How to keep bedbugs at bay

To prevent or limit bedbug infestations, the National Pest Management Assn. recommends that individuals:

• Take along a large plastic trash bag to hold suitcases during hotel stays.

Vacuum suitcases after returning from a vacation.

Check bed sheets in hotel rooms or at home for telltale brown or red spots or streaks.

Carry a small flashlight to inspect a hotel room before settling in.

Never bring secondhand furniture, especially mattresses and box springs, into a home unless it has been thoroughly examined.

Regularly inspect areas where pets sleep.

Bedbugs are elusive, hiding not only in beds but also in chair cushions, sofas, computers, TVs, radios, electrical outlets, drapes, cracks and crevices around baseboards, or even behind picture frames. Inspect those places as well.

Some professionals use propane heaters as part of their overall approach to treating bedbugs, but it is important to note that these are not the same types of heaters used for camping or outdoor cooking. Using such devices indoors produces carbon monoxide, the inhalation of which can be fatal.

For more information, go to pestworld.org, the association’s website.