With summer nearly upon us, it’s time for some vacation bed bugs prevention tips!
There you are, part exhausted from the travel, part excited for the rest and relaxation, you arrive at your hotel and drop your bag on the floor, flop on the bed, sit in the chair and start planning how you will kick back for the next few days and nights. Maybe you’re travelling alone, maybe it’s with your spouse or family but what if you knew there were “extras” planning to join you not only during your vacation but also for the trip home? Biting, blood sucking, breeding little bed bugs that can lay anywhere between 1-7 eggs per day, reach maturity in as few as 30 days and will begin laying their own biting spawn.
Since the 1990’s, the resurgence of the bed bug epidemic from 65 years ago has taught us many lessons. Firstly, these bugs are resistant to most of the common pesticides that were used in the 1950’s. Secondly, once a bed bug settles in, your only hope to manage the situation is early detection and bi-weekly treatments from a licensed pest control company. Finally, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the treatments, you may find yourself getting rid of many possessions that either cannot be cleaned or impede the treatment process. Not only time consuming but ghastly expensive! Time and money aside, bed bugs are host to a wealth health concerns but that will be discussed in greater detail in the next article. For now, let’s see if we can help you prevent bringing home bed bugs in the first place!
Tips to keeping your vacation bed bug free:
- Check your room before you put any luggage in drawers, on the floor or on the furniture.
- Pull up the comforter and peel back the bed sheets: you are looking for smears of blood on mattresses and box springs as well as pinpoint block spots that look like a drop of ink from a felt-tipped marker.
- Other evidence includes bed bug eggs (pictured below), castings from bed bugs as they grow from one life stage to another or the adult bed bugs.
- Don’t stop looking just because the bed seems clear! Check the underside of couch and chair cushions, the crevices between cushions.
- Check inside drawers and cabinets and the tops of closet shelves.
- Keep Going! Check the inside of facial tissue boxes near the bed, the extra blankets or robes in the closet and the base of furniture (around legs and base)
This may sound time consuming but having practiced this routine for years, it takes a couple of minutes at most and it is well worth the peace of mind. If you are still feeling nervous about bed bugs, and this is where I congratulate myself a bit for reminding you to be diligent, hang your luggage and all of your personal effects in the closet. Bed bugs crawl and do not fly. Bed bugs also tend to reside, lay eggs and generally hang out where their meals will rest at night…beds, couches, chairs… you get the idea.
What if I find evidence of bed bugs?
Grab your bags, get a refund and find a new place to stay… seriously. You may want to believe that bed bugs have only infested this one room on this one floor but the resiliency of these bugs has demonstrated that they are capable of infesting entire floors, if not entire buildings. There are many cases of hotels, resorts, apartment buildings, hostels, movie theatres, etc., being overrun by bed bugs crawling through electrical, cable and phone outlets, heating shafts, and floor vents.
Unfortunately, we often do not find the evidence of a bed bug infestation until it has reached critical levels. And, if you have flown 2000 kilometres and are booked in an all-inclusive resort with nowhere else to go? This is where my specialization in supporting Compulsive Hoarders in London, Ontario comes into play. Follow the suggestions below to minimize your exposure and protect yourself, your family and your home:
- Ask for a room 3-4 floors above or below your current room or in a different section of the resort entirely.
- Again, inspect the room the same way you completed your first inspection (listed above). If it’s clear of evidence of infestation, proceed with the suggestions below.
- Fingers crossed this room is clear but this can change in the speed of which a bed bug can crawl and find a new food source.
- Keep all of your belongings hung up on hangers in the closet.
- Keep any possessions that cannot be hung up in clear plastic bags and tie these bags tightly. You may want to keep these possessions in the bathroom given the population of bed bugs is likely lower. Each time you access the clear bag, remember to re-tie it.
- Place your suitcase in a thick garbage bag and do not open until you are ready to depart your hotel.
- Some individuals have elected to purchase travel sleeping sacs that lay on top of hotel linens and pillows. Remember that bed bugs are attracted to the meal regardless of what their food source is sleeping on.
- Each morning, inspect your sheets for tiny spots of dried blood.
- Inspect yourself for bite marks that will resemble those of grouped mosquito bites. Keep in mind that bed bug bite marks and other insect bite marks are VERY similar in appearance. Look for other signs of evidence that support bed bug infestation before calling a pest control company.
- Ask your housekeeping attendants to change/launder your comforter, sheets, pillows and pillowcases daily.
- If possible, launder all of your clothing prior to departing the hotel.
- As you are packing to leave, inspect your suitcase to ensure nothing has managed to by-pass the thick garbage bag. It is highly doubtful anything would have the opportunity to crawl inside but better safe than sorry.
- Pack all laundered items and leave anything that served as bed bug protection for your belongings in the room.
Where do we go from here?
- Typically by now, most people tell me they are itchy and feeling the need to re-evaluate their vacation plans. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid every place that has experienced bed bug issues. The rise of bed bugs across the country is is wide spread and growing daily. Given life as a shut-in sounds less than thrilling it’s better to protect ourselves and prevent the spread of bed bugs instead. Need more information on bed bugs? Check out the links below for further information:Any bed bug information or resources you want to share? Perhaps a pest control company that has demonstrated awesome results? Maybe you survived an attempted invasion of the little blood suckers yourself and want to share what your own tips. Feel free to leave your comments, experiences or questions here. We would love to hear from you!
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