Affiliation with parent company expands opportunities for UK operation

LONDON (March 8, 2010) – Protect-A-Bed Europe, a leading provider of bedding protection products, today announced its expansion into the Hotel Industry. Protect-A-Bed Europe was recently acquired by the Protect-A-Bed parent company, based in Chicago, giving the European division the infrastructure and expanded product offerings to fully serve the Hotel  industry, which has been plagued by growing incidence of bed bug infestations.

Protect-A-Bed Europe now offers Protect-A-Bed AllerZip® Mattress and Box Spring encasements. The Protect-A-Bed AllerZip Mattress Encasement ensures total protection against allergens, dust mites and bed bugs. Featuring the patented BugLock®  three-sided zipper system with Secure Seal®, Protect-A-Bed’s mattress encasement is the only product scientifically proven and independently tested to create an impenetrable barrier between bed bugs and bedding. AllerZip encasements are available in seven sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Full XL, Queen, King and California King. 

“We’re excited to share with the hotel industry how bed bug entry, escape and bite proof encasements are a valuable tool for those on the front line in war against bed bugs,” said Simon Zamet, CEO Protect-A-Bed Europe. “We believe the industry will be particularly pleased with the secure seal on our products that prevents hotel guests from tampering with the encasement.”

Protect-A-Bed is committed to offering hotels full service sales support and training.         

To learn more about Protect-A-Bed and its product offerings, visit www.protectabed.com.

About Protect-A-Bed®

Protect-A-Bed offers consumers a complete line of protective bedding products to create a Healthy Sleep Zone. The unique technology featured in Protect-A-Bed’s mattress and pillow protectors was developed in South Africa in 1980 before the company was officially established in the United States in 2000. Now selling in 27 countries, Protect-A-Bed is a worldwide leader in mattress protection innovation. The company developed the proprietary Miracle Membrane® and patented Bug Lock® and Secure Seal®, which help create a dry, bed bug free, anti-allergy sleep zone for people of all ages. Protect-A-Bed products are listed as a Class 1 Medical Device with the Food and Drug Administration and have received the Good Housekeeping Seal. For more information, visit www.protectabed.com.

February 2, 2010
By: Michael Simpson

The best way to protect you and your mattress from becoming an ideal nesting site and host for bed bugs is by purchasing an entomologist approved Bed Bug Mattress Encasement, Box Spring Encasement and zippered Pillow Protectors. This ensures your investment is protected from infestation by these blood sucking parasites. If you are pro-active and your home becomes infested, mattress encasements will ensure that bed bugs do not nest in your bedding. If you are reactive and currently have a bed bug problem, encasing your mattresses and box springs will save your mattresses. In both cases, it is important not to remove the encasements at any time and that the mattress and box spring encasement are bed bug entry, escape and most importantly bite proof. Another important feature to consider is the zipper system especially the ending area where, if left open even slightly, bed bugs can get in or out. In addition, contact your local pest control service to find out more options on how the rest of your home can be treated. Most treatments include chemical applications in and outside the walls for total effectiveness. With bed bug mattress encasement products, chemical treatment of the mattress, box spring and pillows is not necessary.

For a fully tested and entomologist approved mattress encasement we recommend Protect-A-Bed®Allerzip Mattress Encasements. Not only are they the best at stopping bed bugs, but they are also waterproof and breathable, which does not change your sleeping environment. Protect-A-Bed® added another innovation which is unique to any other product, the Patented BugLock® (US Patent #7,552,489), which completely seals the end of the zipper using a patented channel that locks out bed bugs. If bed bugs are sealed in your mattress, it can take up to a year for them to die off. Another innovation from Protect-A-Bed®, is the Secure Seal® that locks the zipper closed with a zip-tie and prevents anyone from opening the encasement and reinfesting your home.

