rby city). Do not buy used furniture (especially bedding items or upholstered items), or at least do not bring them into your home until you, or a competent expert, have inspected them carefully for any signs of bed bugs (live or dead bed bugs, their eggs, fecal spots, or cast skins). Also consider covering all of your mattresses and box springs with a plastic cover which you can seal shut to prevent such pests from getting into them (or to permanently trap any already there). Periodically inspect bedding and other places in your home which are typical harborage sites for bed bugs. No control efforts (or products) are needed unless an infestation is detected and verified by an expert. If an infestation is confirmed, it is wise to consider contracting with a properly licensed, trained, and experienced (with bed bug control) local PMP or company. They should help with effective and thorough inspections, to provide you with information you may want, and to carry out any needed control effort under a suitable contract. Be sure to ask any questions you may have before you sign a control contract. Web sites of several Co-Operative Extension offices (at the state government level) and Universities, as well as trade associations (like the NPMA), and urban pests management (often called ‘pest control’) trade journals, currently offer fairly good, informative and balanced fact sheets and additional information on bed bugs. Educating yourself can be quite helpful and re-assuring.

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11915026/ns/dateline_nbc-dont_let_the_bed_bugs_bite/t/what-you-need-know-about-bed-bugs/#.TrGwmUMg_lY)