Most of the time when people think of bed bugs, they are transported back to a time in their life when they shared an old rundown apartment with several roommates on a college campus. Alternatively, you might think about the many horror stories you have heard about living in big cities where bed bugs seem to run rampant. Interestingly enough, these are not the only places or circumstances that lead to people having bed bugs. In fact, one of the most common ways homes and other spaces are infested with these critters occurs when people go on vacation and then come back home. Since it’s almost time for spring break and everyone else seems to be planning for summer vacations already as well, we thought we should do you a favor and give you the information you need in order to ensure that your vacation is bed bug free. Continue reading below to find out what you should be looking for at your next destination.
Where Should You Be Looking For Bed Bugs?
One of the best ways to ensure that you are not bringing bed bugs home with you after your vacation is to scope out the entire place first and foremost. When you are staying in a hotel room, there are so many places that bed bugs can hide. Below are some of the most common place bed bugs like to reside, precautionary measures you can take, and what you should be looking for if you want to be bed bug free throughout your trip and thereafter.
Scope Out The Entire Room
Plain and simple, bed bugs are sneaky little buggers. This is why it is important that you check your hotel room from top to bottom when you first arrive. Before you unpack any of your things, inspect the entire room. This includes behind the headboard, under the lights, on lamp shades, inside the dresser drawers, and on any sofas or chairs in the room. This step is beyond important because it will not only tell you if there are any bed bugs in your temporary space, but it will also give you a better idea of the cleanliness of the hotel in general.
Complete A Full Inspection On The Bed
Of course, this should be your next step. After all, it’s all in the name. When you are inspecting the bed for bugs, start by pulling back the sheets and inspecting the seams of both the mattress and the box springs. Bed bugs particularly like to reside in the corners. If you see that there are pepper-like stains, spots or bed bug skins that have been shed, grab your luggage and get the heck out of there.
Protect Your Suitcase
If you go through the first two steps and you do not find any signs of bed bugs, this is fantastic news. On the other hand, it’s always better to be safe rather than sorry. In order to do this, we would suggest that after emptying your suitcase, you store it in a large trash bag and store it in the hotel room closet for the duration of your stay. This will allow for you to know for sure that no bed bugs have taken up residence in your luggage during your trip.
Bring A Flashlight
Flashlights come in handy for a number of reasons on vacation and in everyday life. One of the ways a flashlight can do right by you while you are abroad is to help you identify bed bugs during your inspection. While you can see bed bugs without a flashlight, it is much easier to see them when you have the help of some extra lighting.
Check Out The Wall Sockets
This may seem a bit strange to you, but we would suggest that you check the wall sockets in the hotel room as well. Bed bugs like to hitchhike wherever they are. This means they could have caught a ride from another room on a maid’s cart or they could have traveled THROUGH THE WALL SOCKETS into an adjacent room. While they may not have made it to the bed yet, this doesn’t mean that these pests aren’t lurking somewhere in your hotel room.
Pay Attention To Small Cracks and Crevices
While it would be ideal if we could identify the presence of bed bugs from several feet away (after all, they are pretty disgusting), this simply is not the case. This is why you need to make sure you are checking any small cracks or crevices in which bed bugs could be hiding. In hotel rooms, in particular, they are often found behind baseboards, wallpaper, upholstery, and in the crevices of furniture. While we are certainly not suggesting that you go into a hotel room and begin ripping out the baseboards or tearing the wallpaper from the walls, we would suggest that you look closely at any chairs or sofas in your room for bed bugs that are hiding.
Take Advantage of the Bathroom
The bathroom is the safest place for you in a hotel room…at least where bed bugs are concerned. With every little fabric for the bugs to cling onto, we would suggest that you store any belongings you can in this room. This is also a great alternative to storing your luggage in the closet if you forget to bring a trash bag.
Bed Bugs Don’t Discriminate
It’s important that you realize that just because a hotel has a certain star rating, that doesn’t guarantee that there will be no bed bugs. Whether the hotel you are staying has one, two, or five stars, there is always the chance that bed bugs could be present. This means you do to complete a thorough inspection regardless of how much you are paying for your stay.
Have A Bed Bug Infestation?
If you do go on vacation this year and return to your Sacramento home only to discover that you have brought home bed bugs, do not wait another minute to call a local exterminator. Bed bug infestations can get out of control extremely quickly, and at Earthwise Pest Management, we will do everything we can to protect your home and your family from these pests. Contact us right now if you need a bed bug solution.
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