Category: Bed Bugs

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How to Protect Against Bed Bugs

If you read the newspaper or turn on the TV you have seen reports about bed bugs. If you are like most people, you are wondering what you can do to protect against bed bugs. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you don’t end up fighting the bed bug battle.  Bed bugs are not dust mites.  They are very small but are visible to the naked eye.  They look a little like a very small tick.  If you wake up with bites or see small red or brown blotches on your sheets, you might have bed bugs.

Protect Against Bed Bugs that Come Home from College

When your kids return home from college, make sure their bags go into the garage and the contents go from the garage straight to the washing machine.  Every year we hear from families who find out that their kids are getting much more than an education at college.  Check the empty luggage thoroughly for bed bugs. Consider sending your student back to dorm life with a cover for their mattress, just as an added protection.

 Protect Against Bed Bugs That Come Home from Travels

You want to follow this same routine when you travel yourself.  Speaking of traveling, when you are in a hotel or motel, do not put your luggage on the floor or bed EVER.  Always place it on a table on the bathroom counter, or even in the bathtub.  Make it difficult to pick up any hitchhikers that may be in the room.  If you rent a car, put your luggage in the backseat.  You have a great chance of picking up bed bugs in the trunk, since that is where most people stow their bags.

Protect Against Bed Bugs at Home

At home, using plain cotton sheets will allow you to see any signs of bed bugs.  Also, encase your bed in special bed bug mattress covers.  This goes for the mattress, boxspring, and all pillows on the bed.  These special bed bug covers will keep the bugs from making a home in your bed.  Make sure you buy covers from a company that is willing to show you independent test results like the ones you see by clicking here.

Some people swear by placing your bed on risers and coating the risers with Vaseline or oil.  I understand the concept of making the area too slick for the bugs to climb up, but as a person with dust mite allergies, I personally don’t recommend anything that increases the amount of dust around your bed.  I believe that the best defense is a good offense, and by being careful about what makes it into your house you can protect yourself.

If you live in an apartment or attached dwelling such as a townhouse, you want to make sure that all areas between your unit and your neighbor’s unit are sealed.  Get out the caulk gun and be sure to seal around walls, baseboards, electrical outlets and such.

 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of expensive exterminating.
Til next time!

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Do You Need To Cover All Pillows

A lovely young couple was in the store last week.  He had just been diagnosed with allergy to dust mites.  The doctor had sent them to us right away with instructions for allergy-proofing their bedroom.

They were on a tight budget (aren’t we all) and were looking to spend where they would get the most bang for their buck.

He asked why it was necessary to cover all pillows on the bed with a dust mite proof pillow cover, not just the one he slept on.  It is a very common question.  I mean if you aren’t sleeping on it why must it be covered?  Why do you have to cover all pillows to get allergy relief?

In order to answer the question, you have to understand how you are exposed to dust mites.  These microscopic creatures and their feces are in your mattress, pillow, and comforters.  Every time someone moves on the bed, a cloud of microscopic particles is blown into the air and the allergic person inhales these particles.  So, if person A (the person with allergies) is laying in bed with their covered pillow and person B is laying on the bed with a pillow that is not covered, every time person B moves, they will send up a cloud of particles that will rain down on person A.  Person A is not protected from B’s allergens.

The other scenario is that you sleep on two or more pillows.  If you only cover the pillow on which you lay your head, every time you move your head the other pillows release their cloud, right there by your head.

What I recommended to this couple was something I do myself.   The pillows that are used to cradle the head are the pillows where you put the most expensive and comfortable covers.  For example, if you have 6 pillows on the bed (1 for each person’s head, 1 to go under each person’s sleeping pillow, and 2 for decorative shams) then the pillows that are used for sleeping should have a microweave pillow encasement made from Pristine Luxury or AllergCare Cotton.  The other pillows can be encased with coated fabrics like the Bed Bug Solution fabric, which are totally effective just less expensive.  That way you can cover all pillows and stretch your allergy control dollar.

Just another way to get the protection you need without spending more than you need.

Til Next Time
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Is Summer B in Your Schedule?

If you have now or ever had a college student in your family, you know all about the Summer B term. Summer B is the term just before the fall term. Some freshmen get a jump start by beginning in Summer B. It allows them to take a few classes and adjust to life on campus before the craziness of the full Fall semester begins.

Some Honors College students are required to take Summer B and many athletic programs require their students to be on campus for Summer B.  No matter what the reason if you have a Summer B student, you have to start thinking back to school 6 weeks before the rest of the country.

So, for you Summer B crowd, let’s review the off-to-college basics.

Expect your student to get more colds. They will be living in close proximity to other people and other people’s germs.  They are immune to the ones at home…this is a whole environment.  Also, most college students don’t eat a proper diet and don’t get the recommended amount of rest.

All of this takes a toll on the immune system. Anytime the immune system is compromised, allergies and asthma can flare up also.  So, make sure they have tissues and know what to do when they get a cold. Some college health clinics even sell a “my first cold kit” that has everything from a cup of chicken soup to tissues and cough drops!

You invested time and effort in making sure your teen’s room is free from dust mites and bed bugs. While you can’t export the entire room off to college, you can make sure they are protected.  Find out in advance what size mattress the room will have.  For years the standard dorm bed was a long twin, but as dorms are remodeled, many are switching to full size.

You don’t have to wonder if the mattress will be extra deep or a pillow-top…it won’t be!  If you want to add some extra padding or cushion, get them an egg crate or foam topper.  Be sure to put this under the zippered mattress encasing.

And speaking of zippered mattress covers, you want one that will be bed bug-proof and allergy-proof.  We recommend the Bed Bug Cover for complete protection which is also inexpensive.  Don’t forget to send along a zippered allergy-proof pillow cover or two.  Remind them to wash the sheets weekly, but don’t be surprised when they aren’t.  It is just the way it is.

If you are thinking about an air cleaner, the Austin Air HealthMate Junior is the perfect size for a dorm room. It is well built and sturdy, and even if your student graduates on the 5-year plan, they won’t need a filter change for the entire 5 years!

As the parent of a Summer B student, you get a jump on the crowd preparing for back to school.  When they are going crazy in August, you can sit back and chuckle knowing that you have been there and done that!

Til Next Time!
Cheryl
The Allergy Store