How To Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home While Traveling

Every year, travel increases around the holidays, spring break, and summer vacation. Unfortunately, an increase in travel means that bed bugs have more opportunities than ever to hitchhike to new locations. Once you bring home bed bugs, they are tough pests to eliminate.

Use these tips to avoid picking up bed bugs while traveling, whether you’re staying in a hotel, an Airbnb, or at a relative’s.

1. Never put your suitcase on the bed.

Bed bugs are commonly found in—you guessed it—beds, especially in gaps in the bedframe and the folds and creases of mattresses, box springs, and bed linens. Putting your suitcase on or up against the bed is an open invitation for bed bugs to hitch a ride. If bed bugs have already taken refuge in your suitcase, you also run the risk of spreading them to other beds.

2. Keep your suitcase off the carpet and away from the curtains.

Despite their name, bed bugs can be found in a variety of places around a room, including carpeting, curtains, lounge furniture, and even inside electrical outlets! The safest place to keep your suitcase is on a luggage rack or floor made of a hard surface, like tile.

3. Don’t use hotel dressers or wardrobes.

While it might be tempting to unpack your clothes into your room’s dresser or armoire, resist the urge: this is another common hiding place for bed bugs. It’s better to keep your clothes in your suitcase and take a little extra time to iron them before putting them on (or invest in wrinkle-free clothes for the trip).

4. Always, always inspect the bed.

Traveling can be exhausting, but nothing ruins a trip like waking up the next morning to discover your face and body are covered in bed bug bites. Keep in mind that no hotel is immune from a bed bug infestation, no matter its star rating.

Even if you’re jet-lagged, always take the time to inspect your bed for the following signs of a bed bug infestation:

• Old bloodstains on the mattress and bedding from when people were bitten or when bed bugs were crushed by sleeping guests
• Live or dead bed bugs or bed bug eggs in the folds, seams, and corners of the mattress, box spring, and bedding. We recommend swiping a credit card along the seams to unearth any hiding bed bugs.
• Bed bugs hiding in the joints of the headboard and footboard. You’ll have the best chance of seeing them if you use a flashlight. The flashlight on your phone will work in a pinch.

If you do discover evidence of a bed bug infestation in your hotel room, inform the staff right away and ask if you can have a room in a completely different area of the hotel.

Are you in need of bed bug services? Contact Spidexx Pest Control today to get your treatment plan started: (855) 925-3550.

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