Dealing With Bed Bugs? Proceed With Caution and Common Sense

If you are dealing with bed bugs, you must proceed with caution and common sense.

Since this latest bed bug epidemic, there have been many reports of people misusing pesticides.

Let me warn you. If you use a pesticide inside your home that is clearly labeled for outside use, you may make yourself and your family sick. If you use a pesticide that is not labeled for use against bed bugs, you may simply spread the nasty blood suckers over more of your living area!

To be safe, call a pest management professional with a good reputation and experience with bed bugs. I read an article about a pest controller who used the wrong pesticide and not only made the tenants sick but caused them to be evacuated from their building!

Calling a professional is just one of many steps to take if your home is infested with bed bugs.

-Encase your mattress, box springs and pillows in high quality coverings to trap the bed bugs.

-Wash and dry your bedding in high temperatures to kill the bed bugs.

-Vacuum often and thoroughly.

-Get rid of clutter!

Remember, bed bugs do not carry disease. Even though they are disgusting and nerve wracking there is no reason to panic and try some foolish do-it-yourself method to get rid of them. You may only cause yourself more trouble.

Dealing with bed bugs is time consuming and requires you to proceed with caution and common sense!

Black Rice Bran Supplies the Most Antioxidants For Your Money

OK, I confess. I had never heard of black rice  until I read of a new study that shows black rice bran supplies the most anitoxidants for your money.  The money part kept me reading.

Zhimin Xu, co-author of the study said, “Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants”

Antioxidants are linked to decreased risk of heart disease and cancer. They also aid in memory improvement and other health benefits.

The authors of the study found that black rice bran could be used to improve health benefits of breakfast cereals, cakes, cookies and other foods. It may even be used in beverages. Interestingly, it may also be used as food coloring because the pigments in black rice bran extracts range from pink to black.  Perhaps no more artificial coloring in the future!

Also noted Xu, that although brown rice is the most common rice variety produced worldwide, the study results suggest that black rice bran may be healthier than brown rice bran in terms of antioxidants.

“If berries are used to boost health, why not black rice and black rice bran?” asked Xu, associate professor at the food science department at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. “Black rice bran would be a unique and economical material to increase consumption of health-promoting antioxidants.”

Apparently black rice has an even nuttier taste than brown rice. I switched from white rice to brown rice when I realized it was healthier. It did take a bit to get use to the different texture of the brown rice.

Now that I know black rice bran supplies the most antioxidants for your money, I’ll be switching to black rice and I’m sure I’ll learn to love it!

Think You Have “Bed Bites”? Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite!

Do you have little red itchy welts sometimes referred to as “bed bites“? You know what they say, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” and they say this for a good reason. While bed bugs aren’t known to carry any major diseases, they are beyond bothersome causing allergic reaction and severe itching. Keep in mind that one bed bite alone isn’t cause for alarm. Usually, the bed bug bites show up in clusters. So how do you know if you have them and what do you do to get rid of bed bugs?

Bed bugs are small critters that like to get in the binding of mattresses, cracks and crevices of floorboards, molding, drawers, and they love your suitcase when you travel to hotels. They are quite small so you probably will only be able to see them after they have fed on you and are engorged with your blood. They leave blood and feces trails too so you might see “dirt specs” which can be a clue you could have bed bugs. Unfortunately, they can get almost anywhere and so the treatment has to be very extensive.

What to Do When You Get a Bed Bite from Bed Bugs…

The bad news is that it takes a full on attack to get rid of bed bugs. It can be quite expensive to hire an exterminator but the good news is that you can do it on your own with the right bed bug equipment.

First you have to get the mattress and any bedding out of the house. You can put the bedding in the wash but make sure it dries on high at least 20 minutes. Treat the mattress (check out this site for details) and then cover it with an mattress encasement specifically designed for bed bugs and avoiding bed bites.

Then you need get clothes out of the room and wash all of those too. Things like CD cases, books, and electronics will need to be treated too. Fortunately, they make powders and sprays for these types of objects.

Bed Bugs in Hotels

If you travel a lot, you should definitely look into investing in a heating device that treats your entire luggage when you bring it home. As someone who has a daughter that was a hotel inspector for a major chain in the US, I highly recommend this. In fact, she often used the large plastic Hefty bags to seal her luggage while she was not using it in her hotel room.

Once you have treated the entire room, carpet, molding, crevices around electrical outlets, picture frames, then you bring back in the mattress and clothes. Set out traps under your mattress legs and around the room just in case you missed any.

Hopefully this helps you to avoid any bed bites in the future. Bed bugs can be a horrible experience, but you CAN get it taken care of by being thorough and staying on top of it. Good luck!

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