Seen At 11: Battling Bedbugs On The Road

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Bedbugs crawl around in a container on display during the second National Bedbug Summit in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2, 2011. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CBS 2) Its summer and this is the time of year when bedbugs are most prevalent. But its also the time of year when people travel.

That can be a bad combination, but there are things you can do to battle the nasty critters.

When CBS 2s Kristine Johnson caught up with Charlotte Reed, she was leaving for vacation and hoping to return with a tan. However, she said was worried that some color wasnt going to be the only thing shed bring back with her.

Bedbugs can travel anywhere, Reed said.

Like a lot of travelers, she said shes concerned about bedbugs catching a ride back to her home on anything from her luggage to her dog.

My dog sleeps in the bed with me, so, just like Im exposed to bedbugs at night in the bed, so is she, Reed said.

Experts say bedbugs will use your pets to get to you. Its one of the ways theyve now spread to all 50 states.

Pets can transport bedbugs. Just mechanically, the bedbug hitches a ride on your pet and gets into your house, said Kimberly May of the American Veterinary Medical Center.

So what, if anything, can you do to protect yourself while traveling? Entomologist Jeffrey White said when you get to your hotel room thoroughly inspect for bugs before you bring your pet through the door. The bugs are often visible to the naked eye.

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Seen At 11: Battling Bedbugs On The Road

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