Bedbug Travel Tips

Before you embark on your trip,know what bed bugs and their signs look like.

Prior to booking your room,Google your hotel’s name and the words “bedbugs” and “bed bugs”. If you see one nasty report,of course,take it with a grain of salt. But multiple bad reviews,or reviews which repeat a particular critique,can be bad news.

When you first arrive in your room,put your luggage in the bathtub or on the toilet seat while you inspect a hotel room. Bedbugs cannot get a good grip and climb up porcelain.

Hard-sided luggage kept closed also makes it harder for bedbugs to hide in your bags. Safest of all is to keep your luggage inside tightly closed plastic bags or Space Bags. Trash bags or giant zippered bags are also used by some travelers.

Pull back the bedsheets to inspect the mattress and seams. You should inspect the mattress,headboard and side tables by the bed. If there’s a sofa bed,you’ll need to open that up too. In addition,inspect any carefully inspect any upholstered furniture or other furniture such as dressers. You’re looking for anything from live bed bugs and their eggs to blood spots and fecal matter.

Carefully check to see the luggage rack is free of pests. Look at it from top to bottom,in the joints and under the straps.

Once inspected,keep your luggage on the luggage rack at all times. Never leave suitcase,bags,purses,or other items on the bed or floor

The biggest mistake you can make is to lay your suitcase on the bed and start unpacking your clothes. Keep luggage on the luggage rack,off the floor.

Anything you wear in the hotel room can harbor bedbugs. Place all of your dirty laundry in a sealed plastic bag so it doesn’t contaminate your other clothing or your suitcase. Pay special attention to your pajamas.

When you arrive home,do not unpack your suitcase on the bed. Unpack your items in a garage or on a patio. If you must unpack indoors,place your suitcase in your bathtub. Unpack quickly,and place all your items into large ziplocs bags or garbage bags and seal them until they can be washed and dried or dry cleaned.

Wash clothing on the hottest temperature setting possible. Bedbugs die at high heat so dry on high for at least 30 minutes.

To provide an extra measure of protection against bedbugs,throw any purses and other items that will not be damaged by the dryer in for a 30 minute cycle. Luggage and other items should be stored in a garage,patio or storage unit. Some travelers store their luggage in sealed plastic.

You may even want to consider leaving luggage in your car and then doing laundry at a laundromat before going home.

Good luck and happy travels!