How to check your hotel room for bed bugs

What once was a light way of saying good night, now is a reality. Bed bugs are back and they are looking to find the newest, best restaurant in town… You!

One way in which you can land yourself with some unwanted blood sucking, houseguests is during your travels. Hotels are one of the main instigators of the spread of bed bugs. With numerous guests arriving each day, it is extremely easy for bed bugs to claim a free holiday by hitchhiking a ride in someone’s luggage.

If a hotel room is infected with a family of bed bugs, the possibility of you taking them home with you is extremely high.

Don’t worry!

Being one of the world’s leading pest control companies, we thought we’d share with you how you can check your hotel room for bed bugs in 5 easy steps. So the only thing you bring home from your holiday is that nice tan.

1. Mattress and bed frame

Bed bugs often like to live near their food source. That’s why beds are always a hotspot for bed bug activity.

How to check a mattress and bed frame for bed bugs:

• Fully inspect the headboard, checking in between any design patterns. Move the bed away from the wall to check behind and underneath.
• Check any and all crevices, corners, joints, carvings and any over small cracks and holes on the bed frame.
• Inspect the bedding. This includes checking the inside and outside of the pillow cases, duvet covers, and the fitted sheet, paying close attention to the seams.

2. Bedside cabinets

Items of furniture near a bed such as nightstands and bedside cabinets are also key bed bug hotspots.

How to check bedside cabinets for bed bugs:

• Look inside drawers, especially along the joints as well as the handles
• Inspect behind and underneath the bedside cabinet
• Check ornaments, lamps, and picture frames.

3. Wardrobe and skirting boards

Although it is true bed bugs like to hang out in areas close to their food source, that doesn’t stop them from visiting other places in a room.

How to check wardrobes and skirting boards for bed bugs:

• Thoroughly inspect wardrobes, drawers and other pieces of furniture. This includes inspecting behind, on top of, and beneath.
• Check in between joints, handles and any crevices, cracks and dents.
• Inspect the gaps between the skirting boards and walls.

4. Sofa, chair and throws

Bed bugs are attracted to the CO2 we produce. You can often find them hidden in areas which see high levels of human interaction such as chairs.

How to check sofas chairs and throws for bed bugs:

• Remove the cushions from the seats and check above and below. Look in between joints and crevices.
• Remove the covers off the cushions and check the seams, corners and zips for bed bugs.

5. Luggage

Luggage is the main instigator when it comes to bed bug infestations. Best practise is to place your luggage in the en-suite before you begin your checks to eliminate the risk of it acquiring some unexpected stowaways.

How to check luggage stands for bed bugs:

• Check where the webbing wraps around the frame
• Inspect along the joints on the stand

What to look for when inspecting a hotel room for bed bugs

So by now, you know where and how to spot the signs of bed bugs in a hotel room, but what should you be looking for?

Bed bug signs

• Live Bed Bugs – Bedbugs are small, flat and oval shaped. They have six legs and two antennae and are a reddish-brown colour. Adult bed bugs are usually around 5-6mm in size.
• Blood smears – This happens when a bed bug has been accidentally crushed after a meal and look like small red stains. This comes from the undigested blood meal in its body.
• Dark/black stains – This comes from the dark liquid bed bugs excrete after a meal.
• Shed skin – A bed bug sheds its skin in order to grow and move on to the next stage of their life cycle. Once they have fully matured they no longer go through this process. Sightings of shed skin usually point towards indications of a large infestation.
• Bed bug eggs –  Bed bugs can lay anywhere between 200 and 500 eggs over a two month period, and are usually laid in batches of 10. Bed bug eggs are 1mm long and are a pearly white colour.

Think you might have a bed bug problem?
Contact us to get expert advice, services, and solutions on how to get rid of bed bugs in your home.