The risk of coming into contact with bed bugs while traveling is serious enough that we think everyone should be aware of a few tips, especially during the summer travel season. For parents, this includes sending your kids off to summer camp. 
Bed bugs are parasitic pests that feed on a host (like you and me). They prefer to stay in tight spaces like the seams of a mattress or crevices in a bed frame, but when a host is stationary (usually sleeping), they come out to feed.
If your child is heading off to summer camp, here are five helpful tips to prevent bed bug bites and transporting them back to your Massachusetts home.
- Ask the camp if they have had any confirmed cases of bed bugs in the past year, and if so, what steps were taken to resolve the problem.
- Inquire if the camp uses bed bug covers on mattresses.
- Do a quick visual inspection of the mattress and bed frame when you drop your child off. Look for live (or dead) beg bugs, their casings, or spotting they may have left behind.
- When camp is over, inspect your child's luggage, especially in the seams. This is a common way these parasites hitch a ride to your home.
- Tell your child to be vigilant about getting any bites that are itchy or cause a rash. This same general advice is also a good reminder about ticks.
Confirmed cases of bed bugs in Massachusetts remains high. While we never want parents to be paranoid about bed bug bites, we do want you to be vigilant, especially when it comes to your kids and summer camp. Burgess Pest Management is here to answer any questions you may have or offer you more advice.
As the old Benjamin Franklin axiom goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. For Massachusetts bed bug control, that couldn't be truer.
