If so, here are some helpful tips to keep you and your family safe this Traveling Season!

Tips for Traveling

Are you planning on boarding a plane, staying a night in a hotel, or traveling across country on a train?  If so, you may want to take precautions before setting sail on your adventure.

Did you know that you could be infested by Bed Bugs or Fleas when traveling?

Bed Bugs and fleas are the ultimate travelers and will hop from one expedition to another by attaching themselves to your clothes, luggage, purse or even your skin.  Arrow is here to help you be cautious of these nasty pests when traveling.  The last thing you want to do is bring Bed Bugs or Fleas home with you!

Arrow’s Tips for Traveling

• Bring a Bright Flashlight
• Ask for a seat cover on trains and planes
• Check your seat and overhead compartment before placing your belongings on the floor or in the bin.
• Don’t bring your luggage into the room until you have inspected your bed , night stand and furniture for Bed Bugs
• Put your bags in the bath tub or on top of the TV Stand in your hotel room.
• Ask for a room inspection if you are unsure how to check for Bed Bugs or Fleas

For more information on Bed Bugs visit our Bed Bug Page.

For more information on traveling tips watch Arrow Special on Fox 28 News on Bed Bugs.

What you need to know about bed bugs.

Watch Arrow Pest Control Tonight at 10 on Fox 28 News! We will be discussing Bed Bugs!

Credits to Fox 28 News: South Bend, IN

Arrow Services has been asked by Fox 28 News to do an exclusive interview on Bed Bugs. The interview will be aired November 14, 2011 at 10 P.M. on Fox 28 News. Tune in to watch an exclusive interview with our very own Checking in with Chuck and Mike Renfrow will teach you how to inspect for Bed Bugs in your home or a hotel room.

September 22, 2011 (ATLANTA) — Worried about bedbugs? Maybe you should be more concerned about the insecticides used to get rid of them.

A government study counted one death and 80 illnesses linked to bedbug insecticides over three years. Many were do-it-yourselfers who misused the chemicals or used the wrong product. And most of the cases were in New York City.

The study released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the first to look at the issue.

The CDC was able to only get data from seven states, including New York, where bedbugs have become a highly publicized problem and where health officials have also been extra vigilant about unusual chemical poisonings.

Investigators said they didn’t know what to expect, but were relieved to see a relatively small number of cases.

“At this point, it’s not a major public health problem,” said Dr. Geoff Calvert, a CDC investigator who co-authored the study.

Bedbugs are wingless, reddish-brown insects that bite people and animals to draw blood for their meals. Though their bites can cause itching, they have not been known to spread disease.

“There’s nothing inherently dangerous about bedbugs,” said Dr. Susi Vassallo, an emergency medicine doctor who works at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital Center and occasionally deals with patients talking about bedbugs.

Vassallo, who is also a toxicologist, said most of the insecticides used against bedbugs are not a health risk but should still be applied by a trained exterminator.

The CDC looked at reports from California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Texas and Washington, the only states that tracked such illnesses. The study counted 111 cases in the years 2003 through 2010. Most occurred in the last few years, when bedbug reports rose across the country. More than half were in New York City.

Most were people with headaches or dizziness, breathing problems or nausea and vomiting.

The one death in 2010 was a 65-year-old woman from Rocky Mount, N.C., who had a history of heart trouble and other ailments. She and her husband used nine cans of insecticide fogger one day, then the same amount two days later, without opening doors and windows to air out their home afterward. She also covered her body and hair with another bedbug product, and covered her hair with a plastic cap.

CDC officials said it’s not clear that the insecticides were a definite cause of illness in each of the cases, and it’s possible some were coincidental.

About 90 percent of the cases were linked to pyrethroids or pyrethrins, common insecticides sometimes used against bedbugs. But in some cases, an incorrect and more dangerous product was used. That happened in Ohio last year, when an uncertified exterminator used malathion — which should never be used indoors — to rid an apartment of bedbugs. A couple and their 6-year-old child got sick.

The report was released through a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr