It’s no secret that military spouses experience plenty of barriers as they try to maintain full-time careers and frequently relocate due to PCS orders.

For many, the choice becomes to either stay where they are and keep the current job, or keep the family intact and risk not getting a job in their chosen career at the new duty station. But, why should they have to choose between the two? They shouldn’t! And thanks to the work of the Military Spouse JD Network, fewer attorneys have to make that choice.

At the height of the 2011 PCS season two military spouses turned their frustration with the challenges of maintaining their legal careers into motivation to advocate for licensing accommodations. They started by drafting a model rule to help jurisdictions set their own rules to ease licensing for relocating military spouses who have law degrees.

Now, with more than 1,000 members and supporters, including the the American Bar Association, the MSJDN has successfully influenced 19 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands to adopt their own version of the rule, allowing military spouse attorneys to practice in the state where the service member is stationed if the spouse is in good standing in another state. In other words, they do not have to re-take the bar exam with every move.

“Licensing is a critical piece of the employment issue for military spouses,” said Libby Jamison, president elect of MSJDN. “It can be burdensome and costly to maintain licensing in several states.”

According to the MSJDN website, licensing can take up to a year and include an application, character and fitness review, bar exam and processing. Gaps in employment can cause additional delays. And, it can cost $4,000 to $5,000 in preparation materials and fees each time they apply.

Sometimes, states may tweak the model licensing rule or language to fit their needs, but those tweaks can cause further burdens like fees or supervision.

“My least favorite change is when states add a supervision requirement to spouses,” said Johanna Thibault, communications director at MSJDN.

But, even when the licensing barrier is out of the way, getting a job isn’t a sure thing.

“Employment is the bottom line and when someone has been practicing for 10-15 years, it can be burdensome to the employee and employer,” said Jamison. “Our clients won't pay for two attorneys just so one of them can be supervised when she has that much work experience.”

Overall, MSJDN is enjoying great momentum right now.

“We are working in 18 more states right now and are focused on getting all 50 states onboard,” Thibault said. “As a next step, we will also evaluate where we can consider helping some states with revising the rules they initially put in place to determine if there are ways to improve them.”

Jamison added, “The most important thing with all the work we have done is that companies, firms and communities are really starting to understand more that military spouses are career-minded, capable, flexible and good employees who want to contribute to their communities.”

For more information about the status of the states and MSJDN efforts, visit MSJDN.org.

By Christine Cioppa

Pregnant woman, and those trying to conceive, beware: you don’t have to be in a country where the birth-defect-causing Zika virus is found to be at risk for the virus. It can be passed along sexually by men who get infected from a mosquito bite while out of the country

And with PCS season and multiple, overseas, joint exercises coming in the next few months, there are a lot of military families that will be traveling to Zika infected areas.

What’s alarming is that the Zika virus may or may not produce symptoms. Only 20 percent of people who are infected feel sick (rash, fever, joint pain, red eye).

Currently, it’s not known if all pregnant women who are infected will pass it to the fetus. There are a lot of unknowns about the virus right now. For example, it’s known that the virus lasts about a week in the blood (and sometimes longer), but experts are not sure how long it lasts in semen.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently has Zika Virus travel notices for the following areas:

Cape Verde

Caribbean

Central America

Mexico

Pacific Islands

South America

There is no vaccine or drug treatment yet for this virus. According to a memo this month from the Department of Defense Health Affairs, “Local mosquito vector transmission of Zika virus has not been documented in the continental United States, but Zika virus infections have been reported in travelers returning to the United States.”

If you’re pregnant, the CDC recommends that you: avoid travel to areas with the Zika virus, try to prevent mosquito bites (protective clothing, repellents, etc.) and try to prevent possible virus transmission from sex with an infected male. Got questions or concerns? Reach out to your healthcare provider. 

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-information

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/protect-yourself.html#one

http://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Zika-Virus

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/sexual-transmission.html

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/program-and-policy-support/Navy-Zika-InfoSheet.pdf

There is one big reality check staring me straight in the face as my husband nears retirement after 26 years in the Army: How am I going to get a job?

I worked full-time throughout the first half of his career, from Hawaii to Georgia to North Carolina to Okinawa to Korea. Then we had kids, and coincidentally started moving more frequently. My work in the past 13 years has included freelancing and part-time jobs, with a couple of years of full-time employment here and there.

There are also vast swaths of emptiness on my resume, years at a time where I did very little professionally.

I’m a journalist by trade and have had my work published in close to 50 different newspapers and magazines, ranging from small weekly publications to the Washington Post. I’ve covered major news stories in a dozen different countries.

Back in the day, before kids and two wars and the constant deploy/PCS/deploy/PCS cycle my life became, I was good at what I did. I had a lot of contacts throughout the industry, and jobs offered to me in several locations.

Then I dropped the ball. I didn’t keep in touch with those contacts. I lost interest in writing when I wasn’t getting paid much (or anything at all). I didn’t follow up well with those who did still express an interest in my work.

The last full-time position I had was four years ago, working as a social media specialist for the U.S. Army in Germany.

Now, here I am, staring my husband’s retirement dead in the face and kicking myself for not keeping my contacts, my resume and my job skills current.

I have six months to a year to get back on the horse and get myself set up for something, anything, that might bring in some income. After a lot of internet searching (and pretty deep soul searching), I came up with a plan.

I enrolled in a continuing education course in social media management. I am re-engaging with long-lost friends in the business. I am volunteering with an organization with no military affiliation, to do work in my career field. 

I’m looking at more freelance work, short contracts for special projects, anything I can do to get my name out there.

This would have been a lot easier had I just kept up with my career field over the last decade.

Whether you are in the military with a long a career ahead of you, married to someone who is, or are navigating life in the civilian world, do what you can to keep current in your industry throughout any periods when you aren’t working.

Don’t wait until the last minute.

 Here’s a few tips I’ve learned in trying to jumpstart my working life:

1. Maintain contacts, and not just on Facebook – This sounds so easy, but when you move constantly and social media is ever-present, it’s easy to forget that one-on-one personal communication trumps random FB posts every time. Reach out to former bosses and colleagues on a regular basis. Ask them if they have any advice for you, freelance or work-from-home opportunities, or if they know anyone in the area where you currently live.
2. Join professional organizations – Especially if you are in the U.S., nearly every location probably has some sort of professional organization you can join. If there isn’t anything specific to your career field, look for business or networking groups like Toastmaster’s or civic clubs that do community service.
3. Add volunteer positions to your resume, but only certain ones – Yes, volunteering can be a positive addition to your resume. But only if it relates directly to your career field. Being an FRG leader, for example, is valuable to the unit and might be personally rewarding, but I have yet to find a career field that translates to. Search for specific volunteer positions that match up to a job you would apply for in the real world, and something where you can show tangible results from your work.
4. Continue your education – There are dozens of ways to continue your education, improve your job skills and keep up with trends in your industry. You can take college courses, attend seminars, read trade publications. Any of those can be done online. Take note of new requirements you see emerging in your career field and do whatever you can to hone your skills in that area.

PCS season is coming.

And leaving, is tough.

I’m not talking about prepping for the moving company, making that long drive or flight or collecting all the medical, school and military records. I’m talking about leaving.

Walking away from friends.

Visiting your favorite local restaurant for the last time.

Turning the key in the door to a house you may have felt the most comfortable in.

Looking around this small piece of the Earth and knowing that you may never step foot here again. Ever.

It’s hard.

I’ve had several friends PCS this month. Watching the feed on their Facebook page was heartbreaking. They loved where they lived. They logged every last meal, laugh, moment.

And then, the photo of the airport gate.

Military life is, I believe, one of the toughest lives for a family. The best military wives I know understand that nothing is forever, and they embrace every single place they live – the good, the bad and the horrible. They find something spectacular to love, even in the most difficult of places.

The most successful military wives find that there is always pain when they leave. They worked hard to build a life here and be happy. That is hard to leave behind. In other places, they literally feel they need to be dragged away because they just don’t want to go.

I hope the people they leave behind, the neighbors who worry about the impact of the military on their quiet lives and the naysayers who believe we are all trouble, understand that we take a piece of them with us everywhere we go. That we have happy memories. That they are part of the stories we tell, the laughs we share and the memories we tell our children when they can’t quite remember a name or place.

They have helped create the fabric of our life and we are forever grateful.

So as you PCS this year, stop amid the craziness of the preparations. Walk to your favorite place in town. Have lunch with a friend you are leaving behind. Take a deep breath and look around. Soak it in.

You may never see this place again. Take a moment to make sure you carry it with you. Always.

It’s only January, but it’s never too early to talk about PCS’ing.

Moving overseas brings with it a whole new set of challenges. Chances are, if you are moving abroad, you are going somewhere you’ve never been. Where they speak a different language, have different holidays and religious customs and eat foods you’ve never heard of before.

