How To Prevent Hotel Bed Bugs

It’s one of a traveler’s worst nightmares to stay in a hotel where the beds are infested with bed bugs. These tiny creatures aren’t always visible to the naked eye, but they can completely ruin a vacation and leave hotel guests itching and scratching for weeks. Here are a few ways to ensure where you lay your head at night isn’t also where bed bugs lay their own.

Browse the bed bug registry. Yes, a bed bug registry actually exists to help arm yourself with information before booking a bed in a specific hotel.

Scour your hotel bed before unpacking. Immediately upon arrival, put on your detective hat and closely inspect each inch of your bed, including mattress seams, zippers, the area under the mattress and bed frame joints. To know what to look for, bed bugs are about four to five millimeters long with flat, oval bodies, plus legs and antennae.

Check the rest of the room. Bed bugs can also reside in the carpet and furniture, so check the closets, the area where the carpet or rug meets hardwood floors, and tight corners or crevices.

Keep your luggage away from and off the bed. Make use of the hotel room’s luggage rack and avoid unpacking your suitcase on your bed or on the floor. This should make it harder for the bugs to crawl in and travel home with you.