Did you ever think that you’d be celebrating bed bug awareness week as a calendar holiday? Well, it’s true. According to the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), they have named the last week in April as Bed Bug Awareness Week, in part of their month long campaign in April for National Pest Management Month. The PPMA serves as the public outreach arm of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). This month, they are conducting a campaign through traditional and social media to remind the public about the dangers of bed bugs, one of which is the spread of bed bugs through summer travel.

“Our industry is keenly aware of the fact that bed bugs are a significant pest problem in the United States,” said Missy Henriksen, executive director or PPMA. “With bed bug infestations becoming increasingly common, it’s important to encourage public vigilance and awareness of these pests, and to remind them of the ease with which bed bugs can be picked up while on vacation or traveling.”

So, in honor of Bed Bug Awareness week, we’d like to continue to remind people about how easy it is to pick up and spread bed bugs. We’d also like to offer some of our own resources about preventing bed bug infestations. Check out some of our relevant posts that have great tips and tricks on preventing bed bug infestations:

1. Prevent bedbugs when you travel: 8 important tips
2. Bed Bug Insurance & Tips on Traveling Safely
3. Bed bug mattress covers: The first step to bed bug prevention
   

If you have any questions, or are interested in purchasing any products, please visit our website: www.TheAllergyGuy.com

Contrary to what many might think, bedbugs are not only confined to beds. Bedbugs can live in any piece of furniture.

Mattresses, chairs, sofas, night stands, dressers, curtains, electronics and more can all be contaminated and harbor bedbugs and their eggs. The bugs are expert survivors and can seek refuge in any nook or imperfection in any fabric, wood, plastic, etc. This even includes electrical outlets, as their holes can be a natural fit for a bed bug living space.

This is why prevention is crucial! If your home gets infested with bedbugs you will suffer. It is hard to imagine how big of a nuisance they are until you have displeasure of living with them. They affect you physically, mentally, emotionally and financially.  They are incredibly terrible to deal with, and I have never met a victim who would disagree.

For these reasons, precaution is crucial. Make sure you take the proper precautionary measures when traveling and it is also recommended to never take a mattress or any furniture off of the street. In addition, be very weary when buying a used mattress from a websites like Craigslist or Ebay.  Also owning bed bug prevention products is always a wise decision.

Have you been affected by bedbugs? Would you agree with our post? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Unfortunately for travelers and citizens of the world, many industry experts acknowledge that the bed bug problem will get better before it gets worse. This has lead to the innovation to many new products, some good and some bad. We recently came across a rather interested bed bug prevention product, and we want to get your opinion on whether or not our readers would be interested in purchasing it.

Hammacher Schlemmer recently introduced the new Bed Bug Sleeping Cocoon, and yes you read that right a “sleeping cocoon”. So basically you wrap your body in a cocoon and then sleep on top of the bed. While will be the first to tell you how important it is to take precaution when traveling, this concept does seem a bit ridiculous.

Frankly, we don’t anticipate on carrying this product, as we don’t think it appears to be that effective, nor comfortable, and here is a bit more about the Traveler’s Bed Bug Thwarting Sleeping Cocoon.

It is a portable sleeping bag made of woven fabric that is supposed to be “impenetrable” by bedbugs. The material is tightly wound polyester where the threads are spaced less than 1 micron apart, which is smaller than a bedbug itself. The material is said to be soft, airy, and cozy to sleep in on top of a hotel bed. The idea is that you wrap your body in the cocoon from your shoulders to your feet, and you wear a hood to protect your head and neck. Therefore only your face is exposed, because well…you do need to breath.

Would you be interested in using this product? If so how much do you think it should cost?

Leave us your opinions below in the comments section.

Hello The Allergy Guy Here.

Did you know that the first day of Spring was March 20th? That’s right. Spring is officially here. For some of us that is great news because that means that winter is over and we are moving into the warmer months. For others though that isn’t great news because that means that spring is in the air – quite literally. As trees bloom and flowers blossom, pollens fill the air and cause many of us who have allergies to become miserable.

After reading an article published by The Weather Channel, we learned that this was the fourth warmest winter on record. They also said, the warm temps and lack of wintery participation have lead to an early crop of allergies. “It’s causing the perfect storm for allergy misery,” says New York-based allergist Dr. Cliff Bassett. “Over  the last 10 years, allergy seasons are beginning earlier in the spring.  Not only that, they’re lasting longer.”

So with that, The Weather Channel also teamed us with The Asthma and Allergy Foundation and put together this year’s Top 10 Spring Allergy Cities – and we wanted to share these findings with our audience. Here are the top 10 cities in order of the hardest places to live for allergy suffers:

1. Knoxville, TN
2. McAllen, TX
3. Louisville, KY
4. Jackson, MS
5. Wichita, KS
6. Oklahoma City, OK
7. Chattanooga, TN
8. Memphis, TN
9. San Antonio, TX
10. Datyon, OH
    

To read more about the details and allergens in each city, click here.

But, on the brighter side, we do sell products that do help with allergy relief. One of our most popular allergy relief products is the SinuPulse Elite nasal irrigation. Click here to learn more or to purchase. Good luck with allergy season.

March is Red Cross month and as here at the Allergy Guy we have the upmost respect and appreciation for the Red Cross as they help people in need both here in North America and all across the globe.

The Red Cross was created by Clara Barton in 1881 and is always one of the first to provide relief to people affected by disaster. The Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters a year and provides food, shelter and emotional support to those in need.  They rely heavily on donations of time, money and blood and if you are willing to give you can do so here: http://www.redcross.org/

Also we must mention that if you volunteer or are displaced and must stay at any temporary shelter it is highly recommended that you pack your belongings in a bed bug suite case cover. We understand that avoiding bed bugs are not likely to be on your mind, but bedbugs are common in temporary shelters and contracting them would ad a another level of frustration to your life.

