one item into the house that has bugs or eggs and you will go
to hell and back trying to get rid of them. He travels all over
the country as an advisor to many of these stores, as prevention and after
they have the problem.

Send this
 information on to those on your e-mail list so that this good prevention
 information gets around quickly.

Here is a site with more info..
http://www.badbedbugs.com/

Here are the facts about Bed Bugs:

• Bed Bugs are flat, brown, wingless and about 1/4 of an inch
• They have 6 legs, shiny reddish-brown but after a good serving of your blood, they appear dark brown and swollen as in the picture below.
• They can be seen with the human eye, but do a great job at hiding
• Bed bugs are not known to carry diseases as of yet
• They feed on human blood preferring to do it in the dark when you're sleeping
• Simply using chemical treatments will not remove the infestation
• These bugs love to hide in the seams of your mattress including:
• Sofa seams
• Cracks in the bad frame and or head board
• Under chairs, couched, beds and dust covers
• Under rugs, edges of carpets, drawers, baseboards and window casings
• Behind light switches, electrical outlet plates, cracks in plaster
• Televisions, radio clocks and phones
• Backpacks, Sleeping bags, Cloths
• Behind wallpaper, picture frames and other dark areas

Quick tips to help remove bed bugs

The best way to deal with bed bugs is by sealing your mattress and pillows with a plastic or hypoallergenic zipped cover. This traps the bugs that are inside your pillow and prevents them from feeding and kills them over time - remember, a nymph can live for two months without feeding, an adult can survive more than 12 months!

Do not apply any pesticide to mattresses or surfaces that would come in contact with the skin unless the pesticide specifically states that the product can be used in this manner.

Wash all your linens and place them in a hot dryer for 20 minutes (or you can freeze them at -5 C or below for five days).

You can vacuum to capture bed bugs and their eggs, but because the eggs are embedded to the fabric, you may have to scrape the surface. Once you have vacuumed everything, immediately place the vacuum bag into a plastic bad, seal it tight and dispose (outside).

Seal items mentioned above to prevent the bugs from hiding. You can place glue boards or sticky tape around your bed and in the room to catch the bed bugs as the move around; this gives you a way to monitor the effectiveness of your efforts.

A few ways to prevent bed bugs from getting into your home include:

* Hang clothing in the closet farthest from the bed
* Place luggage on the folding rack found in most hotels
* Place luggage in the dry cleaning bad found in the hotel.
* Most important, don't bring home a mattress that has been used by unknown sources.

Our Bed Bug discussion has 100's of stories and pictures of people bitten by bed bugs that include helpful insights into coping with this . If have bite marks on your body and are looking to determine what bit you, check out discussions, they can be a big help! If you have a picture, please send it in and we'll post it for others to comment on - not to worry, we'll crop the picture so that only your bite shows, so don't fret about the details.

We also offer our very popular bedbug checklist to help you quickly look for signs of bedbugs BEFORE you sleep. Our Bed Bug Treatment section covers in detail the methods used to get rid of these bugs and our Frequently Asked Questions (Bed Bug FAQ) covers the most common questions our visits ask.

Perhaps you can help identify the bug bite or may know of method of pest control not mentioned? If so, please leave a comment and help out. Bedbug infestation is a frightening experience and knowing that others have been down the same road can really help, so please comment whenever possible.

note: a survey of pest managers by the University of Sydney Department of Medical Entomology shows the bed bug infestations have increased 5000 percent since 2000!

Take a look around and enjoy the site!