What Places are Hot Spots for Bed Bugs?

Anyone and any place is vulnerable to a bed bug infestation. It doesn’t matter if your Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan home or business is big, small, clean, or dirty; bed bugs are hitchhikers and tend to make their way into the most unexpected places. Bed bugs are smaller than a grain of rice, and barely visible to the naked eye. Bed bugs can easily be unknowingly transported into your home or business. Preventing a bed bug infestation is a key goal of all home and business owners, so you should be aware of those places that are considered hot spots for bed bugs.

We’ve all heard about bed bugs in hotels, but did you know that they also hide and wait to catch a ride home with you in other common places? While bed bugs can be found just about anywhere, knowing common places that they can be picked up can help you to be extra vigilant to prevent bringing them into your home or business.

Top Hot Spots for Bed Bugs

The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and their Bugs Without Borders research provides insight into the top places where pest control companies encounter bed bugs.

  • Single-Family Homes: 91 percent
  • Apartments and Condominiums: 89 percent
  • Hotels/Motels: 68 percent
  • Nursing Homes: 59 percent
  • Schools and Day Care Centers: 47 percent
  • Office Buildings: 46 percent
  • College Dorms: 45 percent
  • Hospitals: 36 percent
  • Public Transportation (planes, trains, buses, rideshare): 19 percent

Bed bugs can easily be picked up when people are traveling or going about their daily routines. Bed bugs can also commonly be found at:

  • Public Libraries
  • Retail Stores
  • Movie Theaters
  • Places of Worship
  • Laundry Facilities
  • Consignment, Thrift Shops, and Yard/Garage Sales

Bed Bug Prevention

Basically, bed bugs can be found anywhere, and you need to be on the look out to ensure you don’t bring them into your Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan home or business. Knowing the hot spots for bed bugs can help you to know when you should take extra precautions to check for bed bugs.

Safeguards you can to do try to prevent bringing bed bugs home or to your business with you:

  • Inspect the mattress, headboard, and other furniture in a hotel room or other places that you are staying overnight. Look for dark brown spots or the bugs themselves.
  • Isolate your luggage and belongings from potential bed bug hiding spaces. If you can, keep your luggage in the bathroom and/or off the floor.
  • Examine belongings before bringing them into your home or business. Check clothing, inside book pages, gym bags, etc. to be sure you don’t have any stowaways.
  • Research places before you visit them to see if they have had reports of bed bugs in the past. Read reviews, but keep in mind, that like with all reviews, they are not always impartial, so use your best judgement.  
  • Avoid purchasing used upholstered items, including mattresses, couches and other furniture, as well as furniture with lots of crevices.

Treatment for a Bed Bug Infestation in Your Home or Business

While the best solution to a bed bug problem is to prevent bed bugs in your home or business, you may follow every step for prevention and still end up with a visit from these resilient pests.

Heat and thermal treatment for bed bug removal is an effective alternative to chemical treatments in Ohio and Michigan. Not only can this type of treatment be done in a matter of hours, one of its biggest benefits is its ability to kill bed bugs without using harsh chemicals.

At Delving Pest Control, we can treat both recently discovered and prolonged bed bug infestations. We use heat and thermal treatment for bed bug removal because it is the leading, proven way to rid your home or office space of bed bugs for good.

These pesky critters can be found anywhere, not just in the hot spots for bed bugs. Our experts at Delving Pest Control are here to help. Contact us today for a free estimate.