bedbugcentralLawrenceville, NJ – August 20, 2013 – With bed bug populations on the rise, protecting your home and family from bed bugs has become a growing concern among parents, especially as they prepare to send their children back to school. Bed bug sightings have increased dramatically in recent years in public places frequented by students including libraries, movie theaters, and malls. As parents prepare for another school year, there’s one routine they should add to their daily repertoire – checking their child’s backpack and other school items for bed bugs.

Suggested tips for checking for bed bugs:

  • Store backpacks and other big items in Tupperware containers.
  • Use Ziploc bags for smaller school items such as lunch boxes.
  • Dissolvable Laundry Bags are great for parents with grade school or college age children, this helps to isolate clothing until they are able to be laundered.
  • Interception devices are one of the most cost effective ways to keep an eye out for bed bugs.
  • Bed encasements is another way to further protect your home and provide you with the ability to detect infestations early on.
  • Portable heating devices, which heat treat items that can’t be laundered can be an advanced form of protection against bed bugs.
  • For more tips  on staying bed bug free, BedBug Central has released a free guide for back to school. Click here for the grade school and college editions.

“With bed bug reports in public setting on the rise, parents should be aware that, although unlikely, bed bugs can be found in schools and there is little a school can do to prevent this from happening,” says Jeff White, Technical Director at BedBug Central & host of BedBugTV, an online podcast.  “Therefore knowing what bed bugs look like and what you can do to reduce the chances bed bugs are brought home with your child is an important step in the bed bug prevention process.”

White just finished filming two new BedBug TV episodes bed bugs in schools – grade school, and bed bugs in schools – college, where he discusses a few easy steps anyone can take to reduce their chances of bringing bed bugs home or into your dorm.

One popular myth is that bed bugs prefer unsanitary, urban conditions. Bed bugs are nondiscriminatory and can be found anywhere from prestigious private schools, state universities to inner city schools.  With more and more schools reporting bed bug outbreaks each year, it’s important for parents to be aware and know it’s extremely simple for these pests to hitchhike a ride home with your child.

BedBug Central, the nation’s leading source for bed bug information wants to make sure that parents are armed and ready to protect their kids and their homes from bed bugs this school year. When it comes to these pests you can never be too careful or know too much, your best line of defense is knowledge.  For more information on bed bugs, including images and research tools, visit www.bedbugcentral.com.

 

Helpful links:

BedBug Central: www.bedbugcentral.com

BedBug TV: http://bedbugcentral.com/tv/

Jeff White: http://bedbugcentral.com/company/jeff-white

LIVEbedbugFREE – back to school guide:  www.bedbugcentral.com/bedbugfree/bed-bugs-in-schools

Bed Bugs 101: http://bedbugcentral.com/bedbugs101/

 

About BedBug Central:

BedBug Central serves as the nation’s leading source for bed bug information and bed bug related issues concerning health, prevention, and treatment methods. The veracity and strength of the information presented comes from their on-staff entomologists that continue to perform research and develop bed bug treatment protocols.