But before you even worry about all that, you’ve got to get yourself and your family and your pets packed out of your current duty station.

The to-do list is even longer for an OCONUS PCS than it is for one stateside. There are so many questions and so many things to consider that even a seasoned military family might not know where to start. After moving across oceans 10 times in the past 25 years, there are a few things I’ve learned:

Pack light. No one wants to take you to or from the airport with a dozen suitcases. And trust me, you don’t have to carry those dozen suitcases through security, customs and an unknown airport.

Find out all the benefits available when moving overseas and use them. For example, in most cases you can mail items to yourself at your new address and be reimbursed, as long as you are still under your weight limit. I usually send ahead two or three boxes with extra clothes, and when my kids were little I let them each pack a small box of toys to send ahead. Actually, this benefit usually applies to stateside moves, too. I once mailed 42 Rubbermaid totes to myself from Florida to Kansas. No lie.

Pack a bottle opener and corkscrew.

If someone on the other end has offered to help you, take them up on it. Most overseas units will assign you a “sponsor” before you arrive. Hit them up with all your questions and don’t hesitate to ask them to pick you up at the airport, get you a Post Office box on base and help you to settle in smoothly. Someone likely did the same for them when they arrived.

Many places offer sponsors for kids as well. Information is usually posted on the garrison or school liaison websites.

If you are taking classes or need steady Internet access for work while you travel, research your options and make sure you have what you need to make that happen. Don’t assume that all hotels overseas will have WIFI.

Search Facebook for local pages geared toward military in the area where you are moving. For example, there are at least three pages here in Stuttgart where newbies are encouraged to ask questions. Of course, don’t take those answers for gospel - you are likely to get several different opinions on some things. But asking on the pages can be a good place to start your research and help make a list of questions you need to ask as you are out-processing/in-processing.

Ask friends to hook you up if they know anyone in the area currently or who has been stationed there in the recent past.

Make a calendar. Whether you have six months or one week to prepare for your move, set deadlines and make notes of what needs to be done, and when.

Carry a list of important phone numbers, family contacts and addresses you might need when you arrive. Be prepared to be without cell phone service for at least a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks, until you can get that all set up at your new location.

Depending on where you are going, the size of housing might be smaller than what you are used to in the U.S. The military will generally store all or some of your household goods for the duration that you are overseas. I recommend bringing the basics and then enough extra to make you feel at home. Furniture can sometimes be hard to find overseas in styles that most of us are used to, or it may be expensive. On the other hand, your giant sectional sofa may not fit in a German (or Japanese or Korean or Belgian) living room. This is a judgment call on your part, and one to talk about with your sponsor or any other contacts you have at the new location.

Have at least a three-month’s supply of prescription medicines. The last thing you want to do when you get to a new duty station is figure out the medical/pharmacy process right away. Also, have a copy of the prescription so when you do go to a new doctor you know exactly what it is you need.

If possible, take advantage of any newcomer’s classes and briefings offered to you. Some bases provide free child care along with these sessions.

Hand carry shot records and birth certificates.

If possible, have a little extra money saved up. Moving overseas is expensive. While many of those costs are reimbursed by the military, you may have to pay hotel bills and other expenses up front.

If you will have to take a driving test at the new location, start studying.

Try to learn a few basic phrases of your host country’s language. Honestly, so many people here speak English that I rarely need much German to get by. But I find it makes me feel more comfortable, and breaks the ice, if I at least try.

Make a list of fun things to see and do after you arrive. If you have kids, get them involved, too. Start small - local tourist attractions, parks and restaurants. Once you arrive, make your dream sheet of exotic locations to visit.

Don’t stress. It won’t help and it won’t get things done any faster on either end. Everything is harder overseas - setting up a household, enrolling kids in school, transporting pets, driving, you name it and it seems like it’s 10 times for difficult to accomplish.

I’ve had mixed feelings at first about every place we’ve moved. I’ve cried. I’ve been homesick. I’ve wanted to leave. But after a couple of months those feelings go away, if you let them.

Remember, sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride.

The summer PCS season has just ended and there’s a good chance many of you moved overseas, or at least some place “foreign” to you.

A move to another country can be overwhelming. The search for a house (or the long wait for one on base) can be daunting, it can takes months for cars and household goods to arrive and trying to keep in touch with family and friends in different time zones can be frustrating.

Even a simple thing like a trip to the grocery store or the gas station can be overwhelming.

