- Author: UC IPM
Tis the season for holiday travel. As you make reservations for rental accommodations to visit family and friends, we wanted to share a few suggestions to help you avoid bringing bed bugs home with you. Regardless of what type of lodging you choose-- hotel, motel, cabin, or other type of rental-- no place is immune to bed bug introductions or infestations.
We don't wish to alarm you, but we do want to point out that bed bug infestations are on the rise in the United States. Take precautions to save yourself from later issues and costs in case bed bugs do find their way into your home.
When settling into your room
- Before plopping your luggage down on the bed, couch, or floor, we recommend doing a quick bed bug check of the room. You can either leave the luggage in the hall or place it in the bath tub, where bed bugs are not likely to be. Traveling with the family? Let them and all the luggage sit comfortably in the lobby while you do the room inspection.
- Do a thorough inspection of the bed, night stand, upholstered furniture, and closets. You can use a flashlight or a phone light to help you look for bed bugs, shed skins, or fecal matter.
- Some establishments use bed bug mattresses and box spring encasements. These can make it easier to detect bed bugs or be used as a preventative measure.
- Not sure what you are looking for? We created this video to show you what bed bugs look like and how to search for them.
After You Return Home
- Before you bring luggage back into the house, inspect it for any signs of bed bugs that may have hitched a ride. Store luggage away from the bedroom to prevent potential introductions.
- To be cautious, launder all the clothes from your trip on the hottest settings to kill bed bugs that may have gone unnoticed. For items that cannot be washed, freezing them for several days will also kill bed bugs.
- If you do find bed bugs, these steps will help reduce the risk of infestation. See more about identification and management in our Pest Notes: Bed Bugs
Follow these tips to enjoy your holiday travel, reduce your risk of getting bitten by bed bugs, and not bringing bed bugs home with you.
Staying home for the holidays? Here are some tips to host a bed bug-free holiday!
- Author: Ed Perry
When you think of traditional plants that represent the Christmas season, the poinsettia automatically comes to mind. Other plants also can be used indoors to provide seasonal color, including the cyclamen. With its striking red and white flowers, the cyclamen makes quite an impact, especially when placed around taller poinsettias. In order to look its best during this season, the cyclamen must be given proper care.
You should place cyclamen in a cool, well-lighted area, but not in direct sunlight. An ideal exposure is an east window where the plant does not touch the glass, and where temperatures are 50 degrees F at night and 60 to 65 degrees F during the day. Cyclamen requires moist soil and good drainage. When watering, use lukewarm water, taking care to keep the water off the foliage and crown of the plant. Don't allow the plant to stand in water for very long, as the roots may rot. You can keep the plant from standing in water by placing gravel or broken pieces of pottery in the tray beneath the pot. The plant should be watered so that the soil is not washed from around the corm (bulb-like structure) and roots.
In the late winter and early spring the older flowers will fade and new flower buds will continue to open, until about the first part of February. At this time, the leaves may start to turn brown, no more flowers will appear, and the plant will seem to deteriorate. If you want to carry the plant over to another season, you'll need to give it a rest period. Do this by reducing the amount and frequency of watering, and by placing the plant in a cool area (40-50 degree F.) until warm, spring weather arrives. At this time you can replant the corm in a well-drained soil mix.
After danger of frost is over, place the cyclamen in a cool, protected location outdoors. Give the plant adequate water and fertilize it about once a month, or less, with a water-soluble fertilizer. During the brightest days of summer, select a location that provides partial shade for the plant to grow. Take the plant indoors before frost in the fall.
During late fall and throughout the winter, place the plant in full sun (east exposure), with temperatures no higher than 65 degrees F. If everything goes right, your cyclamen should be blooming between mid-November and early December.
Other plants appearing during the holidays include the amaryllis, azalea, African violet, Christmas pepper, chrysanthemum, Christmas cactus, kalanchoe, and paperwhite narcissus, all of which flourish beautifully as houseplants. Proper care varies with species, but there are some general recommendations to follow when caring for these plants. Most species do best in a location where as much natural light as possible is available, such as a sunny window. Optimal temperatures include a daytime temperature of 65 to 75 degrees F, and temperatures around 50 to 55 degrees F during the night. An exception is paperwhite narcissus, which holds up better at 60 to 65 degrees F during the daytime, and 50 degrees F at night. African violets and poinsettias prefer even warmer nighttime temperatures, around 60 degrees F.
Because most homes are extremely dry compared to the greenhouse environment where they were grown, it's a good idea to place the plants in groups or on trays with water. To help prolong the flowering period, you can even place the plants in rooms with higher humidity, such as the kitchen. Usually, however, the plants should be kept in a cooler room, away from warm air currents. Check your plants daily and watered them as needed. Apply enough water each time so that some will drain out the bottom, but be careful not to let the plants stand in water for very long.
Ed Perry is the emeritus Environmental Horticultural Advisor for University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Stanislaus County where he worked for over 30 years.