While the cost for the Protect-A-Bed encasements seem high, we tested the cheaper offerings and quickly learned why they were cheaper. Most are not water proof or bite proof, very few have any type of locking zipper (one suggested putting duct tape over the end), when pulling on the seams, all of them ripped easily (Protect-A-Bed® uses double-stiched reinforced seeams), and only one other had been entomologist tested to be bite proof.   Bottom line; get it right the first time, this is not a problem you want to be experimenting with. Get tested and proven long term mattress encasements to ensure you win the battle against the bed bug plague!

See the Protect-A-Bed mattress encasement product videos:

Mattress Encasement

Box Spring Encasement

Bed bugs are good hitchhikers and can be easily transported via luggage, clothing, bedding and furniture. National Geographic Channel claims that a person can be bitten by a bed bug up to 500 times while asleep. Clothes get infested with bed bugs when they are left untouched for a long period of time. When they enter your home, bed bugs gravitate towards clutter and dark areas where they can hide and lay their eggs. Also, they spread through luggage when you go on a trip and stay in a hotel that is infested by bed bugs. They crawl into your luggage and unexpectedly, travel to your home. Quick prevention and precaution must be taken to get rid of these nasty parasites before they spread all over your house. Read on further to learn how to get rid of bed bugs from your clothes.

• Separate all the clothes that have been infested with bed bugs. Do not try to stamp out the bugs in your cupboard, as they are more likely to spread to other locations in your home. Transfer the clothes to a spare room that contains no furniture, bed or clothes for bed bugs to escape. Spray a liberal amount of insecticide on the clothes and set them aside. This will make the bed bugs die.
• Another effective way of killing the bed bugs is by keeping the clothes in the center of the room and sticking a two-sided tape around the clothes. When the bed bugs leave the clothes, they will get caught on the tape. Now, spray insecticide on the bugs to kill them.
• For getting rid of bed bugs naturally, keep the infested clothes in a heated room, with a minimum temperature of 120°F. The bed bugs will die naturally due to the heat.
• Use a cleaning agent to map all walls and floors. Purchase 90% alcohol and fill it in the spray bottle. Wipe the tables and furniture with this alcohol, using a rag or sponge. The cleaning agent will bring out the bugs and the alcohol present in it will kill them.

• If you have any doubt on killing bed bugs by yourself, it is better to get help from a pest control expert.
• Make sure that you wash items when you travel.
• Another way to prevent bed bugs entering your home is to regularly have your home checked by pest control experts.
• Place mattress and box spring encasement’s on all your beds
• Wash all clothes in hot water, using your regular laundry detergent. For whites, add a cap full of cleaning agent.

“Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite You in Court” Explores the Myths and Realities of Bed Bug Management and Litigation

Chicago, IL (December 17, 2009) – Protect-A-Bed®, the leading provider of bed bug proof mattress encasement’s for the hospitality industry, is sponsoring an educational panel discussion on bed bug management for attendees of the Hospitality Lawyer Conference on February 4, 2010.

The hour-long session, titled “Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite You in Court,” will take place from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m., giving attendees a valuable opportunity to learn more about proactively managing bed bug infestations and their associated liabilities for hotels. The seminar will be moderated by Mitch Miller, of Miller Law Group. Panelists include entomologist Rick Cooper and attorney Christian Hardigree.
Cooper is Technical Director for Cooper Pest Solutions and a nationally-recognized expert on bed bug education and management. Cooper frequently speaks to audiences throughout the United States educating the pest control industry as well as a number of other industries and government agencies on the subject of bed bugs.

Hardigree is a University of Nevada – Las Vegas law professor who is an expert on beg bug legal issues. Hardigree has spoken to numerous groups on bed bug litigation, enlightening the hospitality industry on the legal pitfalls inherent in today’s litigious society. Hardigree believes the proliferation of bed bugs has created an obstacle course for virtually every business owner which necessitates a “working-man’s” understanding of the technicalities of the American legal system. Hardigree is also an attorney with Parnell & Associates in Las Vegas. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions for the panel in advance by emailing them to: mmiller@millerlg.com.