It’s easy to start to feel sorry for yourself. It’s natural that a sense of loneliness and isolation will start to creep in, but don’t let it ruin the unique opportunity you’ve been given to experience another culture.

Here are five tips for adjusting to life overseas:

• Get rid of pre-conceived notions. We’ve all heard the stereotypes and rumors. Europeans are rude, Asians are ultra-formal, certain places have bad drivers or weird food or an abundance of body odor or … you get the idea. But the reality is that people are people, no matter where you are in the world. Their attitudes, customs and way of life are no better or worse than ours, just different. Believing the negative things you might hear about a place before going there will only serve to make you feel just that – negative.

• Try to speak the language. You don’t have to be fluent, or anywhere near. But at least make an effort.  Learn key words and phrases that are common courtesy in any language. Learn to ask someone, politely, if they speak English. In Japan and Korea I barely learned to count to 10, but I did know how to say thank you and good morning. In my sixth year of living in Germany, I can sometimes manage to eke out a full sentence or two. But I am always greeted with a smile whenever I try, and, more often than not, a response in perfect English.

• Get off base. We live on the same base where my husband works and my kids go to school. The commissary, clinic, movie theater, chapel, gym, library and shoppette are all within walking distance. Some people see little reason to leave the gate. And you know what? Those people don’t like it here very much. Yes, it is intimidating. Yes, it can be scary. But what’s the point of living in another country if you don’t experience any of it? Start slowly by taking a walk or a bike ride off post. Check out a local café or restaurant with your family or some other Americans. Go to a special event like a festival or art show. Soon you’ll learn your favorite places to shop and eat, and you’ll be planning a weekend getaway to yet another new country. Step out of your comfort zone. You’ll find a whole other world out there, and you’ll be very proud of yourself for doing so.

- Don’t complain, whine or belittle your “hosts” in front of your children. Yes, it’s always good to be honest with kids and let them know you might share their nervousness at being in a foreign country. But, regardless of their age, kids take their cues from us. If we let our kids think we hate where we live, or even worse its people or their customs, we are tainting their perceptions and cheating them out of what could be one of the best experiences of their young lives. Expose them to that culture and teach them to respect it, enjoy it and embrace it.

• Find the humor whenever you can. I once ordered what I thought was meatloaf in a German restaurant, only to discover that it was in fact a giant, cold cube of congealed animal parts. When I was about six months pregnant in Korea, I could no longer fit into our jerry-rigged laundry room to wash clothes. My husband and I have both failed the driver license tests in different countries, and more than once been challenged by the many unique types of toilets you find around the world. We’ve misread every manner of signs and maps and instructions and mispronounced words in more languages than we can count. That’s OK. We forgive ourselves. We laugh at ourselves. A lot.

By Tiffany Shedd

One of the first things I had to do as a brand new Army wife was get paperwork (quickly) for an overseas assignment. My husband had been assigned to Fort Wainwright, AK, which while technically is still the US; it really is like a foreign country.

In the process of getting my new military id card, enrolling in DEERS, and applying for my government passport, I also had to clear the EFMP office. I had not a clue what this was. Once I figured out that EFMP stood for Exceptional Family Member Program, I became a bit nervous. It was vaguely explained to me that it had to do with family members and medical issues. If those medical issues were severe enough, they may not allow me to travel with my brand new husband.

I got a little worried. I had recently had a fluke result pop up on a female related test and I also have suffered from migraines from a very young age. Needless to say, neither of these issues was of any importance when I went in for my quick appointment. The nice lady tried not to laugh as she assured me that these were not the issues that they were worried about. She signed my paperwork and sent me on my way. I didn’t think about EFMP again until six years later when my son’s PCM told me we needed to enroll in the program.

Hopefully, your first experience with EFMP is not as you’re trying to get yourself ready to undertake the mammoth challenge of an overseas PCS move. If it is though, try to get into your local EFMP office pronto.

If your military spouse already has orders and they are for the continental US, then you should be ok. If those orders are for overseas and your family member(s) were not already enrolled in EFMP, their needs were not taken into consideration when those orders were cut and the duty station may be unsuitable for your family member(s) needs.

Alert your family member’s PCM that your family has come up on orders and you need to get the EFMP process going as quickly as possible. On smaller bases, this may not happen as quickly as you’d like. We currently are assigned to a base where the EFMP program has no dedicated staff, just a nurse who does EFMP part time, which means that getting into the program takes some time. Even on larger bases, the process can take a while, so be sure to start it sooner rather than later.

