It has been five years since Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota, saw a rise in bed bug infestations, and the number of reported incidences has done anything but diminish. In an effort to change this, the Fargo-Cass Public Health Department recently released some tips in keeping bed bug-free, according to the news channel WDAY-TV.

The department issued some tips one what to look out for when traveling this season and staying in hotels.

"Take the bed board off the wall, look in the creases of the bed board, take the sheets of the mattress, look in the seams of the mattress for bed bugs or even a blood stain," Mile Schacher, an Environmental Health Practitioner, told the news source.

According to the Mayo Clinic, bed bugs are approximately the size of an apple seed, are reddish-brown and flat. They feed on blood and hide in the crevices of a bed or the walls and carpets surrounding it. Those who want to prevent bed bugs may want to purchase a mattress encasement, which can trap these little pests until professional help arrives or keep them at bay.