Something To Watch Out For With Bed Bugs

Something I’ve noticed while going to spray in condominium communities, or even going to visit friends in apartments is furniture by dumpsters.  Instead of properly disposing of mattresses and sofas, people sometimes just leave these items against the dumpster.  This is a perfect example of how bed bugs can be brought into a home.  People leave these things out, and an unsuspecting person might think the items are just up for grabs, which is not always the case.  First off, I would not recommend grabbing anything left out near a dumpster because you don’t know where it’s been, but also because it could potentially have bed bugs.  It’s aggravating to me when I see a mattress that clearly has bed bugs on it (you can tell by the almost coffee ground looking fecal stains) and there is no sign stating “do not take this mattress/couch” or something along the lines of that.  Of course, I’ve never actually seen any kind of furniture with a sign like that, but it would be a decent thing for someone to let others know that the couch or mattress is infested.

I’ve read and heard the horror stories about people picking up bed bugs from second hand furniture, and these pests are terrible to deal with, and hard to get rid of.  If you decide to purchase “pre-owned” furniture, I definitely recommend you do a thorough inspection of the whole thing because you never know what could be hiding!