The existence of bed bugs is unlikely to be news to you. You’ve probably seen or heard them mentioned in newspapers, on TV shows or through a friend. You might have even had a personal encounter with them.
Something you might not have considered however is bed bug infested hotel rooms. Whether you’re staying in a hotel room for business travel or pleasure, it’s important to check for bed bugs, and more importantly, make sure you don’t bring them home with you. Hopefully, with the tips in this guide, you’ll be able to do just that.
Things to Bring with You
When you’re getting ready to go off on your trip, it’s important that you remember to pack spare plastic bags inside your suitcase. With these, you can separate your clothes into different piles when you’re ready to come home. This can help prevent the spread of any bed bugs that may have found their way into your clothes.
Another smart thing to bring is a torch. Bed bugs can be hard to spot, even in daylight. With a torch, you’ll be able to do a quick survey of the hotel room before you stay in it.
What to do when you arrive
When you reach your hotel room, the first thing you’ll want to do is make sure there are no bed bugs. You should do this before unpacking. Remember that bed bugs don’t care whether they’re in a 1 star room or a 5 star room. Bed bugs can be potentially found in any room. It’s therefore important that you take the necessary precautions every time.
Start off by inspecting the bed (using the torch that you have brought with you). Make sure you inspect all areas of the bed including the headboard and under the mattress. If you find any signs of bed bugs, which will usually be dead bed bugs, you should ask to be put into another room immediately. Remember, even if you do a thorough job of looking for bed bugs, there’s always a chance that you could have missed something.
Don’t Bring Bed Bugs Home with You
After your inspection, it’s time to make sure you won’t bring any hidden bed bugs home with you. The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to store you’re suitcase away from your bed. Many people store their suitcase in the bathtub, but if this isn’t practically for you, you could use the wardrobe provided. Just make sure you remove any linen before adding your own clothes.
When it comes time for you to leave, you should separate your clothes into piles and put them in the plastic bags you brought with you. You should separate darks from whites and dirty clothes from clean clothes. When you get back home you can then just throw your clothes right into the wash, and there will be no chance of spreading bed bugs through your laundry basket.
Remember, in order to get bed bugs, you have to bring them into your home. Bed bugs need to be transported from one infested room to another. If you don’t bring bed bugs into your home, you’ll never have a problem with them. If you follow the simple tips in this article, you too should be able to avoid bringing bed bugs back into your home.
Adam Gibson is a freelance writer based in the UK. This article was written on behalf of Pharos Parcel, the UK Parcel Delivery Company.
Bed bugs from a hostel while backpacking is like worst case scenario.