How many times do you enter a hotel room and throw your purse or your suitcase on the bed? When I enter a hotel room, that’s likely the first thing I do. But not anymore. According to studies, if the hotel room is infested with bed bugs, that’s one of the worst things you can do since bed bugs are likely to be found on the bed.
I’m fortunate. Though my family has stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms around the country, we’ve never encountered bed bugs. But I have friends who haven’t been so lucky. So how can you protect yourself and make sure you don’t return home with more than the souvenirs you bought on vacation? I’ll walk you through some easy steps.
Tips to Protect Yourself from Bed Bugs when you Travel
Before you make reservations at a hotel or motel, read reviews at websites like the Bed Bug Registry or Tripadvisor to see if there are any complaints of bed bugs.
When you arrive at the hotel, place your luggage in the bathroom (bed bugs don’t like tile) and give the room a quick, but thorough sweep.
Inspect the head board (which should easily lift up and off the wall), pull back the sheets and inspect the crevices of the mattress and under the mattress for signs of the pest. This could be the bug itself, the discarded skins of the bed bug or black spots that look like mold spots or pepper.
Continue to look under the phone, lamps, cushions on the furniture, drapes, and inside drawers, you may find a flash light handy.
If you find evidence of bed bugs, ask to be assigned a new room and repeat the process. Even though bed bugs are in one room, it doesn’t mean they’ll be occupying another room.
Store your luggage off the floor on a luggage rack or on top of the desk or dresser.
When you return home, wash all of your clothes in hot water, inspect your luggage and vacuum it before you store it for your next trip.
Products to Protect Yourself from Bed Bugs
In addition to taking the above precautions, there are products available that can minimize the chances of bed bugs hitching a ride back to your home.
The Bed Bug Resistant Plastic Bags are large enough to slip your luggage inside, keeping the bugs out.
Avenger Organics offers a convenient travel set of bed bug killer and bed bug killer luggage spray to protect your property without the use of harmful toxins. This all-natural, non-pesticide solution, made from clove and peppermint oil, kills adult bed bugs. It is non-toxic and safe around people and pets. Safe on mattresses, bedding, carpets, furniture, curtains, clothing and other infested areas.
Have you ever encountered bed bugs while traveling? What steps do you take to ensure that you won’t?
© 2014 – 2016, Tonya Prater. All rights reserved.
Hey Tonya, we love these tips that you have given to people traveling! As an owner of a Bed Bug Detection company we have seen first hand the damage that bed bugs can cause on both businesses and even worse families.
You have a beautiful blog. Wish you the best in your travels!
I work in the mental health field and have seen more bedbugs than I ever care to see in my lifetime. A person had bedbugs and took them to their landlord in a plastic ziplock baggie {they weren’t sure if it was bedbugs or not}. The landlord put them inside two other ziplock baggies and stapled them shut. Two months later, there are still some that are alive. So I’m not sure that putting your luggage in plastic bags would make a difference or not. It just took me 2 weeks to book a hotel room an hour from my home because of being freaked out by this and researching different hotels.
I need to look into this!!
nothing freaks me out more than the thought of bedbugs. ew!
Ewwww! Just the thought makes me skin crawl. Thanks for the great tips!
Ewww! I have never encountered these bugs, but wow, the idea of them creeps me out!! Great tips!!
That’s something my oldest sister gets really paranoid when traveling. I can understand why, especially after reading about how this one guy went to a fancy hotel and was bitten by bed bugs. So gross!
I had no idea there was such a thing as the Bed Bug Registry. Thanks so much for sharing all this information.
this is why i don’t like to travel LOL
I stay in a lot of hotels and have never had a problem with bedbugs, but it always crosses my mind to check the mattress. I will definitely keep your recommendations handy for the next time we check in.
Wow, you are very thorough. I’m going to remember these tips. We usually always check for bugs, but not quite as thorough, and this motivates me to do more. I worry about the little pesky pesks too…. TripAdvisor has come in so handy before reserving rooms.
You know why I love TripAdvisor? It provides great entertainment on a road trip. 🙂 Seriously, I can’t even count how many hotel rooms my family has passed by after reading those reviews.
I’ve honestly NEVER thought about bed bugs what so ever. Now I’m completely freaked out and will definitely be checking the next time we stay in a hotel.
Great tips! I’m always worried about bed bugs when we visit hotels!
We haven’t had a bad run in with bed bugs…thankfully !! But it’s good to know if we ever do, there’s something that can be done. Thanks!
I didn’t realize there was a spray for this – good to know!
That’s a scary thought. Thanks for the tips!
I had heard there was a bed bug registry but never even thought to check it before our holiday road trip. I’ll need to share that with some friends who are planning a multi-state trip over the summer. I’ll also have to let them know how to combat the bugs!
Thanks, Nicole. The Avenger products really do come in handy for any travel. Fortunately, we didn’t find any on our trip either. I would have died.
Ohhh, I never thought of this! I will have to pin to my travel board for my next trip. Good to have a way to get rid of them!
We always always always check the mattresses and sofas in hotel rooms, it’s a habit. We don’t bring anything into the room until we do our check.
Wow thank you for sharing. We had these one time with a BRAND new mattress and it was a nightmare to get rid of. I can’t imagine bringing them home from a hotel!!!
Never heard of that! How cool!
Ugh, they are such a horrific thought. I’m itchy just reading this. Thanks for the tips.
Okay, I’m paranoid about bed bugs. We don’t do a lot of traveling, but do like to take 1-2 vacations a year and I stress about ’em. And about bringing them home. What a great resource! Thank you for sharing!
I love this idea! Bed Bugs scare the crap out of me, to be honest.
Bed bugs would be such a nightmare. I feel all itchy just thinking about it.
I don’t think about it a lot of times but I’m going to follow these tips from now on!
I am totally freaked out by the very idea of bed bugs. Thankfully, I’ve never stayed anywhere that had them. I’m curious about the spray, because I really thought there was no good way to kill them other than SUPER hot water or keeping luggage or other infested items in an airtight plastic bag for a long period of time. I may have to go check out the spray.
I am paranoid about them and I always keep my luggage off the floor like that and do a bed check!
Bedbug yuck, but thanks for the resources, especially the bedbug registry.
OH after a case of bed bugs this September I needed these tips. Thanks!
Oh, I’ve heard from friends and family members that they certainly aren’t fun to deal with.
I have never heard of the web site Bed Bug Registry! Wow, glad I found this post! Thanks for sharing it!