Bed Bug

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs have extraordinarily small bodies with a brown camouflage, lay eggs everywhere, and are easily transferred, allowing them to infest entire homes and businesses. Bed bugs can be found in mattresses, bedding, clothing, furniture, and more. They are recognized by their musty odor, brown and black spots on infected surfaces, blood stains on mattresses and bedding from crushed bed bugs, or bite marks. Bed bug bites emit a burning sensation and generally are several red marks in a precise line.

Learn more about Bed Bugs

Ant

Ants

Carpenter ants are only one species of ants that could infest your home or business. They have large black bodies and typically nest in wood able to retain moisture and easily accessible from the soil like wood porch structures, window frames, and door frames. You have an infestation if you see swarms of flying ants in the spring around wood structures, these are the adult ants leaving the nest to find new territory. Another sign of a carpenter ant infestation is wood dust or small piles of wood shavings found close to older damp wood.

Cockroach

Roach

The American cockroach is the largest species of cockroach that invade homes. They have a reddish brown or mahogany color with a yellow band outlining the area behind their head. Found anywhere food or moisture is present, these cockroaches are about two inches long and both the females and males can fly. They give off a musty smell and as they mature become more reddish brown. These cockroaches will hide in damp dark places.

Wasp

Wasp

There are many species of wasps, ranging from microscopic to 1 ½” in size and ranging in color from black to metallic blues and greens and from reddish-brown to dark red and orange. Most wasps have a pinched waist and two pairs of wings. Wasps will nest in several places surrounding your home including hose reels, electrical boxes, soffits, decks, the corners of windows, under awnings and porches, attics, crawl spaces, and gas grills. If you have a colony of wasps, there could be thousands of wasps living in the nest.

Mice, Chipmunk & Rat

Rodent

Rodents are among the most adaptable and diseased critters to infest homes. They are extremely difficult to exterminate due to their rapid and constant breeding habits. Several species of rodents have the capability to squeeze into spaces much smaller than themselves, making even the smallest holes or cracks entrances to your home. Like many unwanted pests, rodents will cause severe damage to your home or business, and excessive chewing and breeding will take a toll on your home’s structure.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs have extraordinarily small bodies with a brown camouflage, lay eggs everywhere, and are easily transferred, allowing them to infest entire homes and businesses. Bed bugs can be found in mattresses, bedding, clothing, furniture, and more. They are recognized by their musty odor, brown and black spots on infected surfaces, blood stains on mattresses and bedding from crushed bed bugs, or bite marks. Bed bug bites emit a burning sensation and generally are several red marks in a precise line.

Learn more about Bed Bugs

Ants

Carpenter ants are only one species of ants that could infest your home or business. They have large black bodies and typically nest in wood able to retain moisture and easily accessible from the soil like wood porch structures, window frames, and door frames. You have an infestation if you see swarms of flying ants in the spring around wood structures, these are the adult ants leaving the nest to find new territory. Another sign of a carpenter ant infestation is wood dust or small piles of wood shavings found close to older damp wood.

Roach

The American cockroach is the largest species of cockroach that invade homes. They have a reddish brown or mahogany color with a yellow band outlining the area behind their head. Found anywhere food or moisture is present, these cockroaches are about two inches long and both the females and males can fly. They give off a musty smell and as they mature become more reddish brown. These cockroaches will hide in damp dark places.

Wasp

There are many species of wasps, ranging from microscopic to 1 ½” in size and ranging in color from black to metallic blues and greens and from reddish-brown to dark red and orange. Most wasps have a pinched waist and two pairs of wings. Wasps will nest in several places surrounding your home including hose reels, electrical boxes, soffits, decks, the corners of windows, under awnings and porches, attics, crawl spaces, and gas grills. If you have a colony of wasps, there could be thousands of wasps living in the nest.

Rodent

Rodents are among the most adaptable and diseased critters to infest homes. They are extremely difficult to exterminate due to their rapid and constant breeding habits. Several species of rodents have the capability to squeeze into spaces much smaller than themselves, making even the smallest holes or cracks entrances to your home. Like many unwanted pests, rodents will cause severe damage to your home or business, and excessive chewing and breeding will take a toll on your home’s structure.

Bed Bug Traveling Tips

Summer is a popular time for travel, and we don’t mean just for human beings. Bed bugs travel just about everywhere people are traveling these days.

Bedbug LuggageAvoiding Bed Bugs in Hotels:

  • Put luggage in bathroom when you arrive
  • Smell around bed area for musty scent—indicator of bed bugs
  • Check bed sheets for tiny brown stains—fecal matter or blood
  • Check mattress for any tiny exoskeletons
  • Keep clothing and luggage away from the bed—in a closet or dresser is best

What to do if you find Bed Bugs in your Hotel

The first thing you need to do when you find bed bugs in your hotel is document the evidence. Make sure you take pictures of the soiled mattresses, any marks on your body, etc. Also, make sure you get acknowledgment from the hotel management about the situation. Document any clothing that needs to be tossed or any other items from your luggage you need to discard as a result of the bed bugs.

If you are traveling in Wisconsin and find bedbugs in your hotel room, be aware that the hotel can be held legally responsible for any damages caused by the bedbugs. Wis. Adm. Code s DHS 190.08 requires institutions to take all necessary measures to eradicate bed bug and pest infestations. Yet, some institutions fail to follow these guidelines, and patrons end up with bedbugs when they go home after vacationing.

Not all states have laws about bedbugs, and there are no national laws concerning bedbugs, either. States with bedbug laws (as of 2015) include:

  • Alabama
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Dakota
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin

Map of states with laws on bedbugs

Going Home—Bed Bugs after Traveling

Upon encountering bedbugs in your hotel, hostel, motel, or wherever you stay on vacation, ask for a garbage bag to stuff your clothes into. Make sure the bag is tightly sealed, so no additional critters can get in there. When you get home, wash your clothes on the highest temperature setting possible, and dry them for at least 30 minutes on the highest setting your dryer has. The heat should kill any bedbugs and their eggs that may have gotten on your clothing.