Bed Bugs on Airplanes?

Wednesday, 23rd November 2011

British Airways has recently come under fire for bed bugs on their airplanes, such that the company was forced to ground two of its airplanes for fumigation. This comes in response to a customer’s complaints and pictures of the bed bug bites she suffered. Only after these complaints were posted online and subsequently went viral did British Airways ground the planes for fumigation.

This hesitancy to fumigate means that consumers should take a measure of caution when flying on airplanes. With such a long period where people are relatively motionless, and carry-on bags are in close contact with one another for hours at a time, airline flights are a prime location for bed bug transmission between passengers and passengers’ luggage.

In order to protect yourself from these pests, try the following tips:

• Cover your seats: Numerous companies now sell plastic and fabric seat covers designed specifically for use in movie theaters and airplane flights. These seat covers can help keep pests trapped between the cover and the seat, preventing pests such as bed bugs from getting to you and delivering itchy bites. They do not completely encase the seat, but help reduce contact. Also, check with your airline's policy about whether a seat cover is allowed.
• Bring your own pillow and blanket: Bed bug transmission can happen on long airline flights through the use of airline-provided blankets and pillows. The British Airways complaint originated when the woman found bed bugs on an airline-provided blanket. Bring your own to insure yourself against a bed bug infestation when you land. Also, once you are home, make sure you dry both your blanket and your pillow in high heat above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, just in case you brought one of those nasty hitch hikers with you. There are such things as dissolvable laundry bags too! Check here for more information.
• Bag your carry-on: Wrapping your carry-on in a plastic garbage bag will keep bed bugs in the overhead compartment from infiltrating your luggage. Or, even easier, purchase a luggage encasement such as this one provided by Bed Bugs Plus.
• Keep bed bugs out of your house: Perhaps the best thing you can do to keep a bed bug infestation out of your home is to not bring your luggage in from the trip right away. Instead, thoroughly clean all of your luggage pieces with steri-fab or steam machine before bringing it inside, and use heat to kill bed bugs on items you do not want to wash. This will ensure that any bed bugs which may have been transmitted during the trip are dead before they ever set up camp in your home. Another option is to bring your luggage straight to Connor's specialized fumigation chamber, which is the only 100% form of bed bug treatment. (Connor's is the only company in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia areas that has this capability.)

If you want your home, school, or office checked, have our certified K-9 teams inspect your property today!

-The Connor’s News Team

(Source can be found here.)

Keywords: Bed Bugs on Airplanes?