Avoiding Bed Bugs In Hotels
For those that love to travel, the bed bug pandemic is very concerning. Even the cleanest and most well kept hotels and bed and breakfasts have fell victim to bed bugs. It is very hard to prevent infestations when one is in the business of catering to those from a plethora of geographic regions. Bed bugs don’t just live in beds. You can find bed bugs in carpeting, on clothing, furniture, upholstery, and just about anywhere else they can hide and breed. Here are some ways you can protect yourself from bed bugs if you travel often or prevent your own hotel from becoming a haven for bed bugs.
Launder Clothing Well
Cold washes may save money but they sure don’t do much to kill bed bugs. In order to achieve bed bug eradication it is essential to wash clothing using the hottest setting on a washer. Most commercial washers or hotel laundry services already do this because they know it is the only way to make sure bed bugs don’t survive on bedding. If you wait until you get home to launder clothing, make sure you do it immediately when you arrive. If you have to wait, make sure clothing is in a sealed plastic bag to reduce the risk of contaminating your home.
Clean Carpeting Regularly and Contain Laundry Before Washing
Vacuuming can reduce the incidence of bed bugs but will not eliminate the eggs they lay. Every hotel should make proper carpet cleaning a priority to prevent problems. Bed bugs can quickly spread from a single room to throughout a hotel. Housekeeping personnel, bedding, towels, and more can spread bed bugs. Keeping used bedding and towels contained in a solid plastic hamper with a lid until they get to the laundry room can help prevent cross contamination.
Stay At Reputable Hotels
One of the big advantages of the internet is that we can read reviews of establishments before we invest in them. While some reviews are clearly not accurate, it is still worthwhile to see what others think. If a hotel has a reputation for being impeccably clean and well run than they are more likely to be taking cleaning measures to prevent bed bugs.
Inspect Your Room For Bed Bugs
When you get to your hotel room, put your luggage in the bathroom. Bed bugs don’t like hard surfaces like tile and linoleum. The bathroom is the least likely place for bed bugs to be in a hotel. After you stash your luggage check for signs of bed bugs on the linens. Any small spots or specks the size of a small seed should be noted and reported. Make sure to check the mattress out as well.
Keep Luggage and Clothing Off The Floor
Bed bugs are not likely to be on a smooth surface life a desk or counter top. Being in the proximity of carpets or linens increases the chance that bed bugs will find their way into your luggage. Avoid leaving clothes on the floor as well. It is very easy for bed bugs to find their way onto items of clothing and back to your home. This is especially true for those that do not launder their travel clothes until they return home.
Stay In Hotels With Less Visitors
The more people pass through a hotel or bed and breakfast, the more likely it is that bed bugs can become a problem. This does not meant that it is never possible to get bed bugs from a low volume place of accommodation. Cities and other areas where there are large numbers of people convening from all over the world have higher rates of infestation simply because it is easier for bed bugs to travel around.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Another Room
You are paying good money for a clean and safe room. There is nothing wrong with asking for another room. In fact you are doing the hotel operators a big favor by alerting them to a bug problem. If issues are caught quickly, it is much easier for a hotel to completely eliminate the bed bugs from their place of establishment. This can in turn prevent infestations in other areas.
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