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Bed Bug Travel Tips

Pexels Vlada Karpovich

BED BUG TRAVEL TIPS

Before leaving

  • Do your research! Check online reviews for your hotel to see if there have been past complaints of bed bugs as well as the Bed Bug Registry.
  • Pack lightly, the less places for bed bugs to hide, the better!
  • Pack clothing, shoes and toiletries in sealable plastic bags. Bed bugs prefer folds and crevices so your packed clothing is the ideal environment for them.

Arriving

  • Upon arrival to your hotel ask to inspect your room before accepting it.
  • Using a flashlight and a keen eye, check the bed skirt and any decorative pillows/accents. Turn back the comforter, sheets, and mattress pad checking all sides and seams.
  • Check behind the headboard as well as any other furniture in the room for evidence of bed bugs.
  • You should be looking for the cast skins, and dark spots and stains from bed bug excrement.
  • It’s very important to not set your suitcase/luggage on the bed or floor upon arrival. Bed bugs have a harder time crawling on smooth, hard surfaces like countertops or bathtubs.
  • During your stay store your luggage on luggage racks rather than on the floor.
  • Upon inspecting your room, if you find evidence of bed bugs do not move to a room that is adjacent or directly above/below the infestation. Bed bugs can travel via wall sockets through to adjacent rooms, as well as hitch a ride via housekeeping carts. It’s best to avoid rooms close to the origin.
  • Keep all worn clothing in plastic bags, do not store back into your luggage.
  • Before packing to leave inspect your shoes and clothing and luggage.

Back at home

  • Bed bugs travel by hitching rides. Make sure to thoroughly inspect all luggage outside or in the garage BEFORE bringing them back into your home.
  • Immediately unpack directly into your washing machine. Wash all your clothes in hot water to ensure that any bed bugs that may have made it back are not placed into your closet or drawers.
  • Dry clothes on high heat for at least 30 minutes to ensure any previously undetected bed bugs have been killed.
  • Vacuuming your suitcase before storing it away will also help to make sure you didn’t look over any unwanted hitchhikers!
  • You may use a garment hand steamer as bed bugs are sensitive to high temperatures. The advantage to this is that heating is intense and immediate so it helps to kill both the bugs and their eggs.
  • Once clean store suitcases away from your bedroom, such as in the basement or in the garage. Never store them under your bed.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT BED BUGS

If you suspect you may have bed bugs, it’s important not to panic. Bed bugs are not an indication of cleanliness – you can pick them up at the office, on public transportation, or even staying in a hotel! Calling a professional exterminator immediately is your best course of action.

At Killingsworth, we treat bed bugs in Charlotte using thermal remediation, also known as Bed Bug Heat Treatment. Heat Treatments are a non-toxic approach to bed bug treatment that penetrates walls, mattresses, and other surfaces by directly and evenly heating a space. Bed bugs are killed wherever they are, no matter what growth stage they’re in. This is critical since not all bed bug treatments effectively kill eggs, leading to a latent infestation. Heat treatments can eradicate all stages of bed bugs in one treatment.

After treatment, your Killingsworth Technician we will return to verify all bed bugs are dead.

Bed Bug Travel Tips

Bedbug inspection

How to Know if Your Hotel Has Bedbugs

Upon entering a hotel room, do you typically reach for the tiny toiletries, take a leap onto the bed, or perhaps start by inspecting for bed bugs? Knowing what to look for is essential. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has shared valuable insights on identifying bed bugs in your hotel room and preventing them from hitching a ride back home with you. And if bed bugs do become an unexpected part of your vacation, remember that Clark’s Pest Control is here to assist!



Q&A with a Pest Professional


How do bed bugs get inside hotels?


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.


What do people misunderstand about bed bugs in hotels?


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.

Got bedbugs? Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today!

What do you recommend travelers do when they get to their room to check for bed bugs?


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.


What are some lesser-known signs of bed bugs in your hotel room?


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.


If there are bed bugs in your hotel room, can they travel home with you?


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.

Don’t tackle bedbugs yourself, call Clark’s at 866-781-4991!

What should you do with your suitcase if you suspect your hotel has bed bugs?


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.


The Clark’s Solution


If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Clark’s is here to help. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.


A Clark’s Pest Professional will do an inspection and recommend a plan of attack to get rid of bed bugs now and prevent them from hatching in the future. Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today for more information.




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