Population increases — combined with the ease of worldwide travel — mean your chances of a bedbug encounter in a hotel room are on the rise. So it’s not surprising that many bedbugs hitch a ride home.
Be vigilant. Bedbugs are parasites. Like mosquitos and ticks, they feast on the blood of a host. Unlike mosquitos and ticks, they are not as prone to transmit disease.
Bedbugs are flat, brown, oval-shaped insects about the size of an apple seed. They hide in the folds and seams of mattresses, sheets, upholstery, your luggage and the clothing inside it. Over the last several decades, with increased opportunities to travel, bedbugs have been transported all over the world. The most common venue for human exposure is hotel rooms. A female bedbug lays up to five eggs per day and can lay several hundred in her average lifespan of 300 days.
You can tell if you have an infestation by:
- seeing an actual bedbug;
- seeing small brown stains from feces on bedding or upholstery;
- seeing small blood stains on bedding or upholstery from a bug that has been crushed;
- finding red, itchy bites on your skin when you get up in the morning, although other causes for red welts are possible.
Prevention. Use caution when buying used bedding, and upholstered furniture. If you decide to do so, inspect them carefully, looking for the evidence described above.
When staying in a hotel, do not put your bag down on the bed. Set bags on elevated hard surfaces such as a counter or dresser top. Inspect the bed closely for evidence of bedbugs. If you find evidence, request another room or change hotels since bedbugs spread easily.
At home, regularly inspect pillows and stuffed animals, upholstered furniture and bedding. Consider buying plastic encasements for mattresses and box springs.
Ruthless eradication. If you have bedbugs, act quickly. First, call a professional exterminator. Second, since heat is the main method for elimination, wash your bedding on the hottest setting possible and dry them on hot. Drop a small amount of powdered insecticide on a hard-surface floor, such as the garage, and vacuum. Then, vacuum all the carpets, and use the hose attachment to thoroughly vacuum the mattress, box spring and all upholstered furniture. Once the bugs are sucked into the vacuum bag, the powdered insecticide will kill them. Remember, any steps you take should be a supplement to, not substitution for, professional help.
Do not change sleeping locations from the infested bed to another bedroom or the sofa. The bedbugs will infest the new area. Do not throw everything away. Allow the pest control company to do its work. Throwing out mattresses or upholstered furniture may not be necessary with good treatment. Do not buy and use a “bug bomb” fogger. It won’t work and could make matters worse.
