Expert Offers Summer Vacationers Travel Tips for Keeping Bed Bugs Out of Your Home

  When travelers begin heading home next week from summer vacations, they may be bringing back more than great memories. Hidden in their luggage and other belongings may be bed bugs.

Largely eradicated in the developed world in the early 1940s, bed bugs are making a comeback invading homes, hotels, businesses, college dorms and retail stores. The resurgence in bed bugs has been attributed to a number of factors including the lack of potent pesticides and the increased ease of international travel.

“One of the main reasons why bed bugs are back is that people are unwittingly bringing them into their homes in their luggage. Fortunately, this can be avoided by taking some simple steps before and after you travel,” said Seth Tokson,  co-owner of Top Dog Scent Detection of Armonk. NY.

Mr. Tokson’s family owned company, which he operates with his wife Marcia, uses a specially trained dog named Trace to accurately identify sites of bed bug activity. Trace, a lab/pointer mix, graduated with more than 800 hours of bed bug scent detection training from the renowned Florida Canine Academy.

Mr. Tokson, who has been in the pest control business for over three decades, recommends the following travel tips for keeping bed bugs out of your home:

• Inspect your hotel room before you start unpacking. Look around the headboard and mattresses for evidence of spotting and/or actual bed bugs. Check night table and dresser drawers.
• Bring a large, black plastic bag with you when you travel.  When you pack to come home put all of your clothes in this bag inside your suitcase.
• Keep your toiletries in a sealed Ziplock bag when you’re not using them.
• When you arrive home, leave your suitcase outside. Take out the plastic bag and immediately run your clothes through the dryer.
• Inspect your luggage for any evidence of bed bugs. Better yet, let Top Dog inspect your suitcases before you bring them into your house!

“Taking these simple steps when you travel can save you the emotional and financial pain of ridding your home of these insidious pests,” said Mr. Tokson.

For more specific information on how to prevent bringing bed bugs into your home from a trip contact Top Dog Scent Detection at (914) 219-5635 or visitwww.bed-bug-sleuth.com