Health Tip: Help Keep Bed Bugs at Bay

Cover your mattresses and box springs

(HealthDay News) -- Bed bugs can hide in furniture, luggage and clothing, causing itchy, painful bites.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests how to help prevent bed bug infestations:

Carefully inspect any secondhand couches, beds and other furniture for signs of bed bugs.
Protect any mattress and box spring with a cover. Make sure it is of good quality and light in color, Remember to inspect it frequently for tears and bed bugs.
Cut down on clutter throughout your home to provide fewer areas for bed bugs to hide.
If staying in a hotel, keep luggage up on racks, not on the floor.
Inspect hotel mattresses and headboards carefully.
When you return from a trip, put clothing directly into the washing machine. Carefully check luggage for bed bugs.

-- Diana Kohnle

Last Updated: Aug. 10, 2012