According to Petra Minoff-Michael, Vice President of Sales for Protect-A-Bed’s Hospitality Division, bed bugs are anything but selective in their choice of a home and not surprisingly, they have made hotels their own home-away-from-home. “Bed bugs have undoubtedly escalated into a serious issue now affecting even the cleanest and most affluent hotel properties in every corner of the country,” she said. “And with that comes an impact that can be devastating to a hotel’s budget, not to mention its reputation.”

According to Minoff-Michael, when a hotel property encounters bed bugs, business suffers almost immediately and damage to the infested hotel’s reputation can take years to repair. Infestations have also resulted in the proliferation of lawsuits against hotel owners. “Most bed bug lawsuits result from a hotel’s response to a claim,” she says. “Counseling clients and defending legal claims require a counselor to understand all of the legal issues that potentially come with it.”
The panel discussion is designed to address the complexities surrounding an infestation. “The panel will discuss the myths and realities of bed bug management and litigation, Minoff-Michael says.
“We’ll look at specific cases, court analysis and practical strategies. We want attendees to walk away from this session with the ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts for responding to guest complaints.”

With the resurgence of bed bug infestations has come a heightened awareness among hotel owners and operators who understand the need to be proactive with the problem. In response, Protect-A-Bed has developed a full line of protection products for pillows and mattresses that enable hotel owners and operators to create a healthy, clean and comfortable sleep environment for their guests.

“In the fight against bed bugs, fully encasing your mattresses and box springs can help mitigate the damage of an infestation and help in early detection,” Minoff-Michael said. “Protect-A-Bed is committed to teaching hotel owners and operators how to manage the issue before it spirals out of control. This includes training their employees on frequent inspections for early detection of bed bugs.”
To register for the conference and this panel discussion, please visit www.hospitalitylawyer.com

“In the end, we hope attendees are equipped with the knowledge to put a pro-active plan in place to help mitigate potential implications related to a bed bug lawsuit,” Minoff-Michael said. “We would like to give them the knowledge they need to defending legal claims when they are brought against a hotel property.”
To learn more about Protect-A-Bed’s mattress and pillow protection products, visit www.protectabed.com.

Bed bugs are a huge problem for hotels and rental properties nationwide. Most will not admit they have or had bed bugs for fear of losing business. This really is not as big a problem as someone who actually ends up with bites all over their body after a night in a hotel bed, especially since there are solutions in helping reduce the spread and infestations.

Sadly, some hotels have years of history of bed bugs, and until now, there was no real way to find the worst offenders. The online “bed bug registry” can help you track down properties you want to avoid. By entering the city, and hotel name, you get an overview of all reports from people who have actually stayed at that property, and who ended up with bites from these bugs.

“New York and Las Vegas tend to pop up on the report quite a bit – though not many of these reports are from the high end properties.”

In addition to infestation reports, the site also offers bed bug related products, and tips on how to get rid of them. Sadly, in many cases, arriving back home with a suitcase full of infested clothes means you’ll either need to boil them, or throw them all away, because the last thing you want is to bring them back to your own bed.

Make sure to review our Bed Bug Travel Tips Section brought to you by Protect-A-Bed, the ultimate bed bug encasement.

Protect-A-Bed® Offers Tips for Buying and Protecting a New Place to Sleep!

If you’re having trouble staying out of bed this winter, don’t beat yourself up. Blame it on science and the economy.

During the winter there is not as much sunlight, and the months of January and February are the worst offenders. Turns out when we are lacking in sunlight, we convert the neurotransmitter serotonin into melatonin. When this conversion happens we want to sleep more. Research conducted by the Better Sleep Council also confirmed that five times as many adults spend more time in bed during the winter than in the summer.

While most bosses won’t buy calling off work due to melatonin conversion exhaustion, it at least offers a context for our lethargy. And then there’s the recession, which has many Americans wanting to hide under the blanket.

