Bed Bugs and Your PCS Move: A Guide for Military Families in Virginia

Why PCS season is a risk

Bed bugs don't come from dirt. They travel on furniture, bedding, luggage, boxes and clothing, and they can survive several months to a year without feeding (EPA). A military move stacks up exactly those conditions:

• Temporary lodging. For a move to a new duty station in the continental U.S., Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE) can now cover up to 21 days of lodging, up from 14 (Defense Travel Management Office). That can mean two or three weeks of hotel beds while you wait for housing.
• Household goods in transit and storage. Your furniture, mattresses and boxes are handled, loaded and sometimes stored before they reach you.
• A high-turnover region. Naval Station Norfolk is the largest naval complex in the world (Naval Station Norfolk, CNIC), so Hampton Roads sees constant move-ins and move-outs in rentals, base housing and hotels.

None of that means you'll get bed bugs. It means it's worth spending ten minutes at each stop.

At every hotel or temporary lodging stop

Before you bring bags in, check the bed. Pull back the sheets at the head of the bed and look along the mattress seams, the box spring corners and behind the headboard. Look for live bugs, tiny dark spots (droppings) or shed skins. Our hotel room checklist walks through it in two minutes.

• Keep suitcases on the luggage rack, not the bed or floor, and inspect the rack too (EPA travel tips).
• If you see anything, ask for a different room that isn't next to, above or below the first one.
• Keep dirty clothes in a sealed plastic bag instead of loose in the suitcase.

Before you pack (if you're leaving a place with a problem)

If you already have bed bugs where you live now, moving does not leave them behind. Deal with it before the packers arrive, or you'll ship the problem to your next duty station.

• Wash and dry clothing and bedding on high heat, then seal it in clear plastic bags labeled "clean" (New Mexico Department of Health moving guide).
• Furniture that's moving should be treated by a professional before it goes on the truck.
• On moving day, have everyone shower and put on clean clothes, and bag the clothes they were wearing until they can be laundered.

The Department of Defense's own bed bug guidance recommends the same laundering standard we tell customers: wash at 120°F or hotter, then dry on high heat for at least 20 minutes, or dry clean, to kill all life stages (Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Technical Guide No. 44).

When your household goods arrive

This is the step most families skip because they're exhausted. Don't.

1. Inspect upholstered furniture and mattresses as they come in, especially seams, under cushions and the underside of couches and box springs.
2. Unpack clothes straight into the dryer. A hot dryer kills bed bugs; washing alone generally doesn't (EPA).
3. Break down boxes and get them out of bedrooms quickly. Cardboard is a good hiding spot.
4. Encase mattresses and box springs with a quality bed bug encasement. It removes hiding places and makes any bugs easy to spot. See do mattress encasements work?
5. Be careful with free or used furniture from base yard sales, curbside pickups or online listings. Check it before it comes inside.

If you find bed bugs in your new home

Don't spray store-bought foggers. They don't reach where bed bugs hide and can scatter them into new rooms (see why DIY treatments fail).

1. Save a bug or take a clear photo. Tape works.
2. Stop unpacking soft items into the affected rooms.
3. If you rent, tell your landlord or housing office in writing. Virginia law has specific rules on who pays; see who pays for bed bug treatment in a Virginia rental. If you live in base or privatized housing, contact the housing office first; they may have their own pest control process.
4. Get a professional inspection. We'll tell you how far it's spread and what it will take.

For most homes we recommend heat treatment. It kills bed bugs and their eggs in one visit, which matters when you're trying to get settled and can't live out of boxes for weeks. Heat is $2.00 per square foot. Every treatment comes with our 6-month warranty. Here's how to prepare for heat treatment.

Even after heat treatment, you may see a few live bugs in the first week. We also treat the baseboards in each treated room, so stragglers come out and usually die off within about a week. If you're still seeing live bugs after that first week, call us.

Where we serve military families

We treat homes across Virginia, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News and the rest of Hampton Roads, plus Fredericksburg and Stafford near Quantico. Call (757) 600-6073 in Hampton Roads or request a Free Quote.

Sources - U.S. EPA, Protecting Your Home from Bed Bugs and Tips for Travel - Defense Travel Management Office, DoD Authorizes Additional 7 Days to CONUS Temporary Lodging Expense (effective Nov. 27, 2024) - Commander, Navy Installations Command, Naval Station Norfolk - Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Technical Guide No. 44: Bed Bugs – Importance, Biology, and Control Strategies - New Mexico Department of Health, How to Move and Leave Bed Bugs Behind