Bed bugs can get into your home in various ways. The insects may travel on a visitor’s clothing or a piece of furniture. They are so small it is easy for them to go unnoticed. While knowing how the bugs get inside your home is important for prevention, most people only want to know how to get rid of bed bugs once they have them.

Common Ways Bed Bugs Enter Your Property

Bed bugs are tiny insects; adults are roughly the size of an apple seed. They are usually flat-bodied, but after feeding on the blood of an animal or human host, they become more round and appear larger. Still, the insect’s flat state makes it challenging to see them, especially if you don’t know you should be looking for them. For most people, infestations begin after bed bugs enter their home in one of three ways.

1. Arrived in Your Luggage

While it is often easy to maintain a clean and organized household, when you travel, it is hard to know the sanitary conditions of every location or means of transport. Many bed bug infestations stem from an affected piece of luggage. Perhaps you placed an open suitcase on the floor of your hotel room or left it unattended on an old sofa.

Once the insects get into your luggage, they can ride safely into your house, waiting for you to unpack. The bugs can last anywhere from 20 days to over a year without feeding, so even if you leave your suitcase sealed and unpacked, the bugs can be waiting.

2. Hitchhiked on Your Person

While not quite the same as hitchhiking, bed bugs can stow away on your clothing or personal effects to get inside your home. Unlike many insects, bed bugs do not have wings, so they cannot fly, which means they must crawl everywhere they go. 

If they “hitch a ride” on someone, it likely means the insects crawl into a coat, pocket, or crease in clothing. They might also crawl onto and into shoes, purses, scarves, etc. To avoid bringing hitchhikers into your home, you must ensure your clothing and personal belongings are free of bed bugs before entering your property.

If you are coming from a place known to have bed bugs or somewhere where bed bugs are a strong possibility, stop off at a laundromat and wash your clothing and belonging in a high-heat setting. The heat kills the insects instantaneously.

3. Came With the Secondhand Furniture

While most secondhand furniture dealers will steam-clean merchandise before offering it for sale, you can never be too careful. Also, sometimes, you spot the perfect chair or sofa for your tiny apartment on the side of the road, but it’s usually best not to risk bringing unknown pieces of furniture into your home. 

Minor bed bug problems might only involve a mattress or rug. More severe issues will affect entire rooms or buildings. In either case, bed bugs are sneaky creatures, and knowing when you successfully eliminate the population is challenging. 

Contact Truly Nolen Canada, pest control services in Toronto, to discuss treatment options and schedule a property assessment. The company will send a team to assess the severity of the infestation and offer solution options.