Bed bugs in your hotel… what to do after? – Insects in the City

(Last Updated On: April 12, 2011)

Bed bug, Cimex lectularis

Imagine that youre traveling and staying in a nice hotel. The next morning you discover bites and confirm that your room has bed bugs. What do you do? This is an increasingly common problem for travelers, as well as a nightmare for the hotel industry.

Recently a question came into our office from a person with just this experience. She had stayed in a hotel with bed bugs. Immediately after returning home she called her local health department and was advised to discard all her personal belonging if she didnt want to bring the bed bugs home. She did this, and is now fighting with hotel management for reimbursement of the cost of her lost personal items.

While you should be legitimately concerned about bringing bed bugs home from a stay in an infested hotel, there are easier, less drastic solutions. After reporting the infestation to the hotel, there are several things you can do to protect yourself if you suspect youve stayed in a bed bug infested room:

Bed bug infestations can be reported online via one of multiple consumer hotel registries. Two sites include http://www.bedbugreports.com/ and http://bedbugregistry.com/

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Bed bugs in your hotel... what to do after? - Insects in the City