By 
It is a danger that sneaks up on many Phoenix residents, one that does not reveal itself until it is too late. Every year, the city plays host to millions of travelers moving through Sky Harbor International Airport and bustling bus terminals. However, while these travel hubs do a lot for our local economy, they also provide the perfect breeding ground for bedbugs to spread across the Valley.
From downtown hotels to suburban apartment complexes, these resilient pests are loaded on luggage, clothing, and personal belongings, creating new colonies in homes and businesses. However, if you find yourself with an infestation, calling Green Mango Pest Control sooner rather than later can stop these hardy critters before they become a serious problem.
Why do Phoenix’s Travel Hubs increase bed bug risks?
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Sky Harbor’s High Traffic Volume
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which serves over 46 million passengers a year, is one of the busiest airports in the U.S. This steady stream of people from all over the world provides many openings for bed bugs to infect our community. Every passenger can carry them in their luggage and clothes, too.
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Year-Round Tourist Season
Unlike cities that have a designated tourist season, Phoenix brings people in year-round. Snowbirds from colder climates flock to the area during the winter months, and spring training attracts baseball fans from across the nation.
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Hotel and Lodging Density
There are more than 65,000 hotel rooms in the Greater Phoenix area, with many of the properties clustered around the airport and downtown locations. This concentration of short-term rentals provides easy opportunities for bed bugs to become established in new places as guests check in and out.
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Public Transportation Networks
Sky Harbor is connected to Valley Metro’s bus and light rail systems serving the neighborhoods of Phoenix, Tempe, and the surrounding municipalities. This public transit can unknowingly bring bed bugs long distances from infested hotels or airport locations right into our neighborhoods.
How Bed Bugs Spread Through Luggage and Public Spaces
One of the ways that bed bugs travel is by hitchhiking on the things we travel with ourselves, taking advantage of our own mobile lifestyle. These minuscule bugs can comfortably hide in the seams of luggage, the folds of clothes, and personal items, completely undetected.
Apart from that, there are also transfer points at airport waiting areas, baggage claim carousels, and shuttle buses. The little critters can live weeks without a meal, which means they can stay tucked away in luggage for long periods of time. When those travelers arrive home, these pests are waiting to create new colonies in bedrooms, your living room, and your furniture.
Both terminals and transportation hubs also have public seating, which bed bugs utilize since they are temporarily resting between hosts here. They can move from one person’s stuff to another’s, especially in close quarters. It is for this reason that even travelers who live in clean accommodations sometimes return home with a stowaway in their luggage.
Proven Strategies for Preventing and Treating Infestations
Such damage is best prevented with sensible travel behaviour and periodic home inspections. Anyone staying in Phoenix hotels or coming from out of town should check bedding and furniture in rooms before sitting down, put luggage in bathroom areas away from beds, and wash all clothing in hot water as soon as they arrive home.
Search for tiny blood spots on bedding, dark splotches on mattress seams, and sugary, musty odors in sleeping quarters. Clear the area around beds, walls, or baseboards with cracks where bed bugs can get in.
Once infestations are experienced, professional treatment is needed. For instance, companies like Green Mango Pest Control are applying integrated pest management approaches using thermal treatments, targeted insecticides, and follow-up inspections. They know what bed bugs are like in our desert climate, and what travel-related risk factors our community members face. Timely professional help usually needs fewer treatments and is much more economical than advanced infestations spread throughout many homes or apartment buildings.
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