How to Protect Your College Student from Bed Bugs
College dorms can be dining halls for bed bugs. When you're helping your student get settled in for the school year, thoroughly inspect his or her dorm room, any furniture that was stored over the summer, and any used furniture that you may purchase for bed bugs and prior bug infestation. Since these critters are extremely resilient, adult bed bugs can live for a year or more without eating.
Related: How to Debug Your Home
What to Look for
Bed bugs: Adult bed bugs have flat, reddish-brown colored oval bodies about the size of an apple seed.
Blood spots and dark fecal stains: After feedings, the bugs will leave fecal spots of digested blood along seams and fabrics.
Where to Inspect
Inspect her mattress seams as well as her roommates'. Run your finger along the entire seam, checking for dark brown spots.
Check along the bed frame and, if possible, behind the headboard.
Look inside the dresser and desk drawers and don't forget the side facing the wall.
Examine stored furniture and used upholstered chairs along the seams and crevices.
Related: Get Rid of Insects and Pests
How to Protect their Belongings
Find out if the dormitory can supply a new mattress. There's nothing like removing the plastic from a mattress to give you piece of mind.
Use a mattress protector to prevent bed bugs from finding a comfy home, such as Aller-Ease Bed Bug Protection Bedding.
Make sure they know to launder bed linens and towel in the hottest water that's safe for the fabric and dry them on the highest setting.
For your other back-to-school needs, check out these 11 budget-friendly dorm room essentials.
How do you prepare your kids for the school year? Let me know in the comments!
- by Christina Peterson
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