Hundreds of businesses in the Austin area face bed bug infestations every year. Few things are more apt to drive your customers away from your doors than the words "bed bug infestation." These insects can settle in the bedding in your hotel, upholstery in your restaurant, or office chairs, and wait up to a year until a suitable blood donor comes along. The damage they can do to your business's reputation and bottom line can truly be shattering.
Let's take a closer look at what bed bugs are, how to prevent bed bugs from infesting your establishment, and how to get rid of bed bugs with quality pest control in Austin.
Bed Bugs Can Be Hard To Identify
Bed bugs in Austin can be tough to identify because they are small and adept at staying out of sight. Bed bugs are nocturnal and hide during the day, coming out at night to feed. Bed bug bites can go unnoticed for weeks thanks to the natural local anesthesia they apply when piercing the skin, similar to mosquitoes.
Watch for these telltale signs of a bed bug bite:
- Localized swelling and redness
- An itching and burning sensation that can be delayed for up to a week
- Bites arranged in straight lines or clusters
If you suspect that bed bugs have bitten you, your employees, or your customers, thoroughly check the area for bed bugs. This includes looking for bed bug eggs and small, dark stains on bedding or upholstery.
How Do Bed Bug Infestations Spread?
Bed bugs usually don't travel far on their own, but, over the millennia, they've adapted to hitchhiking on temporary hosts, clothing, luggage, and just about anything they can attach to that will get them to an environment with a good food source and a place to lay eggs.
The following are some ways bed bugs can hitchhike into your commercial property:
- Suitcases and briefcases
- Used clothing not washed properly
- Secondhand furniture and floor rugs
- Movie theater or airplane seats
- Shared laundry tables
- Used books or library books
In the age of extreme mobility, we travel much more, and that helps facilitate the spread of bed bugs.
DIY Bed Bug Control Is A Waste Of Time And Money
Keeping bed bugs out of your business is not easy. They hide places you would not think anything could get into: the inside of mattresses, phones, or the joints in a bed frame.
They can withstand temperatures up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, survive freezing weather, and squeeze through a crack smaller than 1/8 inch.
A single bed bug can lay 7 to 12 eggs a day. Unlike most bugs with relatively short lifespans, bed bugs can live for over a year. That's over 4,000 eggs from one single bed bug that managed to hitchhike on your shoes or purse.
A single bed bug missed during a DIY stint with some store-bought spray can wait over a year to start another colony. This is enough to make all your DIY efforts futile.
The Best Way To Completely Get Rid Of Bed Bugs In Your Business
An experienced commercial pest control professional will know where to look for eggs and errant bed bugs and make sure your business is bed bug-free and stays that way. If your Austin business has a bed bug infestation, call Roberts Termite & Pest Control. We are a family-owned business with over three decades of pest control experience. Call today for a free bed bug control estimate.