A Complete Guide On How To Avoid Bed Bugs In Hotels

Bed bugs are among the most common and troublesome pests worldwide. According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) 's 2018 findings, bed bugs are often found in bed frames and couches, even in uncommon places such as stuffed animals, aeroplanes, purses, and school buses. When bitten, bed bugs can cause allergic reactions, loss of sleep, and uncomfortable itching.

Regardless of how clean a place can be, it might still be infected with bed bugs, even five-star hotels. In order to protect yourself from the skin infection, the inconvenient and sometimes expensive removal of bed bugs, be sure to actively avoid bed bugs in hotels during your travel.

How To Avoid Bed Bugs In Hotels

Despite having no transmitted diseases to humans, bed bugs are among the most common concerns for travellers. Photo by gballgiggs - stock.adobe.com

There are many reasons why bed bugs are often found in hotels.

First of all, hotel guests come from various locations around the world. Secondly, travellers often carry luggage, which is a prime way for bed bugs to hitchhike.

It is completely understandable how bed bugs can be a big concern for even the most seasoned travellers. Worry not, here are our top solutions to minimise your risk while enjoying your trips.

Before Your Visit

Choosing a good and reputable place to stay is a proactive way to not put yourself in high-risk environments. It is always helpful to check online reviews from previous guests and consider specific keywords such as "bed bugs" when checking. Remember that older hotels might be more susceptible to bed bugs due to cracks, while recently renovated hotels might have lower risks.

Be proactive even when choosing your luggage. Pick a material that is more challenging for bed bugs to attach to and hide in. Hard-sided luggage that has smooth surfaces and uses non-porous materials are easy to clean and less susceptible to bed bugs.

During Your Visit

Having the right mindset and always prepared to perform an inspection upon arrival. It is crucial to understand that even the top-rated and 5-star hotels are at risk of bed bug infestation.

Therefore, be sure to inspect the room before you unpack. Leave your luggage on hard surfaces such as the bathroom floor before finishing inspecting. Do not put your bags on the beds or couches before doing a full inspection.

Check the bed first. Photo by Andrey Popov - stock.adobe.com

What to look for when inspecting bed bugs in hotel rooms? The most obvious and easiest to spot are live bed bugs, which are small and reddish insects.

Other traces of bed bugs are dark spots that are dried blood, shredded skins that are light brown and translucent, and tiny and white eggs (about 1 mm, stuck to surfaces). Blood smears on sheets or the mattress can also appear if a bug was crushed after feeding.

Pull the sheet off the bed and look under the mattress seams; that’s where they hide the most. A thin card (like a credit card) or a putty knife can help swipe along seams. Run the card along mattress edges and behind headboards to flush out any hiding bugs. Some seasoned travellers also advise turning off the lights and using a small UV flashlight to spot these creatures more easily.

Bedbugs aren't just on the bed. Here are the top spots to search for them in hotel rooms:

• Mattresses

• Headboards and bed frames (behind them also)

• Nightstands or bedside tables

• Fabric straps of luggage racks

• Loose wallpaper seams

• Electrical outlets

• Lampshades

• Curtains

• Closets

• Upholstered chairs or sofas.

In heavy infestations, bed bugs emit a distinctive sweet, musty odour (some say it smells like berries or moldy shoes. While a mild case might not smell, a strong odor upon entering the room could be a warning sign.

After Inspection

Even if your initial inspection turns up nothing, it pays to remain cautious. Always use a luggage rack (after checking it) or place your suitcase on a hard surface away from the bed. Keep your luggage closed whenever you’re not accessing it, and if possible zip it up in a plastic cover or bag.

Packing clothes in sealed plastic bags is a recommended precaution. And packing cubes do wonders for the job. 

You can keep your clothes in the cubes to prevent them from catching these bugs in the first place. If you suspect clothing items might be infected with bed bugs or already infested, you can use water-resistant packing cubes to isolate the items. 

You should also have the hotels do the laundry for all of your clothes, even if you found no evidence of bed bugs.

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What to do if you find bed bugs during the inspection?

Take photos of your findings to provide to hotel management as evidence. Be sure to record other details, such as when and where you found the bed bugs.

By providing clear evidence, you can request your refund if needed. After collecting the evidence, notify the hotel immediately to request a new room or consider changing hotels.

The standard advice from pest experts is not to accept a room next door, above, or below the infested room. Bed bugs can easily spread via housekeeping carts, luggage, or even through wall sockets and vents. Ask for a room on a different floor or at least several rooms away.

Do not simply drag your suitcase to the new room without precautions. Before leaving the infested room, seal your clothes and luggage in garbage bags or plastic liners to trap any bug.

What To Do If Your Belongings Are Infected

Bed bugs can be treated completely, depending on the scale of the infestation, self-treatment or professional treatment will be required.

Perhaps the greatest risk is bringing bed bugs home with you. After returning from your trip and after visiting new hotels, it is crucial to double-check your luggage to prevent home infestations.

Here is what you should do to be sure your belongings are bug-free and what to do if you unfortunately have bed bugs with you.

