This well known line is from a nursery rhyme from many, many centuries ago…about the 16th or 17th century! The theory goes that the beds back in those days were strung with rope to keep the mattress off the ground, hence the sleep tight. And as for the don’t let the bed bugs bite, well that’s pretty self explanatory.
So now that it’s the 21st century you’d think that with all of today’s technology that we would have eradicated all of the bed bugs, right? Well, not so much. In fact, with the way we travel, for example airplanes, all kinds of bugs are now able to hitch a ride with us and travel that much faster! They may even be hitching a ride in your RV! And this summer there has been a rise in bed bug infestations so be on the lookout and check your mattress.
If you’ve been noticing some red bumps on your arms and legs especially after sleeping then you may want to check for bed bugs. Check out this video on what bed bugs look like and where to look for them:
According to this video, it’s pretty evident and disturbing that bed bugs don’t just live in your bed! They seem to be able to live pretty much anywhere.
Inspect your mattress for bugs and any odd stains that you knew where never there before. Another way to test for bed bugs if you don’t see any during your visual inspection is get a roll of blue painters tape and a roll of double sided carpet tape. Next you want to roll out the double sided carpet tape around your bed and try to get as close the seams as possible. You should do your headboard too, but for that, lay down the painters tape first, then put the double sided tape on top of it so that you don’t pull off any wood finish. The next morning inspect the tape with a magnifying glass to see you’ve caught anything.
If the mattress in your RV has bed bugs then you can either replace it, call an exterminator or attempt to exterminate the bed bugs yourself. The only problem with doing it yourself is that is they may have spread to more than just your mattress and therefore you many need more help than you think. And you don’t want to mess around with these nasty bugs either! They will even attack your pets as well.
Inspect your mattress every year or more to ensure that you do not have bed bugs. You can also buy a mattress encasement that will protect your mattress from bugs either entering or even leaving (they will end up dying) the mattress.
If a new mattress is what you need then head on over to any ExploreUSA RV Super Center and we’ll get you squared away
