In this episode Jeff will discuss the concept of seat covers for bed bugs that are intended to be used in public places such as movie theaters, public transportation vehicles, etc…  Shortly after news stories starting airing about bed bugs being found in public places, different manufacturers starting releasing seat covers that you could place over a seat to protect yourself from bed bugs.  While this concept has some merit if the cover is made out of a smooth plastic, we have yet to see a cover that takes advantage of this concept.  Please keep in mind that no matter how good the seat cover is, it will not be 100% effective at preventing bed bugs from gaining access to you while sitting in a seat.  They are only intended to make it more difficult for the bed bug to access you while sitting in that seat.  Also, please keep in mind that even though bed bugs are being found in these public places, the chance that you actually encounter a bed bugs in a movie theater, etc… is still very slim.  These covers are more intended for people who are extremely concerned about bed bugs in public places and want to take every precaution possible to prevent bringing one home with them. 

In this episode Jeff will discuss a few easy steps you can take to help protect yourself from bed bugs in the office you work in. With the increase in bed bug infestations in residential homes, there has been an increase in bed bugs being reported in offices. In an office environment, someone is dealing with an infestation at home and bringing bed bugs into the office. The bugs walk off of their personal belongings or clothes and "infest" the work space. One step is to bring less personal items into the office which will decrease the chance bed bugs hitching a ride home with you. You can also seal your personal belongings in Ziploc bags or sealed Tupperware containers while working to protect those items from being infested. Lastly, you can launder your clothes in a hot wash and/or a hot dry cycle when you return home to kill any bed bugs or their eggs that may be on them. If you follow these few simple steps you should drastically reduce the chance that you take bed bugs home with you if they are found in your office.

In this episode Jeff will talk about how to avoid staying in a hotel room that is overly infested with bed bugs and how to avoid taking bed bugs home with you.  With bed bugs on the rise it is becoming more common to encounter bed bugs in hotels.  While a basic inspection of the headboard and box spring in the room may help you avoid staying in an overly infested room, it would be almost impossible to find a bed bug in a light infestation and therefore addressing your belongings when you return home is critical.  Simple steps such as bringing either dissolvable laundry bags or garbage bags to separate your clothes into launderable piles before you leave can reduce the chance that you introduce a bed bug into your home.  Also, knowing how to address your suitcase when you return is extremely important as bugs may have hitched a ride on the outside of the suitcase.  Follow these simple steps and you can drastically reduce the chance you take a bed bug home during your travels.

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BedBug Travel Protection

In this episode Jeff will discuss a new product on the market called the Bed Bug Patch.  This product claims to increase your repellency to bed bugs by placing a patch on your skin that releases Vitamin B1, or thiamine.  This vitamin has long been rumored to increase your repellency to insects by decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide that your body releases.  While research needs to be conducted on the theory of B1 as a bed bug repellent, previous studies on the topic have demonstrated that B1 is not an effective mosquito repellent and bed bugs are attracted to many of the same cues that mosquitoes respond to.  Therefore, the scientific findings that B1 is not an effective mosquito repellent makes us question the manufacturer of the Bed Bug Patch's claims that it will improve a humans repellency to bed bugs.  Based on studies showing that B1 is not an effective insect repellent, you should probably keep these studies in mind in regards to your expectations when purchasing this product until studies are completed to demonstrate otherwise.

In this episode, Jeff will discuss mattress and box spring encasements and the roles they play when dealing with bed bug infestations. Bed encasements play a critical role when dealing with bed bug infestations. The intention of encasements are to lock bed bugs inside of the encasements in an effort to make beds easier to treat and limit the amount of pesticide being applied to mattresses. In addition, encasements are designed to keep bugs out of the bedding to protect your bedding and limit bed bugs to the outside of the encasements. This can ease future inspections of the bedding because the encasement make bed bugs much easier to see. When shopping for encasements it is important to ask for research that backs the companies claim that they are effective for bed bugs. There have been encasement companies that say they are good for use with bed bugs but the encasement zipper fails to keep bed bugs inside the encasement. Encasements are a great option when dealing with bed bugs from both a proactive (protecting the bedding and making inspections easier) and reactive (assisting with treatment) perspective.

In this episode Jeff discusses the recent news articles on bed bugs being found in retail stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister and Victorias Secret and what you should do if you're concerned about encountering bugs in retail stores. Even though most of the information presented in this episode is in generalizations (from working with bed bugs for years I know anything is possible), the likelihood that you are going to encounter bed bugs in a retail store is extremely remote. Retail stores are not ideal environments for bed bugs as a host is not theoretically sleeping there nor sitting still long enough for bed bugs to feed. Therefore, if bugs are found in these environments, they were most likely introduced from either a shopper or employee that has a problem at home and bed bugs hitched a ride into these stores on a personal belonging. If you are still concerned about this possibility you just need to educate yourself on what bed bugs look like and how to inspect the items you purchase at these stores. You can also watch the Bed Bug TV episode on how to treat personal belongings ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LASW1c… ) for more information on options you have to proactively treat items that you are concerned about. Again, the chance you are going to encounter bed bugs in a retail store are slim due to the biology and behavior of bed bugs.

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In this episode Jeff will discuss BugZip encasements and the benefit they provide for people who travel.  BugZip encasements come in three different types:  luggage protectors, garment bags and dresser drawer liners.  These are all designed to prevent your personal belongings from becoming infested during your travels.  You can protect your belongings by placing them in these encasements while traveling and thus hopefully prevent bed bugs from being brought home with you.  Please be aware that this is not 100% guaranteed to prevent bed bugs from being brought home with you but will help you not bring bugs home.

In this episode Jeff will explain the areas on a couch you should inspect if you want to inspect your couch for bed bugs.  As information spreads about bed bug infestations on the rise, more and more people want to inspect their homes for bed bugs.  This episode will walk you through a couch inspection and the critical areas you should look if you want to inspect your couch for bed bugs.  You should consider inspecting your couch as a couch is one of the first and most common areas for bed bugs to infest.  Many people sleep on their couch and spend an excessive amount of time sitting on the couch and therefore, bed bugs prefer to be located on or in them.  Please be aware that a visual inspection can be unreliable when trying to detect low level infestations of bed bugs.  Therefore, if you perform an inspection and don't find any bed bugs, it does not necessarily mean you don't have bed bugs in your home.  A knowledgeable professional should always be contacted if you think you may have bed bugs.

In this episode Jeff will explain the areas on a bed you should inspect if you want to inspect your bed for bed bugs.  As information spreads about bed bug infestations on the rise, more and more people want to inspect their bed for bed bugs.  This episode will walk you through a bed inspection and the critical areas you should look if you want to inspect your bed for bed bugs.  Please be aware that a visual inspection can be unreliable when trying to detect low level infestations of bed bugs.  Therefore, if you perform an inspection and don’t find any bed bugs, it does not necessarily mean you don’t have bed bugs in your home.  A knowledgeable professional should always be contacted if you think you may have bed bugs.