If your orders are approaching quickly, you may not be able to travel with your military spouse to the duty station. You will have to stay behind until you entire family medically clears. I know that sounds like some worst nightmare type stuff, but stay calm and vigilant. You need to stay on top of your paperwork and in contact with your PCM and the EFMP liaison.

You are your family member’s biggest ally and advocate.

Once you’re enrolled in EFMP, or if you’re already in the EFMP program, you still have to be medically cleared before you are allowed to make the move overseas.  If you were enrolled in EFMP prior to PCS orders being cut, your family’s medical needs have already been taken into consideration. So, if your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), that is something that can be accommodated at your new duty station. If you had type 2 diabetes, they have made sure that there are specialists either on that base or within a short distance that can accommodate your health needs.

Unfortunately, there is no quick way to explain how you become medically cleared as it depends on which branch of service your family is a part. Fortunately, there are online resources that will give you a good overview of what to expect out of the process. I personally like to know what to expect before I even talk to someone, so I tend to Google things before doing anything else.

Here is a link for a Quick Reference Guide that discusses the medical clearing process for each specific branch of service: https://www.hanscomservices.com/Downloads/EFMP_Quick_Reference_Guide_May2013.pdf

There is also some very useful information about the EFMP program in this guide. It’s a good place to start if you’re just coming into the program or if you’re a seasoned spouse who is moving OCONUS for the first time as part of the EFMP. Another good place to look for information is with your PCM or the local EFMP office. They will know exactly what paperwork you will need and help you with getting any appointments that may be necessary.

I know that this can be intimidating and stressful, but once you’re done with the process, think about the adventure you’re about to embark on. This may be the first time you’ve travelled abroad or the first time you’ve been to this specific place. Make the most of this new place and opportunity.

I know it can seem overwhelming, but most moves seem that way while you’re in the process of doing it. Take it one step at a time. This is a big step, so once it’s done, you’re ready to tackle the next challenge that pops up. Good luck and bon voyage, my EFMP friends.

Last month we profiled two military wives and their cross-country and international moves. They may have mastered the logistics of these giant moves, but when they arrived at their new duty stations, there was still more to do before they could relax and unpack.

Here is quick look at their must do list as soon as you arrive at your new duty station.

Medical

Transfer your Tricare to your new region about a week before you move.

“At my last location, I waited until we got there and it was a three week wait on doctor appointments for school physicals,” said Army spouse Juanita Klemm.

Visit Tricare’s site to make your transfers on the go:

http://www.tricare.mil/About/Regions.aspx

School

School requirements for physicals for just school, or sports participation may vary, but earlier transfer seems to still be best. Klemm, a school administrator, also suggests first calling the new school district to ask about required forms and always have the child’s birth certificate and shot records with you.

“Do not let the movers pack your records,” Klemm stressed.

“I couldn’t believe how many people would show up at school and say their documents were in a box on a moving truck,” she said.

She also suggests calling the clinic on your new base to see if they have a walk-in service to transcribe shot records that need to be turned in to the school.

Before moving, the ever-organized Klemm made a binder for each of her children with all necessary school paperwork like shot records, birth certificates and any test scores.

“Those are the most generally required documents. I carried the binders with me in the car in a tote, along with other important papers such as passports, our birth certificates, social security cards and marriage license. I never let movers pack those,” she said.

Shipping Furniture and Cars

As Army spouse Kim Carlile prepared to move to Germany, she learned as much as she could about the living quarters there before packing.

 “Since the living quarters are smaller over there, I had yard sales and got rid of tons of our stuff,” Carlile said.

And, since the Army only pays to ship one personal vehicle overseas, the family sold one of their cars before they left.

Carlile attributes much of the assistance she received in her relocation prep to her installation’s transportation office.  There, she learned that household goods go into three different shipments: the main household goods (furniture and large items) and the unaccompanied baggage, such as pillows,  dishes, pots, pans and blankets.

“The unaccompanied baggage consists of basic needs for your house and usually gets there quickest,” Carlile said.

The third shipment is what she calls storage items, like grills, washers and dryers. These all get picked up by the movers.

Upon arrival, getting settled involved budgeting and utility start up, and learning how the procedures worked in Germany.

“One of the hardest things to learn was the financial stuff,” Carlile said. “It was hard to figure out our budget between euros and dollars. But once we got our budget in euros established, we just padded our account with extra money due to the fluctuation of the exchange rate.”

The cultural and the language barrier made setting up new utility accounts a challenge.