Determine Whether Your Belongings Are Infected Or Not

First of all, make sure you are inspecting your luggage in a well-lit area, preferably outdoors. If you must bring your luggage indoors to inspect, be sure to have an isolated area that is easy to clean and easy to spot bed bugs. Tile floors in the bathroom area can be an ideal spot. 

Remove all items from your luggage and carefully inspect each item for signs of bed bugs, including live bed bugs like apple seeds, faecal matter like dark spots, light brown shed skins, and oval-shaped white eggs. You can use a magnifying glass or a phone flashlight to examine items clearly.

CabinZero tips: Bed bugs can be transmitted from luggage to luggage (like on a train or plane). So don’t put your luggage on the bed or anywhere near your room, do a throughout inspection or clean after every trip, just to be sure.

Double-check everything once you get home, you don’t want uninvited guests. Photo by Jo Panuwat D - stock.adobe.com

Steps To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

With a new infestation that is not severe, a combination of cleaning, heat treatment, and chemical treatment should be adequate.

To clean and apply heat treatment, you should dry the clothes in high heat first (in at least 30 minutes). If you wash first, the moisture may let the bed bugs survive longer in the dryer.

Then proceed to wash and dry one more time. Healthline suggests washing clothing in hot water above 49°C (120°F), and drying it in high heat. Make sure you vacuum the surrounding areas thoroughly. 

To use chemical treatments, you can look at bed bug sprays and powders at pest control supply stores, online retailers, home supply stores and hardware stores.

When choosing pesticides, remember to check the label carefully for instructions and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) registration to ensure safety and effectiveness. 

Steps To Safeguard Your House From Bed Bugs

General prevention in your daily life, such as regular cleaning and practice decluttering,g is a good practice for not only bed bug prevention but also other hygiene issues. It is best to not provide any potential spots for bed bugs to hide. Seal any cracks in walls and minimise hiding places by decluttering. 

Wash your bedding and curtains often in hot water and dry on high heat. After a trip, it is highly recommended that you practice safe precautions such as luggage inspection and cleaning.

If you decide to bring secondhand furniture into your house, minimise your risk of bed bug infestation by proactively isolating the furniture after purchasing, carefully examining the furniture and performing thorough cleaning before using.

ven after all these precautions, stay watchful for a couple of weeks once you’re back home. Keep an eye out for any bites on your body or specks on bedding that could indicate a stray survivor. Many travellers, after a trip, will store their suitcase away from bedrooms (for example, in a garage or storage area) as an extra safeguard.

All You Should Know About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are tiny and reddish bugs that can be commonly found on beds. Photo by Mainely Photos on stock.adobe.com

Bed bugs are known to be found in almost every place, from hotels to residences, offices to schools and public transportation such as buses and aeroplanes.

Bed bugs can be identified with our naked eyes, as brown and oval-shaped insects with a typical size ranging from 5-7 millimetres to 3/16-1/4 inch in length. After feeding, bed bugs can become red in colour and bloated.

Thankfully, bed bugs cannot fly. This insect requires regular meals to develop and survive. However, bed bugs are known to have the ability to survive without food for several months. That’s why 

Bed bugs only eat blood and typically feed on warm-blooded animals, primarily humans. The most active time for bed bugs is at night and it usually takes from 5 to 10 minutes for them to finish feeding.  

Common Places To Find Bed Bugs

Based on their name, it is not difficult to guess where the most common place to find bed bugs is, our bedrooms. It is worth noting that bed bugs can also live in couches, armchairs, suitcases, upholstery seats, purses, backpacks and countless more places.

In the most popular hiding spot for bed bugs, the bedroom, you can find bed bugs in between the bed frames, within the cracks of the headboard and hidden in the mattress. When inspecting your bed, pay attention to the seams and the folds of the mattress. If you notice tiny blood spots or small black dots on your bed sheets or on your mattress, these can be early warning signs.  

Health Effects Of Bed Bugs On Humans

Unlike mosquitoes and ticks, bed bugs are not known to directly transmit diseases to humans or impose significant health effects on humans. According to the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bed bugs do not spread diseases but you can expect physical reactions such as red bumps, itching and sleep disturbance due to the bites' discomfort. Some people can have significant stress and anxiety when being overwhelmed with the fear of bed bug infestation.

Reasons For Bed Bugs' Spreading

Bed bugs can spread rapidly. It is important to understand factors that can heighten your exposure risks. Bed bugs can climb in easily and infest many items such as personal belongings and luggage, furniture and household items.

Cluttered environments, unclean living spaces, used furniture and lack of maintenance housing units are common places to find bed bugs and exposure to other health risks. 

Bed bugs have a life cycle ranging from 4 to 6 weeks with five nymph stages. Warm temperatures from 21-32°C (70-90°F) tend to speed up the development of bed bugs.

To break up the bed bug life cycle, inspect suspicious items, isolate the infested areas, wash or dry items in high heat, apply insecticides and monitor for at least 6 weeks after spotting. 

A Complete Guide On How To Avoid Bed Bugs In Hotels

This complete guide on how to avoid bed bugs in hotels is filled with both measurements against bed bugs during travel and in daily life. Remember that even though bed bug infestation is a widespread problem across continents, it can be effectively managed with simple precautions and preventive measures. 

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