Many of you will be going on vacation with family and friends this holiday season, staying in hotels around the world.
Don’t get caught off guard and bring bed bugs back home with you!
Check reviews and comments on your hotels to make sure there haven’t been any recent bed bug issues before you book, and again just before you leave.
If you’re worried you might pick up bed bugs abroad, there are some simple steps for keeping them from infesting your home.
How Can I Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home With Me?
If you or your family must travel with your own pillows or stuffed animals, make sure to wash them immediately on returning home and before any item is returned to a bed room or couch, giving bed bugs an opportunity to escape and invade your home.
Packing a small flashlight will help you to see bedbugs during your inspection.
Pack some sealable plastic bags in case you need to isolate any of your items while travelling.
Do an inspection of your hotel room before bringing your luggage in, checking all of the spots where bed bugs may hide, including behind the head board, underneath the mattress and along the bed skirt. Be sure to do a careful inspection of the linens, paying special attention to the seams as well.
When you bring your luggage into your room, do not set it on the bed. Keep it in the bathroom, in the bathtub where any bugs could be easily seen, or on the luggage stand, after you’ve inspected it, instead.
Do not store anything underneath your bed.
If you find bed bugs, notify the front desk and ask to change rooms, making sure your new room is not adjacent to the infested room, or change hotels.
Be sure to do an inspection on your new room as well.
Remember: bed bugs don’t check for stars first. The most expensive hotels are just as susceptible as the least expensive.
I Think I’ve Picked Up Bed Bugs Abroad. What Do I Do?
The only way to confirm the presence of bed bugs in your luggage is to carefully inspect each item, everything from your clothing to your suitcases, making sure you examine all of the folds and seams where bed bugs like to hide.
Unlike lice, bed bugs do not travel on the human body.
If you think you have stayed in a bed bug infested area, make sure you isolate articles of clothing you think may have been infected in a plastic bag. When you return home, set your washing machine on the hottest setting the fabric can withstand.
If you are using a dry cleaning service, keep the clothing isolated and be sure to inform them that your clothing may have bed bugs.
Items that cannot be washed, like a suitcase, can be heated or frozen. If heated, a core temperature of 50 degrees Celsius for two hours is ideal. If frozen, a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius must be kept for at least five days.
If you think you’ve brought bed bugs home with you, don’t wait. Call the bed bug exterminators at Bed Bug Heat Exterminator!
>>If you become a victim of a bed bug infestation then contact the team at Allphase for the fastest, safest, and most effective solution. We offer heat treatment bed bug extermination for homes in Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, and Toronto.
