When you return home from a great vacation, you might have a nice tan, a few souvenirs, and some wonderful memories. But there’s also a chance you may have brought home bed bugs from a hotel stay.
Industry experts agree that bed bug activity in hotels is on the rise. Causes include an increase in travel, a lack of consistent prevention and eradication methods by hotels, and bed bugs developing a resistance to quick treatments. It also doesn’t matter if you stay at a five-star resort or a budget hotel – bed bugs aren’t picky and will infest anywhere they can.
Bed Bug Signs – What to Look for After a Trip
Once you’re back at home, signs of bed bug can appear quickly or take several weeks to reveal themselves. A delayed infestation is common because bed bugs are small and don’t multiply rapidly initially. Keep in mind that some people don’t have a reaction to bed bug bites, while others have more severe reactions.
Here are the key signs to be on the lookout for:
- Small, itchy red bites in a line or cluster on your skin.
- Tiny reddish-brown blood spots on bedding or mattress.
- Very small black or dark brown spots can be bed bug droppings.
- You may be able to see bed bugs, which are small, reddish-brown, and approximately the size of an apple seed.
- Bed bugs shed their skins as they grow, so you may find “shells” in seams of a mattress or in furniture.
- You may even see tiny, pale yellow bed bug eggs that are about the size of a dust mite.
- One unusual sign is a sweet musty odor that won’t go away. This subtle smell can indicate a significant infestation.
Where to Check for Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are flat and can easily squeeze into tiny seams in your bedding or furniture. Even though these pests are more active at night, you can identify them during the day if you know where to look.
Use a flashlight and a magnifying glass to start your search in areas where the family sleeps or rests. Common spots where bed bugs hide include:
- Couch cushions.
- Cracks in wooden furniture or trim.
- Inside dresser drawers.
- Behind wallpaper.
- Mattress seams and box springs.
- Headboards and bed frames.
- Upholstered furniture.
- Behind wall outlets and baseboards.
- Folds of curtains.
Welcome Home – Steps to Keep Bed Bugs Out of the House
When returning home from a hotel stay it’s a good idea to assume that bed bugs have attached themselves to your luggage or clothing. There are some simple steps you can take to minimize the chance these pests get into the house and begin causing problems.
Unpack outside: For many people, the first step when returning home from a trip is to open the suitcase on their bed, sort our dirty clothes, and get the laundry going. Don’t unpack your bags in the house. Instead, use the garage or an area outside the home and seal clothes in plastic, such as a garbage bag, before taking them to the washing machine.
Wash your clothes: It’s a good practice to put all the clothes from your suitcase into the washer on the hot setting as soon as you get home. Then, when you move clothes to the dryer, run it on the highest heat setting for at least 45 minutes to kill any bed bugs or eggs. Also, if you have more than one load of laundry, don’t sort it inside – keep it outside until you’re ready to wash it.
Isolate your suitcases: Carefully inspect your luggage, inside and out, including seams and pockets. After looking over your bags and cleaning them, store suitcases in large plastic bags, ideally in the garage. This will help ensure bed bugs or eggs don’t invade the house.
Did Bed Bugs Follow You Home? Call the Pros at EnviroPest
If you’ve recently returned from a hotel stay and suspect bed bugs hitched a ride back to your home, it’s important to act quickly. Once bed bugs find a way into a house, they begin reproducing and without treatment their numbers can double every few weeks. The team at EnviroPest uses a wide range of treatments, including our all-natural bed bug control solutions, that effectively deal with infestations. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help address the problem and set up a program to ensure bed bugs and other pests are gone for good.
