How To Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home From A Hotel Stay - Bed Bugs Removal Toronto

​If you’re a frequent traveler, or got stranded in a tiny town late at night when the only vacant place to stay was a sketchy little motel, this has probably crossed your mind. Bed bugs are a real and scary thing, as you probably were surprised to learn only in the last decade or so.
They’re tiny, little cockroach-shaped things that hide in beds, waiting for the next person to fall asleep so they can begin feasting on their blood. I can’t think of a quicker way to develop insomnia than waking up to welts, rashes, or lingering bed bugs on your skin.

So, How Do We Avoid Them?

The best way to avoid them is to educate yourself about them. You’ll probably find them waiting for their next victim in places where people have been lying down or sitting, or laying their eggs in dark hiding spots, such as under furniture or in empty drawers. They have a tendency to travel to new places via luggage, purses, or human bodies. They’re parasites, quite literally and figuratively. Try wrapping your bags in plastic before you bring them into the hotel room. Don’t give them a place to hide.

What Should We Do When We Get To The Hotel Room?

Head straight for the bathroom. (Not for the reason you think.) Bring all your belongings straight to the bathroom and place them in the tub or on a tile or linoleum floor. Bed bugs do not like flat, clean, and wide open spaces that make them vulnerable, so they’re less likely to hide in your luggage if it’s in there.

How Do I Do A Bed Bug Inspection?

Adult bed bugs are brown, about the size of an apple seed, and look like tiny little roaches. Try to do your inspection at nighttime, if possible, with the lights on. Start with each layer of the bedding and mattress, and then move onto other dark hiding spots such as behind, inside, or under nightstands, carpeting, rugs, drapes, upholstered furniture, wall décor, or any other dark crack, crevice, or corner. Be thorough. Evidence might include eggs, wings, rust-colored spots where they’ve been squished, or tiny black dots of feces.

If you find anything, contact the main desk and request a different room in another part of the hotel. Otherwise, you’re probably in the clear. But don’t let your guard down—keep all your belongings wrapped, and in the bathroom. These critters are sneaky!

What About When I Get Home?

Wash everything that can be washed! Preferably with hot water or dry cleaning to kill the bugs. Try to do this before you get home. If you can’t, put the stuff in a new plastic bag and take it straight to the wash upon arriving home.

Hopefully this hasn’t made you completely paranoid about bed bugs. Most hotels take certain measures to keep the bugs at bay because it could cost them money, too. But even so, it’s good to be aware, especially with the little middle-of-nowhere motels that look a little creepy to begin with. So travel safe and don’t let the bed bugs bite!

 

Mathis Exterminating is local pest control company that would like to help the public better identify pests and how best to combat them effectively.