Happy Families Say No to Bed Bugs!

The worst thing most vacationers might expect to bring home is a sunburn. Although, some unfortunate travelers bring home a bigger problem — bed bugs. Waking up to bite marks, lumps or small critters scurrying to avoid exposure is a big and legitimate fear for travelers. You can't stop bed bug infestations from happening in a hotel room, but you can approach your vacation with preventative caution.

Yes, Bed Bugs are in Hotels

Shockingly, a 2011 University of Kentucky and National Pest Management Association (NPMA) survey found that 80 percent of pest control professionals have treated hotels and motels for bed bugs, which are a very real problem and their numbers continue to increase every year. Many people assume that bed bug infestations are simultaneous with uncleanliness, but it isn't that simple. Bed bugs are blood suckers. Unlike roaches, who consume particles found in dust and dirt, bed bugs are attracted solely to warm, sleeping bodies. Although you can get rid of bed bugs with Orkin and other pest control companies, some hotels fail to do so. Whether your hotel costs $50 or $500 per night, you are at risk.

 

How to Spot an Infestation

Be sure to research the hotel you plan to stay in before you book rooms. Read reviews and choose a place with no known history of bed bug infestation. Once you've chosen a hotel, the next preventative step to take is to check your room.

One pest control company suggests using the acronym, SLEEP to remember the steps for checking a hotel room for bed bugs.

• Survey surfaces for evidence of an infestation.
• Lift and look in all furniture crevices.
• Elevate your luggage and keep it away from furniture like a bed or night stand.
• Examine your luggage and belongings thoroughly before repacking.
• Place all your clothing in the dryer for at least 15 minutes on high when you return home from travel.

 

Cities With the Most Bed Bug Infestations

Every year Orkin releases the list of the cities with the most infestations of bed bugs, based on calls made. ABC News posted 2012's list on their website. Though bed bugs aren't limited to these cities, you should be especially cautious if you're visiting:

10. New York, N.Y.
9. Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
8. Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Ohio
7. Washington, District of Columbia
6. Columbus, Ohio
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
4. Denver, Colo.
3. Los Angeles, Calif.
2. Detroit, Mich.
1. Chicago, Ill.

Check Your Luggage When You Get Home

It may seem a bit extreme, but odd stares from your neighbors will do far less damage than a bed bug infestation in your home. Inspect luggage outside before bringing it into your home.

• If you traveled to your destination by vehicle, bring plastic bags and containers to store luggage in on the ride home.
• Take out all clothes and belongings. Wash and dry all clothing in hot water. If you have clothes that need to be dry cleaned, keep them in plastic bags and take them to the cleaner as soon as possible.
• Literally, clean everything. Clean items like shoes, bags and hats with designated cleaners. Even clean your jewelry, combs etc.
• Vacuum and wash all luggage thoroughly before storing it. A garment steamer is a great option for cleaning luggage. The heat from the steam will kill any eggs that may be attached to your belongings.

Author's Bio:

Sarah Pratt

Originally from South Africa, Sarah teaches dance and tours with a dance troupe. She loves blogging about her adventures for a variety of sites.

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The Main Types of Wooden Garage Door Available

Timber garage doors not only look good, but also need little maintenance if you go for the fully finished option. Many are available pre-framed, which makes installation very easy. You can choose the brand and type of timber from a huge variety of options, which fall into 5 main ones.

Cedar Door

Cedar wooden garage doors have many advantages - cedar is very stable, rot resistant, strong and light.These doors are made in the UK using traditional methods that ensure attention to detail and quality.

-Stiles and rails on these wooden garage doors are also made from cedar, using very sturdy mortice and tenon joints.

-For even easier use, these doors can be automated before they are despatched to you.

-These doors do not feature a steel chassis, so you get more wood for your money!

-They often include counterbalance mechanism and canopy, pre-installed for convenience.

- Models that include glazing all feature toughened glass.

-You can choose from a range of widths, from 6ft to 18ft.

-These doors are approved for use in listed buildings and conservation areas.

Hormann
Hormann timber garage doors feature a sturdy steel chassis with timber cladding.

-These doors come in a good range of sizes, however big your garage is - from 6'6" to 14'0" width.

-They include canopy and counterbalance mechanisms, pre-installed for the ultimate in convenience.

-Hormann doors also feature an anti-drop system that is CE marked, so you be assured of their safety credentials.

-All glazed models feature Perspex windows with an attractive and security-conscious stippled finish.

-They are compatible with wooden garage door frames or can be supplied with a thin dark brown steel frame around the edge.

Woodrite
-These high quality UK made doors can be finished in any Impra stain, which gives a huge variety of gorgeous colours to choose from.

-They can be supplied with a cedarwood or steel frame, whichever you prefer.

- You can choose from standard sizes or bespoke made-to-measure designs for that personal touch.

-If you want a glazed door you can choose from perspex or toughened glass, depending on your requirements.

Oak and Idigbo

-Idigbo resembles oak but is more stable and lighter; it is a type of tropical hardwood.

-These timber garage doors are available in a choice of standard sizes, or you can go for made-to-measure.

-They are fully finished, which means little or no maintenance is required.

-You can choose from three stylish matt finishes.

-Any planking, rails or stiles are also solid idigbo or oak, ensuring a coherent look.