Spending more time between the sheets affords more opportunity to reflect on the quality of their sleep experience, and consider if old mattresses are still pulling their weight. Apparently, many people have that same idea, as January and February tend to be pretty busy for mattress retailers.

Generally speaking, the useful life of a mattress is around 7 to10 years, during which it provides somewhere between 20,500 and 29,200 hours of service. But setting numbers aside, mattress experts say the best way to decide if you need to replace your mattress is asking yourself a few questions.

Are you sleeping better or worse than a year ago?

Do you wake up feeling stiff or sore?

Do you feel tired and groggy during the day?

Does your mattress show visible signs of wear and tear?

Would your sleep improve if you had a new mattress?

Is your sleep uncomfortable and interrupted?

Does your mattress sag, creak or is it lumpy?

Do vacations, including hotel stays, always provide you with a more restful night’s sleep?

If the answers to these questions confirm your suspicions and say its time to get a new mattress despite the recession, keep in mind that they are hardly an indulgence. We spend about one-third of our lives in bed, during which mattresses are subjected to constant strain for hours at a time. Yet, typically we replace mattresses less frequently than we buy a new car.

According to the International Sleep Products Association, when shopping for a new mattress, there are some important facts to consider.

First, buy something age-appropriate. Little kids need enough space and support to move around comfortably as they grow. But our bodies keep changing as adults, so the level of comfort and support we need also changes.

Second, don’t be in hurry when you test drive a mattress. The only way you can tell if a mattress offers you the right amount of comfort and support is by lying down in your typical sleeping position (with your partner if you have one) for at least 15 minutes. This will give you a good gauge on whether or not it is a good fit.

Third, find a mattress that matches your preferred sleep position. Generally speaking, if you sleep on your back, you will be most comfortable on a firmer mattress. If you are a stomach sleeper, you will like a softer mattress, and, if you sleep on your side, you will probably also find a softer mattress more comfortable as it allows for the “arc” of your body to be better supported.

Also, don’t confuse a sales associate with a doctor. If you are suffering from back pain, don’t rely on the salesperson to know the cure.

Finally, if you are an allergy sufferer, one of the best benefits that comes with jettisoning your old mattress is bidding farewell to the colony of dust mites that have taken up residence beneath you. Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. A typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. Their favorite food is dander (both human and animal skin flakes and hair).

According to the American College of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology, approximately 10 percent of Americans exhibit allergic sensitivity to dust mites, which are a major cause of asthma and allergies.

The symptoms of allergy to dust mites (watery eyes, runny nose, itching, sneezing, difficulty in breathing) are worst in winter months when the house is closed and the indoor humidity and temperatures are high.

The best way to prevent dust mites from accumulating in your new mattress is to protect it with a mattress encasement (http://www.protectabed.com/full-encasements/allergy-control-bedding.aspx). For instance, the Protect-A-Bed Allerzip® Mattress Encasement with Bug Lock®, increases sanitation protection by creating a barrier to allergens, dust mites and moisture. Yet, the encasements are air vapor porous, and they don’t change the feel of the mattress.

“A mattress is a major investment that should be protected,” said Protect-A-Bed CEO James Bell. “Not only do mattress encasements prevent the accumulation of dust mites and other allergens within a mattress, but they also help extend the life of the mattress by preventing stains and sagging from moisture.”

Aside from acting as allergy relief bedding, an added benefit of new mattress encasements is that they help keep warranties in tact. Mattress manufacturers can warranty their products for up to 20 years. But virtually all manufacturer warranties are voided if the mattress becomes stained. Bedding encasement products, which are fluid proof, are an easy and economical way to protect the warranty for the life of the mattress and save money.

There is plenty of winter left in most of the United States. And no, we can’t make the sun shine longer, turn our bloated level of melatonin back into serotonin or set the clock back to pre-recession boom times. But if we’re going to pass the time in bed we can at least do it by sleeping soundly through the whole mess. For now it’s a different way to live the dream but hey, given today’s realities, it’s definitively attractive.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For supplemental information on the topic of mattress replacement and to listen to a podcast featuring a full length interview with James Bell, CEO of Protect-A-Bed and Mike Boyle of Mattress Firm in Albuquerque, please visit the Protect-A-Bed Online News Room: http://www.protectabed.com/news.aspx.

