Don’t Bring Bed Bugs Home This Holiday Season

Every year more than 50 million people travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. And with so many people traveling by airplanes, trains, and ride-hailing services while heading to hotels and vacation rentals, it’s an important time to remind people how to stay vigilant against these blood-sucking pests.

Check Your Room for Signs of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs like to hide in mattresses, end tables, suitcases, furniture, curtains, and more. And it’s important to note, bed bugs don’t discriminate. You can be at a 5-star resort and still see an infestation. So as soon as you check into your room, inspect it. Remove the sheets and inspect your mattress looking for bed bugs and their eggs. Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, while their eggs resemble a white grain of rice. If you do see signs of a bed bug infestation, contact hotel management and request another room that is not adjacent to the infested one. It’s not uncommon for bed bugs to travel to nearby rooms via electrical sockets, laundry carts, and suitcases.

Protect Your Suitcases

Help keep bed bugs out of your suitcases while out and about by placing them inside trash bags or other sealed covers.

Unpack Outside

Once you arrive home and you’re ready to unpack do it outside on a smooth surface, like a garage floor for example. Smooth surfaces are hard for bed bugs to climb out of. At this time, remove all of your fabric items, place them in a trash bag and toss them into your dryer for about 30 minutes on high heat to eliminate any potential bed bugs.

Next, vacuum and steam your suitcases and/or travel bags to make sure any stowaways are eliminated.

Bed bugs are very resilient so prevention is key. If you do see a bed bug, contact a pest control company right away, like Pest Control Inc. A pest control technician will be able to safely and efficiently remove your bed bug infestation before it gets worse.