Las Vegas, and the United States as a whole, is experiencing a bed bug resurgence after a steep decline in the middle century. While the exact cause is not known, contributing factors are likely these:
- Increased travel, both locally and internationally.
- Increased bed bug immunity to current pesticides.
- Lack of knowledge about bed bugs, due to the recent decline.
Bed Bug Misconceptions
“My friend Bob says they found bedbugs in that hotel three years ago! I’m not staying there!”
It doesn’t much matter whether or not Bob is telling the truth. One thing is certain: at some point in the past, that hotel did have bedbugs. Every hotel has had, at the very least, the beginnings of an infestation. It’s unpreventable. Bedbugs love travel, and they come with hotel guests, in suitcases, clothing, and pillows.That’s why every hotel (Or at least, every decent hotel) washes their linens in super-hot water, trains their staff in spotting signs of bedbugs, as well as maintaining a relationship with professional pest control in Las Vegas.
In a city like Las Vegas, funded primarily by tourism, a bedbug scare is serious business. Every major Strip hotel and most of the outliers take a very proactive approach to bedbug appearances. Guests are moved, the furniture is inspected, the pros are called, and the sheets and luggage is washed, all within a few hours of the announcement. Our city, Las Vegas, cares deeply about providing great hotel experiences.
I got bit! I’m going to get a disease!”
While it might be possible that you can get a disease from a bedbug bite, it’s not very likely. Bedbugs are not famous as carriers. They are certainly a nuisance and hard to eradicate, but they don’t carry the same illnesses as flies or mosquitos. Occasionally, an allergic reaction might be experienced, but that will probably be the end of it. For more information, check out this guide on bed bug removal.
“My neighbors got bedbugs because their house is so dirty.”
While a dirty house might provide more places for bedbugs to hide, there is nothing about trash that attracts them. They drink human blood, not old banana peels or forgotten potato chips. If they can find a place to hide near a sleeping human, they will make their home. And the places they can hide, even in a spotless room, are many. Bed bugs are tiny. They will sneak behind electrical outlets, lay eggs in the seam of the cord that runs around your mattress, or set up a colony in your box spring. They can be transported by clean, unsuspecting visitors, or even yourself, unaware.
Bed bugs are a huge pain. But they are well-known, and can be fully eradicated from a house with professional treatment.