How to Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home This Travel Season
Finally arriving at your hotel for a long-anticipated vacation is a whirlwind, especially after a long day of travel or if you have children accompanying you. While you might be tempted to immediately unpack or lay back on the bed to catch some rest, take a moment to check out your surroundings. In particular, you want to check for bed bugs.
Bed bugs are small little hitchhikers that become increasingly prevalent in hotels, motels and other vacation rentals during spring and summer months. They don’t discriminate and can really be found anywhere, from luxury hotels to modest motels to Airbnb rentals. As long as travelers from far and wide are passing through, there is a risk they’ll spread bed bugs.
So, how can you prevent encountering these creepy parasites and make sure you don’t bring them home? Know how to identify bed bugs and what to do if you find them.
Learn How to Check for Bed Bugs
When you first arrive at your room, don’t unpack. Try and set your luggage up off of the floor on a rack, or in a clean bathtub or shower.
Then, grab a flashlight (the one on your phone works fine) and a credit card. Pull back the blankets and sheets on your bed and use your flashlight to look for bed bugs or their fecal matter: dark blood spots. Bed bugs themselves are about 4mm in length, and their tiny blood spots may look like brown or black specks.
Use the credit card to get underneath the folds and seams of the mattress. Bed bugs prefer these warm, dark crevices, so be sure to be thorough. Check all four corners of the mattress as well as the surface of your sheets.
To be extra safe, you can also check any upholstered furniture and curtains in the room. Again, bed bugs don’t discriminate. They don’t know the difference between a mattress and an armchair. All they know is that they love to hide in any cozy nook, especially those made of fabric.
What Do I Do if I Find Bed Bugs?
If you find bed bugs (or evidence of them), don’t panic. Promptly let the staff know and ask for a different room—preferably on a different floor. Once you get to your new room, follow the same protocol of checking for bed bugs. While it may feel cumbersome to go through the routine again, it’s better than waking up with red, itchy bumps on your skin. Further, the last thing you want is to bring bed bugs back home; they’ll happily hitch a ride on your clothing or luggage.
I Think I Brought Bed Bugs Home From My Hotel or Vacation Rental. Now What?
Call BugOut Pest Control for Bed Bug Treatments in Mid-Missouri
If you recently traveled and are now seeing signs of bed bugs in your home, again, don’t panic. You can eradicate them safely and quickly with BugOut Pest Control. We offer proven bed bug treatments across mid-Missouri and will efficiently kill bed bugs while working hard to minimize disruptions to your everyday life.
While no one wants bed bugs, don’t spend too much energy stressing about these critters. Bed bugs can be startling, but they’re not considered dangerous. Turn to the professionals at BugOut Pest Control to get rid of bed bugs in no time.