Check out this informative and scary interpretation of the bed bug problem brought to us by the good people at http://www.bedbugs.org

Created by: BedBugs.org

Do you suffer from allergies? Did you know that your bed could be causing your allergies to act up at night? It’s true, especially if you are allergic to dust which is a bi-product of dust mites. The good news is that there is a product on the market that can help and it’s called an allergy mattress cover.

Dust mites are all over the world. They are tiny creatures that live where there are humans, as they feed on the dead skin that we shed. For this reason, dust mites aren’t strangers to hanging out in our beds, as this is where we spend about 1/3 of our lives. Our beds are a perfect place for dust mites to reside because of the unlimited supply of dead skin cells, perfect food source dust mites.

Dust mites have been known to cause allergies for many people because as they grow and reproduce, they release their fecal matter. The fecal matter (dust) is what humans are allergic to, which is why if you are having trouble sleeping at night, you may want to consider getting an allergy mattress cover. Allergy mattress covers are one way to put a barrier between you and a dust mite dropping which can cause allergies to act up.

We sell two types of  allergy mattress covers. The first is a Cotton Mattress Cover. This type of mattress cover is 100% AllerCotton fabric that has a 4.5 micron pore size. In addition, these types of allergy matters covers are also certified dust mite barriers. The other type of allergy mattress cover we sell is an Organic Allergy Mattress Cover. This is an organic cotton mattress cover and it is the most natural product available for dust mite prevention as it is free of chemicals, dyes and other added treatments.

If you have allergies, we recommend trying a allergy matters cover. We know that with that added barrier, you’ll get the sleep you need because you allergies won’t be keeping you up. Click here to purchase.

Today we came across an interesting article published by the Daily Nebraskan News titled, “Greek Houses Take Precautions Against Bed Bugs.” As you know we have been reporting on the issues that the University of Nebraska at Lincoln has had over the past few months.  We are happy to report that the Greek System is taking the bed bug problem seriously and we are glad to hear it!

As reported in the article, “Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity took out an insurance policy to protect the house from bedbug-related expenses.” When asked by the paper for a comment, their response was, “The cost of extermination would be out of this world,” said Kyle Arganbright, president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Alumni Board. He estimated the fee would be $1,900 for every infested room, while the insurance cost about $2,500.” While his estimation might not be exact, he is still in the right ball park.

Bed bug extermination can be very costly, and if one room is infected, there is a high likelihood that the begs have traveled to nearby rooms too. In addition, especially in regards to the student lifestyle, people are  always coming and going from fraternity houses. And for this reason, we are glad to hear that students are taking action.

To read the whole article, please click here.

Did you know that the winter months are tough on allergy suffers? Most people relate allergies to spring and fall, but allergies can be aggravated during the winter months too.

In the winter months, especially in colder regions of the world, many people close up their windows and spend much more time indoors. To prepare for the cold, people inherently  turn on the furnace turns, bring out warm blankets, and pull out wool coats from the closet. In doing this, people are also introducing new particles into their indoor environment. These particles can include dust, allergens, mold spores, dust mites and more, all of which can cause allergies. People don’t realize the aggregate of all of the allergens, particles, irritants, and just plain pollution that is in our indoor air – all of which can contribute to common allergies.

One of the ways to protect yourself against winter allergies is with an air purifier. As discussed in a previous article, “Do Air Purifiers Really Help Allergies? Why buy a HEPA Air Purifier?” Air purifiers are specially designed with improved filtration system for removing irritants and allergens from the air. Air purifiers help reduce seasonal allergies by trapping suspended allergy causing particles in the air such as dust, mold, spores, pollen and dust mites.  Some air purifiers also offer additional services such as removing odors and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) performing complete indoor air cleaning and purification. In the majority of cases, these air purifiers will provide relief to allergy patients by cleaning the air and removing allergens.

We recommend the brand Austin Air. Austin Air purifiers If you are looking for a great air purifier, try the Austin Air HealthMate™ Jr HEPA Air Purifier Filtration System. This air purifier utilizes the proven HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filter to scrub the air in your room, home or office, to promote a healthy environment, free of dust, pollen, and other particles, as well as offensive odors.

If you are interested in other Austin Air products, check out great deals on my website. www.theallergyguy.com

As the economy is still recovering from the global downturn, giving practical gifts have become a popular trend in holiday gift giving. A lot of people are just not willing to spend the money on some fad that will be here today and gone tomorrow.  Another welcome trend is gifting health related products. As a society we are making a commitment to living healthier lifestyles and are putting our well being as a priority. With that said, we have a unique Valentines day gift we would like to recommend to our readers.

Give your loved ones the gift of breathing clean air.  WHAT? I’m sure your wondering “How can I give clean air”?

Well its simple really, by installing an Austin Air Purifier in their room. This remarkable product removes over 99% percent of particles from the air that filters through it. It re-circulates air that is free of germs, bacteria, pollens, dust and all of the other junk that is entirely too prevalent in the air we breath.

Have you ever breathed air that has been re-circulated though this type of air purifier? It is heavenly! You sleep much better, your attitude is improved, you feel healthier, and it truly improves your overall quality of life. We encourage you to give this gift to someone you love this Valentines day. Yes, it could seem a bit strange opening this instead of a box of chocolates, but we are certain that special recipient will be so grateful after they use it for a few days.

We are so sure that they will love it, that we want to offer you a discount to sweeten the deal a bit. Go buy an air purifier from our site right now and use the coupon code “blog” and receive a 7% discount off your final purchase price.

Happy Valentines day, and go give that unique Valentines day gift.