VISIT OUR FACTORY DIRECT ONLINE STORE AT: WWW.PROTECTABEDDIRECT.COM

A new mattress can benefit you in countless ways – according to the International Sleep Products Association –from emotional, physical and mental well-being, work productivity, even to how we interact with friends and loved ones. In fact, Oklahoma State University conducted a study that found a new mattress improves back pain, shoulder pain, spine stiffness and overall sleep efficiency.

About Protect-A-Bed®
Protect-A-Bed produces mattress protectors that provide consumers with a healthy and comfortable sleep environment. The product was developed in South Africa in 1980 and Protect-A-Bed was first established in the USA in 2000, and offers bedding protectors to help create a dry, bed bug free, anti-allergy sleep zone for people of all ages. The product is now sold in 27 countries and Protect-A-Bed is the leader in mattress protection innovation. The company developed the proprietary Miracle Membrane® and patent pending Bug Lock® and Secure Seal™ for bed bug protection. Protect-A-Bed products are listed as a Class 1 Medical Device with the Food and Drug Administration and have received the Good Housekeeping Seal. For more information, visit http://www.protectabed.com.

By: Michael Simpson

The Rachel Ray show contacted Protect-A-Bed after seeing our billboards all over New York.

Bed Bugs Suck

We agreed to let her film our billboards for the opening of her show.

Steam can be used to kill bed bugs on contact. Many professionals use steam, often before applying residual pesticides and dusts, and sometimes in lieu of pesticides where necessary. You can also use steam yourself, but we recommend doing your research. Here’s a video from Bed Bug Central’s Jeff White on using steam to kill bed bugs:

WARNING:

If you plan to steam but are being treated by a pest control professional (which we recommend), you must clear this with them before using steam, and about when and where it is safe and useful for you to steam. If you steam without clearing it with your PCO, you may clean away or render useless pesticide and dust treatments that have already been applied!
Besides, obviously, being hot enough to burn you, steaming has potential dangers related to the vaporization of chemicals; it can also cause mold growth. Read the overview below and the recommended resources and take precautions in order to avoid harming yourself and your family.

Essential information on technique for killing bed bugs with steam can be found in the following articles:

The article “Killing Them Softly” provides essential tips. (Most important: use the larger head on the steamer nozzle; Dr. Potter et. al. note that the smaller heads can simply spread live bed bugs around–very bad news.)
More technical tips from Stephen Doggett’s Bed Bug Code of Practice, 2nd Ed. The steam section is on pages 26-28.
Forum discussions tagged as “steam” and “steamers” may also be useful for fellow Bedbuggers’ experiences with steam.
Overview of advice culled from professional articles and forum discussions on killing bed bugs with steam:

• Several of our members feel that steam is useful in the fight against bed bugs.
• Do your research before using steam.
• Steam is a contact killer that can kill bugs and eggs.
• Dry steam is of the utmost importance: all steam methods increases the likelihood of mold growing in the home, but steamers labeled as producers of “dry steam” significantly reduce the mold potential.
• You can steam most furniture, floors, baseboards, walls, ceiling, etc.
• Do not try to steam electrical outlets.

Temperature is important. Steam at 120 F must hit bed bugs directly. If you are purchasing a steamer, the manufacturer should list a temperature at the tip of being over 200F. It may also be possible to purchase an infrared thermometer to check your steamer temperature at tip. Steam is dangerously hot. Don’t forget to stay focused and safe.

