fbpx

5 Things to Do On the First Day of Winter

warm home

5 Ideas for First Day of Winter Fun!

Winter is the coziest, most comfortable season of the year. So here you go, make winter fun again with 5 of our favorite things to do when it’s too cold outside to do anything else.

1. Warm up around food

When it’s cold, well, we want to eat. The more you eat, the warmer you are. Right?

Anyway, plan a day and make all of your favorite cold weather foods: chili, veggie soup, with all the cheese and sour cream in it, or even breakfast for dinner (a staff favorite). Because, if we are being honest, who doesn’t want to eat biscuits and gravy and French toast with powdered sugar for dinner?

2. Plan a trip to Asheville or Boone

Now living in the south gives us pretty mild winters, with the occasional threat of ice and snow – which can be a little disappointing,

Sometimes we want to throw snowballs at people and sled down a hill like Clark Griswold Christmas Vacation. The fix? A cabin! Yes. Take a trip to Asheville or Boone and get a cabin in the mountains. Make a fire with the smell of the woods around you, because that’s how you enjoy winter.

3. Make a fire pit

And if you can’t make it to the cabin soon enough, go buy a fire pit and have your own cabin experience in your backyard. A 30×30 fire pit is about $100, and some fresh cut wood is easy to find here in NC. After grabbing all of the essentials for making your favorite fireside foods, bundle up and enjoy.

4. Put in a classic

Now after you have eaten all of the food you can possibly eat, grab your best blankets and plan a movie night. Netflix, Redbox, or old classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Die Hard – make it a night or afternoon. Heck, wake up and make it a morning, we won’t judge.

5. Winterize your home

You’ve had your fun in the snow and bundling up – but now for the productivity. Winterizing your home before the weather gets cold will save you money on your energy bill and keep you and your family warm and cozy all winter long. It also prevents damage to your house when snow and ice hit the area.

If you need help, take a look at these 10 easy steps to winterize your home.

Have fun with your friends and family this winter. And if your home gives you any trouble, you know, cold drafts, high electric bills, or weird noises in your vents while you and your friends are arguing over whose chili is best, schedule an appointment with Killingsworth today.

We get your home cozy and comfortable, no blankets required.

SCHEDULE YOUR SERVICE

5 Things to Do On the First Day of Winter

Bedbug inspection

How to Know if Your Hotel Has Bedbugs

Upon entering a hotel room, do you typically reach for the tiny toiletries, take a leap onto the bed, or perhaps start by inspecting for bed bugs? Knowing what to look for is essential. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has shared valuable insights on identifying bed bugs in your hotel room and preventing them from hitching a ride back home with you. And if bed bugs do become an unexpected part of your vacation, remember that Clark’s Pest Control is here to assist!



Q&A with a Pest Professional


How do bed bugs get inside hotels?


Bed bugs are primarily hitchhiking insects as opposed to foraging ones, meaning that they get carried around on people’s clothes and belongings. Someone with an active infestation in their home can easily bring bed bugs to their hotel, but they can also be picked up during travel (airplanes, taxis, and rideshare services) and brought to a hotel room.


What do people misunderstand about bed bugs in hotels?


From a probability standpoint, all hotels will deal with bed bugs at some point in time. If you think about a bed bug’s method of travel, there’s literally nothing a hotel can do to stop them from being carried in. What I have realized is that luxury hotels are more likely to have an aggressive response to dealing with a bed bug case once it’s identified as they tend to have a higher quality of service and a reputation to protect. While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience more often than not.

Got bedbugs? Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today!

What do you recommend travelers do when they get to their room to check for bed bugs?


Most hotel headboards hang directly on the wall. I start my inspection here before even looking at the bed itself. I have found bed bugs, their exoskeletons, and the telltale black stains they leave behind around the edges of or in the crevices of headboards. If the headboard looks clean, move on to looking over the pillowcases and comforter for any signs or stains. You can dig into the bedding as deep as you want here, but I encourage people to look over the top layer of things at the very least.


What are some lesser-known signs of bed bugs in your hotel room?


The specifics of the black stains they leave behind, which as gross as it sounds, are just digested blood as that’s all that bed bugs feed on. If the stains are on a hard surface, they will be small dots as if left behind by an ink pen and will smear into a brownish gray when moisture is applied. If they’re on fabric, they will usually bleed along the fibers making a small diamond, square or X shape.


If there are bed bugs in your hotel room, can they travel home with you?


They absolutely can, however this is easy to prevent. While staying in a hotel, keep as much of your clothing and luggage off the beds as possible. Storing suitcases in the bathroom might sound odd, but it’s an effective method of prevention.

Don’t tackle bedbugs yourself, call Clark’s at 866-781-4991!

What should you do with your suitcase if you suspect your hotel has bed bugs?


When arriving home from a trip, leave your luggage in the garage or on a porch and bring your clothes in one load of laundry at a time. If the clothes are dirty, wash them like you normally would, if they’re clean then run them through the dryer for at least forty-five minutes. Once your suitcase is empty, vacuum over it meticulously (don’t forget to empty the vacuum when you’re done), or if you’re in the right climate, expose it to heat for a few days by placing it in your vehicle (parked in the sun) or for a few weeks in your attic.


The Clark’s Solution


If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Clark’s is here to help. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.


A Clark’s Pest Professional will do an inspection and recommend a plan of attack to get rid of bed bugs now and prevent them from hatching in the future. Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today for more information.



Also of Interest

Scroll to Top