Sectional
-The sectional style of garage door is designed to maximize height and width available to drive through.

-If you decide to go for a sectional garage door, you can choose from cedarwood, hemlock or nordic pine.

-You can get the doors made to measure, or go for a standard size.

-There are also a range of different finishes available, in addition to the choice of wood.
 

-You can even choose lifting gear specially designed for low headroom areas.

-They can be more secure and weatherproof than the up and over style of wooden garage doors.

AUTHOR BIO: Diyana Wilson is a freelance writer and experienced property developer. She recommends searching the internet to find a variety of wooden garage doors at superb prices.

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Getting a Divorce and Using the Internet to Your Advantage

On realising that you have reached the stage in your marriage where there is no other option than to separate, getting the right help and assistance with a divorce is imperative to ensure that you can move on with your life as swiftly as possible. 

Requirements For A Divorce
There are certain requirements that are necessary before you can commence divorce proceedings. The first and main one is that if you are asking for a court in England or Wales to process your divorce you will need to have been married for a minimum of one year. The only times this may not be a requirement are when the grounds for divorce are bigamy (where the respondent was already married at the time of your marriage ceremony) and nullity (where the marriage has not been consummated). These situations are rare, but if they apply to your situation then it is important that you seek specific legal advice from an experienced family lawyer.

You will also need to be domiciled within England and Wales to be divorced under English law. If you do not live in the UK, you will need to provide an address within the United Kingdom where your papers can be sent and state where you live if it is not in the United Kingdom. The first step of the divorce is to file a divorce petition. This has to be provided in duplicate and you will need to provide the court with a certified copy of your marriage certificate. If you do not have a copy of it, you should obtain one as soon as possible. This can usually be done at the register office that covers the jurisdiction for the area you were married in. There is usually a fee for this. If there are children of the marriage who are under age 18 then you will have to prepare what is called a statement of arrangements to accompany the divorce petition. This also has to be provided to the court in duplicate and can be quite lengthy. It covers where the children usually reside, what school they attend (if applicable) and how much time (if any) they spend with each parent and the addresses at which this takes place. There is also the opportunity to state if there are to be any changes to these arrangements after the divorce is finalised. If the matters are more complex, you could look at solicitors online to assist you with this aspect. 

If both parents are in agreement with the contents of the statement of arrangements they can both sign this before it is submitted to the courts. This can be a huge advantage further into the divorce when the judge is ready to consider granting the decree nisi. If the court can see that the arrangements are satisfactory, there should be minimal delays. The more aspects of the arrangements following a divorce that can be agreed amicably, prior to going to court, the quicker a divorce is likely to be finalised. For cases where this is not a possibility then it may be worth looking at solicitors online to assist you.

AUTHOR BIO: Sharon McQueen writes articles on family law and provides legal content to many online legal websites such as Dutton Gregory.

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Why Just Rooms When You Can Dwell in Heaven

Every house in the world should be like a heaven where we at the end of the day, leave all the cares and worries of the world and relax in the company of our family and friends and enjoy the time that we want to treasure all throughout our lives. From kitchen and living room where we start up our day to the bedroom where we close our eyes at night and dream of those wonderful things.  It should reflect our senses and tastes each and everywhere and endure our personalities to the extent of what we carry out in our everyday lives.  It is our desire that our rooms will reflect our attitude and the personality we carry or we want to carry ahead.

 

Living in heaven

Now to make our room look exactly like that we need to decorate it with those artifacts and accessories that will actually add a touch of glamour and bring the desired effect through the use of paintings, wall hangings, and other artifacts. For it we must take various articles to decorate different parts of the house separately.

Decorating Kitchens –Kitchen is the most important part in a house. So the décor for the kitchen should be utility oriented as in comparison to other rooms or parts of the house with the necessary inclusion of chopping boards, wine racks, utensils, pot holder, storage racks, even towels, napkins and many more.

Decorating Living rooms - Fireplace should be decorated the way that one feel pretty relaxed sitting beside it. Fireplace can either be electric type or of traditional way, in context of the second, more accessories are necessary like log holders, match holders and screens of various designs.

Decorating other rooms – Decorating other rooms are also a very serious affair so as to match up with the entire home and for that there are plenty of articles available such as blinds and curtains, clocks and antiques, decorative vases and pots, lamps and chandeliers, fabrics, artworks and wall paintings, mirrors and many more.

Now it’s more than what to do, it is how to do. Knowing what to do has always been simpler than how to do. Before one gets down to work it is very important to have a plan chalked out. One should take a time to formulate a decorating plan. If the home is being newly constructed it is necessary to finish up with the decorating plan way before the house gets actually completed. Everybody wants to make their home look pretty but in order to make that happen we often compromise with the space. So it is very important to make sure that with style and décor there should be ample space to spend our treasured moments with our entire family.

Conclusion – Although decorating our home is a do-it-yourself project and often it’s a lot of fun doing these, however they aren’t always feasible, unless we are an expert in the process, therefore it is best to leave this part on the professionals. So this is all about making our home turned into heaven with little planning, effort and efficiencies.

Author’s Bio:  Alisa Martin is an extremely skillful author writing high quality articles on Small Kitchen Appliances and related topics. She has been contributing regularly for the website www.shopperslanding.com.

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