Steam should be used as one piece of the integrated pest management puzzle. Professional pest control assistance and coordination with your landlords and neighbors (if applicable) is still essential.
Key things to look for in a steamer:

• Dry Steam
• Heat at the tip is >200F degrees per manufacturer
• Large water chamber to cut down on starts and stops in process
• A decent length of cord (or purchase an extension cord)
• A good warranty on the boiler

1. Step 1

   Pick up all trash and clutter from your bedroom. (This gives the bed bugs fewer places to hide.)

2. Step 2

   Wash and dry all bed linens and clothing. Store them in plastic bags and containers to prevent re infestation.

3. Step 3

   Vacuum the carpets, furniture, mattress, and box springs to get rid of dust and debris.

4. Step 4

   Fill the receptacle on the steam cleaner with the directed amount of water and cleaning solution, as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

5. Step 5

   Slowly go over surfaces with the steam cleaner to sanitize the areas and kill bed bugs. Start from the top of the room and work downward. Begin by steam cleaning curtains and drapes. Work your way to the bed and other furniture.

6. Step 6

   Allow the steam cleaned surfaces to dry thoroughly.

7. Step 7

   Wrap the mattress, box springs, and any furniture in tear-resistant plastic coverings, if possible. Leave the plastic on for two weeks to ensure that any living organisms have had time to die.

8. Step 8

   Examine the bedding, furniture, and other bedroom fixtures carefully for bed bug feces, skins, or living bugs. If any are found, repeat the steam cleaning process.

The loathsome creature’s resurgence comes in the wake of DDT ban

By Tracey Regan

What began as a childhood fascination with the insects in his local park has evolved into a full-fledged research role for Vincenzo Averello, whose lab skills and high tolerance for the creepy and crawly have landed him a plum job in the urban entomology lab on the Cook Campus.

A sophomore double majoring in genetics and ecology and natural resources, Averello is working with some of the bug world’s most vexing members. He spent this past summer ensconced with Oriental cockroaches. He is back in the lab this fall assisting entomology researcher Changlu Wang in experiments on another urban scourge: the blood-sucking bedbug.

Those tiny predators that feed at night on their slumbering human hosts and then scurry to safety in mattress seams, wall cracks and baseboards, bed bugs have proved both difficult to find and exterminate.

Wang, an assistant extension specialist at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, is studying their feeding habits and dispersing patterns, while he also devises new ways to capture and kill them.

A few decades ago there was little reason to study bed bugs, as the potent, all-purpose pesticide DDT

simply wiped them out. But they are proliferating in the wake of its ban, particularly in the urban Northeast. Enormously adaptable, they are resistant to most commercially available pesticides.

“I predict they will stay a long, long time. No other pesticide does the job that DDT does,” said Wang, who recalled the time he found 1,300 bugs in a single trap he had set overnight in an apartment in Bayonne.

He is working with researchers at Rutgers and other universities to develop integrated methods to capture and exterminate them that won’t wreak widespread environmental damage. These include encasing mattresses, applying hot steam, placing interceptors under the legs of furniture so they can’t reach their hosts, and devising traps that will lure and kill them.

In the absence of effective controls and decontamination methods, “the typical practice is to spray chemicals or throw away expensive clothes, electronics, and books,” Wang said. Indeed, residents of Plum Street in New Brunswick have been battling bed bugs this fall, jettisoning mattresses and couches in frustration.

“What’s interesting to me is how the population came back. They had been taken care of, and now we have to figure out how to deal with them again,” said Averello, who found the bed bug project by way of the Aresty Research Center for Undergraduates Summer Science Research Program this past summer.

“The other thing that fascinates me is how resilient they are. They can survive for so long and on so little,” Averello added, noting that his primary research interest is to “look at a species at population-scale, to see how it is affected over time by changes in the environment.”

In the current round of experiments, his first task is to grow thriving populations of bedbugs in small, mesh-covered jars. So they will increase quickly, he is treating them to weekly half-hour feedings on lab guinea pigs, which they reach through the mesh covering their jar top but can’t escape through. The guinea pigs are unharmed.

Bed bugs locate their hosts by sensing their most fundamental emanations. Wang and his research colleagues are exploiting this behavior to catch them.

