Just the thought of bedbugs is enough to send shivers down the spines of any traveller.
Orkin Pest Control recently released its annual ranking of the worst US cities for bedbugs, with popular destinations like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC making the top 10, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid going there.
Orkin entomologist Benjamin Hotell tells USA TODAY that wherever he goes, “I just assume there might be bedbugs when I go, and I take precautions.”
Here’s how to protect yourself from bed bugs when you travel.
How do you check for bed bugs?
You can find bed bugs around headboards and mattresses.
However, if the mattress has a bedbug-proof cover, Hottel suggests leaving it alone. Some hotels use enclosures as a proactive measure, but others may already have infestations.
“Bed bugs can live for over a year without food. And so, if there’s been an infestation there in the last year and they’ve put up an enclosure, you don’t want to open it up,” he said.
He doesn’t suggest messing with headboards too much, even if they’re wall-mounted.
“You can bang on it if you want,” he said. “If there were bed bugs behind it, they might get scattered by it. This is something you can try. You can try poking behind it with your phone light.”
Orkin’s acronym to help protect travelers from bedbugs is SLEEP:
- Survey your hotel room for signs of bed bug infestation
- Pick up and search all hiding places for bedbugs
- Carry your luggage and other items
- Check your belongings when repacking and upon returning home
- When you return home from a trip, immediately place all of your clothes in the dryer on the highest setting for at least 15 minutes along with your luggage.
But travelers aren’t the only ones who should check for bedbugs.
“A lot of hotels have procedures in place to monitor their employees. Some will have cleaning staff check and then managers will check as well,” Hotell said. “A lot of companies have protocols in place to ensure they will be caught.”
How do you tell if a bug is a bed bug?
The Environmental Protection Agency describes bedbugs as “long and brown, with a flat, oval-shaped body (if not recently fed)” and “balloon-like, reddish-brown, and more elongated (if recently fed)”.
Adults are the size of apple seeds and may have a musty odor.
“Small bed bugs can be a little difficult to see. Those that have recently hatched may be shaped like a freckle,” Hottel said. He said that the color of small bed bugs is also light.
How to tell if there are bedbugs in a hotel
The best sign is to actually see someone crawling, as other signs can be misleading.
“Sometimes we talk about dark spots on the sheets,” Hottel said. “I’ve had inspections before where someone thought they had bedbugs, only to find out that coffee was spilled on the sheets and it was actually not bedbugs.”
Loose skin can also be misleading because they may be a sign of past infection, not active infection. He said bites are not always reliable because some people have no reaction to bedbugs, while others have a delayed reaction.
“So you could have been bitten three days ago and then your skin started to itch a little bit,” Hottel said. Alternatively, they may be bites from some other type of insect or no bites at all. “It could be medication they were taking, or it could be some kind of other medical problem they had… all kinds of things.”
What do they do when there are bedbugs in a hotel?
If you spot bed bugs, you should contact the hotel front desk staff immediately.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association, whose membership includes many major brands, advises hotels to follow National Pest Management Association guidelines, including providing guests with a new room and taking the suspect room out of service until it can be inspected as soon as possible by a pest control professional. Some hotels may also offer guest laundry, but this is not guaranteed.
The EPA notes that 21 states have laws or regulations related to bedbugs, and the Bedbug Legal Group recommends documenting your experience with photographs if you’re eligible for additional compensation.
What to do if you sleep in a bed with bedbugs?
“When you get home, you can put all your clothes in the dryer on high heat, and it will destroy everything,” Hottel said. “Anything that can’t be put in the dryer, you can also freeze, but it will take much longer to freeze, maybe two weeks or more. So, drying on high heat is usually fastest.”
He also recommends checking your shoes and luggage for bedbugs. If you want to be extra cautious, he suggests storing the stuff somewhere like a garage, attic or even the trunk of a car.
“If you leave stuff in your attic now in July, they’re not going to do well. They’re going to ripen very quickly,” he said.
How long does it take for bedbugs to infest your house?
“They’re not fast, so it’s not like fruit flies,” Hottel said. “They’re producing about 30 eggs over the course of a month, so usually it’s a slow pace. When you look at areas like these that are heavily affected, it’s probably taken six or more months to get to that point.”
Hotel said that hopefully, they will be taken care of before then. “It’s easier to control them when they actually get into the home,” he said.
Reporting by Eve Chen, USA TODAY. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.