“Establishing telephone service had extra steps just due to translation issues,” Carlile said.

“With electricity, they read your meter once a year and they estimate your payment based on your family size. We paid based on an estimate then when they actually read the meter at the end of the year, it was adjusted,” she said.

Navigating the ins and outs of everything from school requirements to international procedures, these two ladies succeeded in their moves. If you want a PCS Happily Ever After, make sure you use the resources on base and online to navigate your move smoothly.

By Mandy Rebmann

The U.S. military used to be a lot bigger.  A period of military service was once a reality for many young men, even celebrities (Think about Elvis being in the military. Elvis!).

However, since the draft ended and the U.S. military became 100 percent volunteer, fewer families are faced with the burdens of that sacrifice, making it less universal, and more acute.  Many in the business world try and give back and give thanks by offering special discounts to members of active duty and National Guard/ Reserve and their families.  Not only is this an acknowledgement of their service, but it also helps ease some of the financial burden associated with life in the military.  And the good news is that it’s easier than ever to take advantage of these discounts!

One of the biggest financial pressures placed on military families is frequent PCS moves.  Although compensated for these moves, they can put a strain on anyone’s budget.  Finding out which businesses along the way offer military discounts can really add up.  Many businesses offer 10-20 percent discounts.  While sometimes the saving are only a few dollars, sometimes it’s much more substantial, and even small discounts add up over the course of a PCS move.

Businesses offering discounts can range anywhere from food and hotels, to movers, groceries and dining, among many others.

As discussed in some of my previous pieces, we recently PCS’d and purchased our first home.  Although we took advantage of the VA Loan and didn’t have to come up with a down payment, the closing costs took a big bite out of our savings.  Since we didn’t have a clear idea of exactly when we would be PCS’ing, we had planned a trip to Orlando, now taking place a few months after getting settled in the new house.  Without the help of the military discounts offered by the theme parks we’ll be visiting, we would have had to cancel our plans, disappointing a lot of youngsters.  Both Disney and Universal Studios offer substantially discounted tickets and hotel rooms for members of the military.  Recently, Disney has even upped the number of tickets a military member or their spouse may use from six to 12!

When it comes to entertainment discounts, a good place to visit is your post’s Travel and Ticket office.  Not only can you obtain high-demand tickets for attractions in advance, they can also assist booking hotels and tours.  Bigger posts’ offices are usually set up like a travel agent office, so it’s also a good place to go, browse, and get some vacation ideas. 

It’s easier than ever to learn about these deals and take advantage of them.  Most of the individual business websites will have information on the military discounts offered.  There are also compilation sites listing multiple deals.  One app I recently put on my phone is SCOUT, which shows me the businesses offering military discounts in around me, organized into categories.  Full disclosure: I am not a couponer. I’ve always been just a little too unorganized to take advantage of all the discounts, sales, and specials out there.  But it’s getting so easy to find coupons and discouts, even I keep seeing the savings coming in!

It’s PCS season. It’s vacation season. You may be laying your head down on a lot of pillows that are not yours.

Which means you may encounter some unwanted travel companions, such as bedbugs.

The tiny, flat, sometimes nearly invisible pests can hide anywhere: hotel rooms, theaters, libraries, nearly all public places.

People are their main source of food. They are active only at night and leave bite marks much like a mosquito or flea. While bedbugs do not spread disease, they can very difficult to get rid of and that process often causes the most distress.

If you can’t see them, how can you avoid them?

You can start at The Bedbug Registry, bedbugregistry.com

The online clearing house of all things bedbug was started by a computer programmer who got bit, and had enough. She created the site so that travelers could post their encounters and where they happened.

Users searching for bedbug warnings can enter a hotel name or street address to see if there are any reports. Travelers who come across the nasty little boogers can hop on the site and write an alert.

The registry creator tells visitors that while most of the entries are posted by honest travelers, it is impossible for her to travel to each location and validate the existence of bedbugs. So, take the report with a grain of salt. Any site that does not have another report made within two years is removed.

Experts cite the registry as the place to begin when you are booking your vacation. Check for bedbug reports and the frequency of reports at one location. One sighting? They may or may not be hiding in that hotel. Ten sightings, you might want to pick a new location.

The registry also offers detailed instructions on how to check for bedbugs when you arrive at your destination, what to do if you think you’ve found them and most importantly, how to keep them from coming home with you.

Happy travels, try to sleep soundly.

https://membracid.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/how-to-inspect-your-hotel-room-for-bed-bugs/