“They are attracted by heat and carbon dioxide. They are attracted to your breath,” said Wang, who has created an inexpensive trap based on a modified double-bowl cat feeder. The trap contains dry ice, which emits carbon dioxide to attract the bugs, which then fall into the feeder and can’t escape. Wang will be experimenting to see whether the addition of heat increases the trap’s allure. He has also filed a patent for an intercepting device that is placed under furniture.

The compound that attracts bedbugs also kills them at high doses. Wang and Averello will test the lethality of various carbon dioxide concentrations and exposure times.

Wang grew up in a farming village in China, and, as Averello, developed a keen interest in bugs as a child.

“As an 8 year old, I would go into the forest to look for cicada pupa. They live in small holes in the ground and you need a good eye to find them,” Wang said. He also looked on helplessly at times as a swarm of grasshoppers wiped out a crop in one day.

As entomologists play catch-up with the bedbug, which evolved from cave-dwelling bat bugs, they are still grappling with several unknowns.

“One of the things we still don’t know about bedbugs is why and when they disperse, or how far they travel,” Wang said. He and collaborators from Purdue University have applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to monitor them and test control measures in a high-rise building in Indianapolis.

But Wang doesn’t find them very interesting.

“Cockroaches and bed bugs are of no use. They are pests completely. They congregate, because it’s easier to find mates that way, but unlike the ant, they have no interesting social behaviors,” he said.

Protect-A-Bed® keeps the creepy crawlies away this Halloween

Chicago (Oct. 21, 2009) – Blood-sucking creatures hunt in the night. Invisible monsters feast on human flesh. It’s not a Halloween horror flick; it’s just another night on a mattress in the USA. So, put away the wooden stakes and zombie survival kits, and prepare to fight bed bugs and dust mites.

If you fear blood-sucking monsters in the night, vampires are the least of your worries. The bed bug resurgence in the United States has countless individuals across the country itching and losing a few drops of blood. The National Pest Management Association estimates a 71 percent increase since 2001 in the number of bed bug calls pest management companies are receiving. Bed bugs have been found in all 50 states, from apartments, to movie theaters, to libraries, to busses, to schools, to five-star hotels. No place is immune to these masterful hitchhikers.

Bed bugs, while difficult to find, are not invisible. The typical adult bed bug is 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch in size and is a rust brown color. Bed bug nymphs and eggs are clear/white, much smaller and very difficult to see.  From the moment a bed bug hatches, its only goal is to find its next blood meal. And for these nocturnal creatures, a mattress is the best place to look. So, if bed bugs are the vampires of the mattress, then mattress encasements are a bed’s garlic. Mattress and box spring encasements like those offered by Protect-A-Bed create bite proof barrier around a bed. The company’s BugLock® with Secure Seal® three-sided zipper system won’t allow the blood sucking monsters to take up permanent residence within a mattress, making it easier for pest control companies to identify and eliminate them.

Now that we’ve been introduced to the vampires of the mattress, let’s meet the flesh-eating mattress zombie, otherwise known as the dust mite. These little monsters are nearly invisible and feed on your discarded dead skin. It’s easy to overlook these creatures since you can’t see them and they don’t eat skin you’re actually using, but they can wreak havoc on those with allergies. The fecal matter dust mites produce is a significant cause of allergy symptoms like itchiness, sneezing, inflamed or infected eczema, watering eyes, congestion and runny nose. These symptoms are particularly problematic for those with asthma. Like zombies, dust mites have an advantage when in large numbers. To keep them from accumulating, AllerZip® mattress and pillow products from Protect-A-Bed are your best bet. These products create an impenetrable barrier between dust mites and the bedding, preventing them from establishing zombie-esque colonies. And, since they are waterproof and breathable, they are cool and comfortable to sleep on.

So, this Halloween prepare for the creatures you’ll most likely encounter by visiting www.protectabed.com. The company has the right products for all the monsters that could be living in your bed.