muirford
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This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.InnCaring said:This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
Riki
.This is the online store where I found mine. I used the vinyl covers for both the mattress and box springs, then featherbeds on top and the breathable waterproof mattress covers over those. To avoid having the crinkling noise you get with the vinyl if it's too close to the sleeping surface. It's still going to run about $100-$125 per bed but that's a lot less than a new mattress. Don't forget the bed-wetting story we had last year - https://www.innspiring.com/node/853.egoodell said:Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
.Thanks, I'll check it. We already have the non-noisy waterproof covers. Do I put the bedbug ones over them?muirford said:This is the online store where I found mine. I used the vinyl covers for both the mattress and box springs, then featherbeds on top and the breathable waterproof mattress covers over those. To avoid having the crinkling noise you get with the vinyl if it's too close to the sleeping surface. It's still going to run about $100-$125 per bed but that's a lot less than a new mattress. Don't forget the bed-wetting story we had last year - https://www.innspiring.com/node/853.egoodell said:Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
Riki
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I put the bedbug ones over the mattress and box springs first, then everything else on top. It's vinyl encasements, then featherbeds, then waterproof mattress covers, then sheets.egoodell said:Thanks, I'll check it. We already have the non-noisy waterproof covers. Do I put the bedbug ones over them?