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The travel risk you shouldn’t ignore: bed bugs

Crystal Hammon is a vintage fashion enthusiast who blogs at Dressed Her Days Vintage. When she isn’t working as a writer, she teaches yoga, plays golf, sews and reads. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. One of the most lovable things about Karina Dresses—they travel well. You can pull a Karina out of your suitcase and wear it without […]

Crystal Hammon is a vintage fashion enthusiast who blogs at Dressed Her Days Vintage. When she isn’t working as a writer, she teaches yoga, plays golf, sews and reads. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.


Blue geo mmmmy Karina
One of the most lovable things about Karina Dresses—they travel well. You can pull a Karina out of your suitcase and wear it without batting an eyelash. What’s not to love? For women bitten by the travel bug, that makes them a perfect travel companion.

Know what’s not a perfect travel partner? A bed bug. Yet, if you travel, the question isn’t whether you’ll be exposed to bed bugs; it’s only a matter of when. That’s not what I say; it’s what the nation’s exterminators say. They should know: their bed bug business is up 110 percent year-over-year in parts of the U.S., especially in major cities. It’s considered the industry’s hardest pest to identify and control.

Bed bug infestations are on the rise in the U.S., partially due to cheap international travel. Along with their naturally tolerant personalities, at least two things help bed bugs build their family legacy: 1) many people are exposed to them without knowing it and 2) those who are exposed are reluctant to talk about it, so they don’t change important behaviors that can protect others.

Here’s an unwelcome fact: bed bugs hang out anywhere people do for extended periods. The finest five-star hotel isn’t any less likely to have bed bugs than a budget hotel, so you can’t buy your way out of the risk. They feed on blood—not filth.

Hospitals, movie theatres, airplanes, busses, restaurants, automobiles, the homes of your friends and relatives—all of these places are ideal places for bed bugs to hitch a ride home with you. It’s an accidental thing and it can happen to anyone because one intentionally spreads bed bugs.

When people react emotionally (and who wouldn’t?) to bed bug exposure, it causes more harm than good. Only the facts can help you avoid and deal with the risk for bed bug exposure. In my next post, I’m sharing 10 bed bug tips that can minimize your risk, so stay tuned.


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