Do you know how to spot a bedbug? KTVA 11 – KTVA.com – Anchorage, Alaska

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(Which of these common insect pests is a bedbug? In a survey conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky, just 35 percent of U.S. business travelers and 28 percent of leisure travelers could correctly identify the bedbug. The answers: 1-Ant, 2-Termite, 3-Louse, 4-Bedbug, 5-Tick. Entomological Society of America)

Most Americans fear bedbugs but the majority cant identify one out of a lineup of other common insects, new research shows.

In a survey of U.S. travelers conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky, 60 percent of participants said they would switch hotels if they found evidence of bedbugs in a guest room.

However, only 35 percent of business travelers and 28 percent of leisure travelers correctly identified a bedbug when looking at a group of similar small pests.

Considering all the media attention paid to bedbugs in recent years, the fact that most travelers still have a poor understanding of them is troubling, said Michael Potter, Ph.D., extension professor in UKs Department of Entomology and co-author of the study.

The study, published in American Entomologist, the quarterly magazine of the Entomological Society of America, found bedbugs were a much bigger concern than other potential hygiene issues at a hotel. Less than a quarter of people surveyed said they would switch hotels for factors such as signs of smoking or dirty towels or linens.

The findings are particularly worrisome for the hotel industry, the researchers say, given the role that online reviews play when travelers are determining where to stay. More than half of the people surveyed said theyd be very unlikely to select a hotel with a single online report of bedbugs.

The fact that theres a pretty obvious misunderstanding of what a bedbug looks, like much less what to do about it a lot of these reports are anecdotal, unconfirmed and they may not even have a whole lot of relevance, Potter told CBS News.

Read more at CBSNews.com on how to spot a bedbug.

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Do you know how to spot a bedbug? KTVA 11 - KTVA.com - Anchorage, Alaska

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