Bed Bugs

You can have the best mattress in the world, capable of sending you to noonoo land in seconds, but if it is home to the dreaded bed bugs, your sleep will be anything but satisfactory.

These little bloodsuckers feed off any warm blooded mammal (read 'you') and are nocturnal - they are awake when you are asleep. Although they don't carry diseases, they can produce itchy red bumps on your skin.

When you purchase your mattress and box spring, pick up an impervious covering for your set as well as your pillows. The bed bugs like rugs, and really any crevice, drawer or hidey hole can be their home, but the mattress set can be a great residence near their food supply, i.e., you. They have been known to go for a year without eating, so consider them tenacious little buggers.

Signs of bed bug infestation are red or brown spots on your bedding (bug feces) or spots on your skin.

What should you do to get rid of these pesky invaders? Before you put on the bedding covering on an older mattress, remove the bottom gauzy stuff on your box spring and give the whole set a thorough vacuuming. Then vacuum your whole room as well as empty drawers. Pay particular attention to seams. Then take that vacuum bag, seal it tight and take it out to the trash. If they have become unmanageable, you may need to call the exterminator.