That’s another thing the Europeans thrust on the Natives of this fair land. Before the explorers came to North America, there were no such things as bed bugs biting the people who lived here before we dropped in.

Thank the early colonists. When you go back and read the history of our invasions, there were some pretty bad blood suckers that infected the New World explorers.

Indian villages. Nada.

Sailing With Bed Bugs

You think it’s bad when you read an occasional horror story about a cruise gone wrong. Trust us, it could be much, much worse. The ancient sailing ships were jam-packed with these vicious little creatures. It got so dreadful that some captains refused passengers from bringing their own bedding on the vessel.

In the early part of the last century, you’d rarely find a person who hadn’t encountered a bed bug in one-way or-another. Either they had seen a family of the monsters or had been bitten. As a matter of fact, these things were the top three trouble-makers in known civilization.

Public enemy number one had taken-over about one-third of all residences. If you lived in the poorer part of town, there was no escaping from bed bugs.

They’re Baaaack!

That’s why it’s so critical if you head out to a big city on vacation or a business trip, you might be opening-up yourself and your family to bed bugs when you come home. Take a look at the following places that are currently plagued with severe infestations:

• New York City
• Philadelphia
• Detroit
• Cincinnati
• Chicago

In the last decade alone, bed bug calls to pest control companies have tripled, according to a survey by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky. And they’re not just showing up in bedding. Bed bugs are branching-out. We’re now finding them in movie theaters, stores, workplaces and lots of other public spaces.

Be an Inspector

We wrote about this before but it’s worth repeating.

After every trip you take, don’t unpack inside the house. Do that on a back deck, far away from any structure. Inspect everything as you pull it from your suitcase or backpack. Check-out what you’re wearing, too. These critters might try to hitch a ride on your shirt, socks, pants, hats and the like.

Strategies

Stick any suspected items in a plastic garbage bag until you can exterminate the bed bugs.

Best bet would be to tie the bags, go to a local cleaner, tell them you suspect bed bugs and let them do the disinfecting. Extreme cold will likewise kill these bugs.

This might be one of the times you call Vulcan Termite and Pest Control, Inc. Doing it yourself and getting it wrong will cost you much more, and when they return, because you failed to do it correctly the first-time around, there’s more greenbacks you’re throwing down the spider (or in this case, bed bug) hole.

Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/garden-pest-control/how-did-bed-bugs-get-to-the-new-world

Image Source: cruisecritic.com