How Do Bed Bugs Get Into Your Home? | Dallas Bed Bug Control Experts

Bed bugs seem to be a national problem that almost every person deals with at least once in their lifetime. But it’s not like our homes came with bed bugs already living there, so how do the little pests even get into our homes in the first place?

One misconception is that homes that get infested with bed bugs must be dirty and unclean. But a home’s cleanliness and the number of stars belonging to an expensive hotel will not save them from getting bed bugs. Bed bugs are attracted our body heat and the carbon dioxide we exhale, due to their need to feed on warm-blooded animals’ blood. This is why they tend to hide and chill out where people sleep, staying by beds and focusing on mattresses, bed frames, and box springs for the most part.

An infestation of bed bugs could come from a variety of sources. One common way for bed bugs to make their way into a person’s home is by hitching a ride on an animal, your beloved pet. This is especially possible if the animal lives inside and outside. The animal might spend part of the day outside, during which bed bugs can hop on their back, surviving on animal blood until the pet comes inside for the night. The bed bugs will live off of the animal until they can make their way to a human. However, if your pet is aloud to get on your bed and sleep with you, that will definitely make their job much easier.

Another common way bed bugs are able to get into your home is when you return home after you’ve traveled. You might catch the pests while staying at a hotel, especially if you have traveled abroad to a country with minimal access to hygienic supplies. Bed bugs will stow away in your luggage, often hiding amongst your dirty clothes, where they live without sustenance just long enough to make it back to your home and settle in.

The first clue that you have a bed bug infestation is finding itchy, inflamed red patches on your skin. While they are feeding from you, the bed bug’s saliva, which contains anesthetic and anticoagulant properties, you don’t feel a thing, and so don’t notice their bites until hours later when you find the itchy, red, swollen site of the bite. The smartest thing to do at this point is to call your local pest control company and get them to take care of it.

Have you ever had to deal with a bed bug infestation? How awful was the experience, and what did it take to get rid of them for good?