NOVEMBER 02 2023 /
When you step into a hotel room, what's your first instinct? Are you drawn to the mini toiletries, ready to bounce on the bed, or do you prioritize a thorough check for bed bugs? It's crucial to know what signs to watch out for. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has offered some helpful advice on spotting bed bugs in your hotel room and keeping them from becoming unwanted souvenirs of your trip. And if bed bugs do make an appearance, remember that Killingsworth is ready to lend a hand!
Bed bugs are primarily hitchhiking insects as opposed to foraging ones, meaning that they get carried around on people’s clothes and belongings. Someone with an active infestation in their home can easily bring bed bugs to their hotel, but they can also be picked up during travel (airplanes, taxis, and rideshare services) and brought to a hotel room.
From a probability standpoint, all hotels will deal with bed bugs at some point in time. If you think about a bed bug’s method of travel, there’s literally nothing a hotel can do to stop them from being carried in. What I have realized is that luxury hotels are more likely to have an aggressive response to dealing with a bed bug case once it’s identified as they tend to have a higher quality of service and a reputation to protect. While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience more often than not.
Most hotel headboards hang directly on the wall. I start my inspection here before even looking at the bed itself. I have found bed bugs, their exoskeletons, and the telltale black stains they leave behind around the edges of or in the crevices of headboards. If the headboard looks clean, move on to looking over the pillowcases and comforter for any signs or stains. You can dig into the bedding as deep as you want here, but I encourage people to look over the top layer of things at the very least.
The specifics of the black stains they leave behind, which as gross as it sounds, are just digested blood as that’s all that bed bugs feed on. If the stains are on a hard surface, they will be small dots as if left behind by an ink pen and will smear into a brownish gray when moisture is applied. If they’re on fabric, they will usually bleed along the fibers making a small diamond, square or X shape.
They absolutely can, however this is easy to prevent. While staying in a hotel, keep as much of your clothing and luggage off the beds as possible. Storing suitcases in the bathroom might sound odd, but it’s an effective method of prevention.
When arriving home from a trip, leave your luggage in the garage or on a porch and bring your clothes in one load of laundry at a time. If the clothes are dirty, wash them like you normally would, if they’re clean then run them through the dryer for at least forty-five minutes. Once your suitcase is empty, vacuum over it meticulously (don’t forget to empty the vacuum when you’re done), or if you’re in the right climate, expose it to heat for a few days by placing it in your vehicle (parked in the sun) or for a few weeks in your attic.
If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Killingsworth is here to help. Our Bedbug Treatment service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.
We have a step-by-step process for removing bed bugs. Using a team of bed bug detecting K9s and their handlers well trained eyes, we are able to detect and treat bed bugs in any type of home. Our process is slightly different than your regular pest control professionals, but has been proven to work time and time again. Call Killingsworth at 704-563-8787 today for more information.