Coming Soon to a Bed Near You – Bed Bugs Are on the Rise!
Bed bugs can show up anywhere-and they are. There is some debate about the “why” but generally this surge of bed bugs for the first time in 50 years is attributed to international travel, immigration and that the EPA banned products that used to work on bed bugs.. They’re now found in hotels, retail stores, movie theaters, wherever people go– no place is off limits. They hitch a ride whenever they get the chance and you can unknowingly bring them into your home. Since their source of food is either you or your pets’ blood they soon make their way to those areas where they can come out at night and have their feast-in your bed or Fido’s bed.
Not to be confused with dust mites which cannot be seen with the naked eye, bed bugs will usually be found in your mattress and foundation or within 15 feet of your bed according to studies. Some companies may say that bed bugs cannot live in a latex mattress and that is absolutely FALSE. Bedbugs live anywhere they can find a live host. While you can visually see them as little black specks, and can see evidence of them from their excretions, you cannot see their eggs or young….they are microscopic.
It ‘s a wise idea as a preventive measure to encase your latex mattress with a zippered cover that is tightly woven to prevent the mattress from harboring bed bugs. This protective bedding works by encasing your entire mattress and preventing any infestation from occurring. If bed bugs are already present the bugs will be eradicated over time because the mattress is sealed. It will take at least one year in a sealed encasement for all the bed bugs to die! This fact alone might be an incentive to take preventive measures ahead of time. Likewise, your foundation and pillows should be encased as well. While a bed bug bite isn’t life threatening many people are affected by the bites or rash and need to apply a topical cream to counteract the skin reaction. Living with these critters is more than annoying.
Bed bugs are flat, as thin as the width of a sheet of paper or credit card. They move from bed to bed quite fast in your home and can be a major problem. They are black and visible to the naked eye, the size of a flattened apple seed. Their color changes when they have engorged on blood. They avoid light and come out at night most often but if they are hungry they’ll venture out and get their meal from a person sitting in a computer chair in broad daylight.
The look of their bite can vary. It generally looks like a white or red welt. If they bite the vein you may have one bite. Other times there may be a series of bites where they searched for food or as they were biting they may have been interrupted by your movements which caused them to start over. Bedbugs are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide. You can have two people in the same bed bitten by the bug and one has a reaction and the other doesn’t.
How they arrive? Any place that harbors bed bugs can be a place where they hide and become the secret traveler. You visit a hotel and toss your suitcase on the floor or on the bed. You buy some second hand furniture or pick up items at a garage sale. Your college kids drag their bags home from the dorm. They’re showing up in movie theaters, health clubs, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Where they hide? Since they avoid light if they haven’t burrowed into your mattress or found a spot under your bed frame they will hide behind your baseboard at the head of your bed, in nightstand drawers, electrical sockets, light fixtures, soft cushioned chairs and sofas or on your walls behind pictures. Although they’re usually concentrated in a small area in the home that can change.
How to combat? Number one is always prevention by encasing your mattress, foundation and pillows. Additionally, inspect and vacuum thoroughly all areas around your bed. Wash all of your bed linen in very hot water. Dry your linen twice. If you discover them in your bed don’t go to another bed as this can spread them fast. There are chemical sprays of course and pest control companies with a variety of remedies from sprays to powders to heat treatment machines.
Remember this…..prevention is always the best medicine!
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If you’d like more information on the Protective Mattress Foundation and Pillow Encasements go to sleepez.com. Please visit our website today http://www.sleepez.com to view in depth information in our LATEX MATTRESS CONSUMER BUYING GUIDE. You’ll find a complete explanation to all your questions on the different types of latex. Sleep E-Z is a third generation mattress manufacturer. We have 35 years of experience behind us. We introduced latex mattresses into our line early on because we realized all the benefits of latex. We offer a complete line of latex mattresses. |
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lended latex is the most perfect product in terms of visual perfection, consistency of firmnesses, range of firmnesses (from ultra soft to super firm), and durability. For the past 40 years it has been deemed the best and we as mattress manufacturers have paid a premium to put it into a mattress.
The picture on left is of latex mattress core from the inside when sliced into two layers. This component is perfect in every way as far as its intended use inside a mattress, for support and comfort.
Photo to left is another raw all natural latex core manufactured using the dunlop process. This core was produced in queen size mold, thereby eliminating any fabrication or glue seam. Some latex core manufacturers have cores in the various finished mattress sizes, but the most common size is twin XL. Glue seams are to be considered a part of the manufacturing process and in no way make the latex core better because it does not have a glue seam.
Two twin XL latex cores side by side showing slight discolorations and minor voids. In some cases a latex core will come thrugh production with larger than accepatable voids, or large bubble holes. At this point in the production the core will be pulled aside and manually repaired by adding the same firmness of liquid latex to fill the void.
