Sometimes bring home more than souvenirs and happy memories after a vacation. In recent years, hotels across the nation have made headlines due to bedbug infestation. The next time you stay in a hotel or motel, follow these steps to ensure you won’t take any hitchhiking bedbugs home with you afterwards.
Read Reviews Before You Book
Just because a hotel is in a good part of town and has top-rate amenities doesn’t guarantee it’s free of infestation. Bedbugs are extremely difficult to get rid of, and just one bug-carrying guest can compromise the whole property.
Travelers often use websites like TripAdvisor and Expedia to compare hotel rates, and they’re also useful for evaluating whether places are bedbug-free. Read reviews to see what other travelers have experienced and steer clear of any that have had reports of an outbreak.
Protect Yourself on Arrival
When you first walk into your hotel room, you probably want to drop your luggage and relax on the bed or sofa, but once you set your belongings on upholstered surfaces, bedbugs can crawl inside. Put your suitcases in the bathroom on the tile floor where bedbugs are not likely to hide.
Room Inspection Checklist
Bedbugs don’t confine themselves to the bed, they can be anywhere in the room. They’re very small and can be hard to spot unless you know what you’re looking for. Fully-grown bugs are about as big as an apple seed and can be found in the following locations:
- Wall corners
- Loose wall coverings
- Curtains
- Baseboards
- Mattresses
- Dust ruffles
Even if you don’t see live bugs, examine the room for evidence of their presence. You might see shed skins, since they molt several times throughout their lifespan. Pull back sheet corners and inspect the mattress springs for specks of feces.
If you find evidence of bedbugs, ask the hotel to move you to another room. If the new room isn’t satisfactory, request a refund and go to a different hotel.
After Your Stay
Bedbug bites look like most other insect bites. If you wake up with raised, itchy red spots or a rash in multiple places, wash your bites with warm soapy water and cover them in corticosteroid cream. Deep clean your luggage and wash everything it contained. The wash cycle kills live pests and heat from the dryer destroys eggs.
If these tips still aren’t enough to keep the bed bugs away, contact the experts at SafeHaven Pest Control as soon as possible. SafeHaven Pest Control removes pests from homes, schools and businesses, offering both green and traditional treatment methods.
