Tips for Avoiding Bed Bugs When Your Child Goes to a Sleepover
Children love visiting their friends' homes for sleepovers, but you may be nervous about bed bugs. This makes sense since bed bugs can be a real risk. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimize this risk while still allowing your child the fun of staying over at a friend's home.
Check for bites
As soon as your child arrives home after their night away, check them over for bed bug bites. These pests will bite anywhere, so check the legs, arms, torso, neck, and head thoroughly. The welts are generally flat, and they may be in a straight line or a zig-zag pattern that follows the path of the bed bug as it walked across the body. Bites can be swollen and they may itch, but this is not always the case. If you suspect the bites are from bed bugs, it is vital that you disinfect everything your child took to the sleepover before letting it into the house.
Plan for a bath
Make sure there is time for a quick bath after your child gets home from the sleepover. Although bed bugs rarely remain on the body after they bite, there is always the chance that one or two hitched a ride in your child's hair or clothing. A quick yet thorough bath will ensure that any hitchhikers are washed down the drain so they don't infest your home.
Disinfect all fabrics
Sleeping bags, pillows, clothing, and stuffed animals are the most likely vectors for bed bugs. The easiest way to ensure that any possible pests are destroyed is to promptly wash all fabric items in hot water and dry them at a high heat setting as soon as your child returns home. Do not let the clothing into any carpeted areas of the home, and instead take everything straight to the washing machine. If you can't wash an item, then at least run it through the dryer for 20 to 30 minutes to destroy any pests.
Protect your bedding
If you are still concerned, take some time to prevent an infestation before your child goes to a sleepover. Encase all mattresses in bed bug covers so the pests can't ever make the way into your mattress. Also, place the legs of the beds into bed mug moats. These devices have a raised center portion for the bed leg, which is then surrounded by a moat you fill with water. Bed bugs can't cross the moat, so they won't be able to escape the bed and infest the rest of the home if they are brought into your house by accident.
Do you already have an infestation of bed bugs or suspect you do? Talk to a pest control company about bed bug extermination services today.
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