Giveaway: 12 Things That You Need To Know About Bedbugs

This post is sponsored by Mom It Forward and Orkin. All opinions expressed are my own .

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things That You Need To Know About Bedbugs

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being invited to learn all about spring time pests with Orkin. Dr. Ron Harrison was the speaker at this event. He shared some great events with a group of bloggers and I. I’m not going to lie I thought that this event was going to be pretty boring. I was so wrong. Dr. Harrison was very entertaining while sharing some very informative information about bugs. Did you know that ladybug beetles bite? How about that if you can heal a fire ant bite faster if you immediately squeeze out the poison from a bite? No? Me either until Dr. Harrison told me. I mean we really gained so much knowledge about bugs from listening to him. He talked about the kudzu bugs and how they mainly feed on kudzu and soy beans. He also talked about the foul smell they let out when they are disturbed. Picture of Dr. Harrison and I:

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things You Need To Know About Bedbugs

After educating us things got even more exciting when we were given a tour of their training facility called Rollins Learning Center where Orkin has been training their employees for years. We walked through a mock restaurant kitchen, hospital room, grocery store, bathroom, locker room, roof top, and hotel room. We even walked through a mock house, the kind that you’d see termite traps (like those from https://d-tec.com.au/contact/) in if things were going awry.

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things You Need To Know About Bedbug

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things You Need To Know About Bedbugs

All of this was just so cool. What really peaked my interests about the whole thing was what Dr. Harrison had to say about bedbugs. There was so much I didn’t know about them. So I figured that if I didn’t know others may not know either so here are 12 things that I learned about bedbugs:

• Bedbugs do not have any transmissible diseases like mosquitos and ticks.
• Bedbugs are nocturnal.
• Bedbugs are most active between the hours of 12a.m.-5a.m. in the morning.
• Bedbugs only feed on blood.
• Bedbugs do not like heat.
• Bedbugs are attracted to 3 things CO2, heat, and body odor.
• Bedbugs fecal matter looks like black ink.
• Bedbugs can live up to 6 months without blood.
• Female bedbugs will lay about 100 eggs in their lifetime.
• Female bedbugs have to have a blood feed for every 10 eggs they lay.
• Female bedbugs only have to mate once.
• Bedbugs can die after being exposed to heat 122 degrees or higher.

Do all these facts creep you out as much as they did me when I first heard them? The fact that they don’t transmit any diseases does not make me any happier about them suck on me for food. I would much matter keep my blood. While listening to Dr. Harrison talk to us about the bedbugs we were able to get up close and personal with them. Some of us closer than others. One blogger actually let a bedbug feed off of her. It was so weird.

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things You Need To Know About Bedbugs

Here is a video of a bedbug feeding off a fellow blogger: https://instagram.com/p/078I7osK6S/?taken-by=mrs_kglalalandmommy. I however do not want such a thing to happen to me. I will now be making sure that I have multiple ways of identifying and getting rid of these bugs. One such way that was surprising to find out is that dogs can actually sniff out and detect beg bugs. You can even find bed bug dog inspection in NYC of all places. Obviously, you ideally want to minimize the chances of having them in your house in the first place. Here are some ways that you can minimize your chances of bringing home any bedbugs from your next business trip or vacation:

• Inspect your hotel room. Check around the edges of the mattress, headboard, paintings, and sheets. Any signs of black ink like stains there are some critters in the room.
• Immediately put your dirty clothes in sealed bags.
• Do not put your clothes in the hotel drawers basically live out of your suitcase.
• Don’t leave your suitcase on the ground.
• Place your suitcase in a bag and inside the bathtub if possible. Bedbugs are less likely to go to those areas.
• When you go home either immediately wash and dry your clothes or place them immediately in the dryer.
• When you get home place your suitcase in the attic, garage, or anywhere that is away from your sleeping area.

Following these tips can save you a bunch of money in treating your home for a bedbug infestation. If you do need help with your spring pest needs contact Orkin. They specialize in all pests. There could be chances that the land around your home, like the garden or the backyard, is a breeding ground for other pests as well, so you might want to consider reaching out to a perimeter pest control service provider to take care of the problem before it becomes an overbearing situation.

If you bought a new home for yourself, there is a good chance you did not get a home inspection, which is why this situation occurred. Since these bugs come from infested areas or used furniture, the situation might have been avoided had you been more conscientious about home inspection before buying a home. The bugs can get into luggage, purses, backpacks, and other items that are placed on soft or upholstered surfaces. Anyway, if you already have them, call pest control to put an end to your misery.

Below you will find a check list of ways to prevent pest from taking over your home:

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things You Need To Know About Bedbugs

One way you can protect your pillows from being infected by pest is to put them in a protective cover. I can help you get started with that. I am giving away a pillow encasement. Enter below for your chance to win:

La La Land Mommy: 12 Things You Need To Know About Bedbugs

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