If you rent out a room in your home or an entire home for short-term stays, bed bugs are likely a concern. You want your paying guests to be comfortable but you also must be wary of the pests they may accidentally bring with them during their visit.
Bed Protection Measures
The bed is the main conduit of bed bugs in any rental room. If the pests are in a guest's clothing or coat, they can spread to the bed when they lay down or throw some clothing onto the bed. Before you know it, you have an infestation. You can minimize the chances of this happening by using a nearly bed bug–proof bed in your rental quarters.
Use a bed bug cover on the mattress and box spring. These covers are impenetrable by bed bugs, so the pests can't make their way into the mattress. They aren't loud or crinkly, so your guests won't even know they are there. It's also a good idea to use a metal as opposed to a wooden bed frame, as bed bugs can hide in the joints of wooden frames much more easily than in metal. Further, place the legs of the bed in bed bug traps. These traps are designed so any bed bugs that try to travel from the bed to the floor get stuck and die instead of spreading into the room.
Closet and Clothing Concerns
Clothing and suitcases are another common way for bed bugs to get into in short-term rentals. Your guests inadvertently have bed bugs hitchhiking in their suitcases. They then put it on the bed to unpack or hang it inside the closet you have ready for them. The bugs then spread into the bed, walls, or carpeting.
Make sure there is a metal luggage rack in a convenient location. This encourages guests to keep the suitcase off the ground and off the bed. You may also opt not to supply a closet and instead just supply a metal clothing rack.
Bug Containment Techniques
If your short-term rental is attached or simply a room in your main home, then you want to make sure that no pests can easily make their way from the rental quarters into the rest of the home. Bed bugs aren't limited by beds — they will also travel through walls.
Seal up any cracks or spaces in the walls, particularly around the baseboards and outlet covers, with a silicone or spray foam sealant. The fewer openings available, the less likely any bed bug infestation will spread.
Contact a bed bug control service immediately if you suspect bed bugs have infested your rental unit.
Share9 March 2021
Do you spend your spring and summer months battling the pests that enter your home? There are many ways to prevent the intrusion of ants, roaches, flies, mosquitoes, mice and other pests in your home. I own several rental properties that I have to be sure do not get infested with all sorts of pests and have learned a lot about preventing the intrusion to begin with. You can learn from my personal experiences and keep the pests from ever becoming a serious issue in your home. With a few minor changes to the home and working with a skilled pest control agent, your home can be pest-free forever!
