Bed Bugs in Hotel
Bed bugs are easy to transport in luggage and very hard to get rid of. For this reason they have become an especial nuisance for hotels, who are not eager to publicize their infestations. You can't tell whether a building or hotel room has them based on cleanliness - the bugs can thrive anywhere there are cracks and crevices to hide in. Bed bugs are becoming common in hotels, possibly because the bugs are developing resistance to sprays, or possibly because more toxic sprays have been outlawed. The bugs are showing up in luxury buildings and expensive resort hotels, so no one is immune to them. Bed bugs cannot fly, and you can kill them by encasing furniture or clothes in plastic; they need blood to live.
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Still concerned? Concerned travelers may want to check their bed for telltale signs of the bugs, a more common practice years ago. Before jumping into bed, here are a few spot check tips:
- 1. Peel back the bed sheets and check the mattress, running your fingers along the upper and lower seams. Make sure to check the mattress tag, bed bugs often hide there.
- 2. Experts recommend removing and examining the headboard if possible. Check for tiny black spots (excrement) that are smaller than poppy seeds. You may also see translucent light brown skins or, in the case of an infestation'” live bugs.
- 3. Check the bedside table. Look for signs of bed bugs in the drawers and along the wall on the side of the bed that is less likely to be disturbed by cleaning staff and guests.
- 4. You may want to elevate suitcases and keep them off the floor, like on a luggage stand.
- 5. If you see powder in the drawers or on the headboard, it is likely that the room has already been treated for bed bugs by an exterminator.
- 6. If bed bugs are detected, travelers should request for another room. Be sure to inform hotel management.
- 7. Just moving to a different room may not be the total answer. You should repeat the thorough inspection of any new or different room you are offered.
- 8. When you pack to leave, inspect your luggage carefully first, and inspect every item as you pack to help detect any bugs or their signs. Laundering most cloth items with typical hot water and detergent followed by drying on low heat for at least 20 minutes (or standard dry cleaning) should kill all bed bugs in or on such items. Sealing freshly-laundered items inside a plastic bag should help keep any more bed bugs from getting in those items later to hide (and be carried back with you).
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First, look into the cracks and seams of the mattress, as this is a favorite spot for bed bugs to hide. They sleep during the day, so are easy to spot at this time. If there are no bugs to be found, you should look for small rusty spots staining the mattress, as these stains could be the blood excrement of bed bugs. There may also be discarded exoskeleton shells near these stains, as bed bugs grow up to 5 times after a feeding, and shed often.
Blood excrement and exoskeleton shells are an indication of a bed bug brooding site, and if one brooding site exists, there are often more in the room. Next, look behind the head board of the bed and any nightstands that are in the area. Bed bugs have an affinity for wood, and are often found hiding in these areas. It is important to check these areas because the mattresses may have been cleaned, but the room could still be infested. Any bed bugs still alive after the bedding and mattress is treated will most likely be in these areas. They can not jump or fly, but can easily walk the distance from a night stand to your bed when you are asleep.
If you do find any bed bugs or brooding sites in your room, alert the staff immediately. Take your luggage with you also, because you don't want any of them hitching a ride and infesting your home. Hotels, motels, and hostels usually take bed bug infestations quite seriously and should be happy to move you to another room.
Bedbugs (or bed bugs) are becoming an epidemic in hotel rooms throughout the United States. Larger cities, especially New York City are literally infested with them. Before staying in a hotel room for the night these days, it is best to spend five minutes and check the room for bedbugs. Some of the pictures of victims are downright gruesome. The bugs come in the night and bite along the thickest veins in your legs in the middle of the night where your slumber is at it's deepest level. Bedbugs are small black creatures, but you should be able to pick them out by following a few simple procedures. Here are some tips to and information on how to check for bed bugs around the hotel room.
1.Pick up the mattresses in the rooms and look under it. Check around the edges of the box springs.
2.Check under the box spring.
3.Look at the corners of the room. Oftentimes bedbugs are wedged in corners sleeping during the day. Also, spiders do catch them and this is where they generally have their webs.
4.This is the most important tip of all. Headboards in hotel rooms are easily removed. They are basically decorative. Lift up each headboard an lie it on the bed. Carefully inspect the hole where the headboard was lifted out of. Also, inspect all niches and corners of the headboard. Remember bedbugs are very small and dead bedbug husks sometimes can be hard to pick up. If you see any type of bug or husk of small bugs, you most likely have bedbugs in the room (or at least used to).