Don’t Bring Bed Bugs Home from Vacation

Yahoo, it’s summer and time to travel – for you, me and bed bugs. Bed Bugs rule when it comes to hitchhiking to their next vacation spot. During the summer months, they can easily cling to a bag or the leg of your pants without you ever noticing. I had one fall off my leg while driving my car. I couldn’t get off the road fast enough to get out, hunt and destroy. I never felt a thing as it clung to my bare ankles.

Here are the top 6 things to do to prevent bed bugs coming home with you.

1. Before you leave home

Pack a couple of large plastic bags, preferably clear recycling bags and pick up an extra-large plastic zipper bag from the dollar store.

 2. First stop is the bathroom

Before you go any further, bring your luggage into the bathroom. There are no cozy hiding places for bed bugs in the bathroom. You can even keep your luggage in the tub for the duration of your stay.

3. Inspect your bed

Mattress: Pull back the sheets and inspect the seams of the mattress for black spots that look like pepper, blood stains or any dead or live bugs.

Headboard: Grab a sheet of paper or a business card and run it along the top of the headboard attached to the wall. Look for black grit or dead bugs on the paper.

Box Spring: Bed Bugs love the box spring.  Take a deeper dive and flip up the box spring and inspect the staples and plastic corners for black spots or bugs.

Picture Frames:  Bed Bugs live within 4 meters of the bed. It’s a good idea to check behind picture frames.

If you find any evidence of bed bugs after completing the above steps, immediately request a new room that is at least two floors away.

4. Seal your Suitcase

Seal your suitcase in the plastic bag you brought from home for extra protection while sitting on the luggage rack. If you do a lot of travelling, you may want to invest in zipper bag to encase your suitcase available from luggage stores.

5. Seal Dirty Laundry

New evidence suggests that bed bugs like dirty laundry more than clean laundry. Store your dirty laundry in a plastic bag. The bonus is that they will be ready for washing when you return home.

6. Home Again Home Again

Laundry: Once you return home, run all dirty clothes through the wash and dry on a high heat and run all clean clothes through the dryer for 30 minutes.

Suitcase: Seal up your suitcase in plastic until the next time you need it.

If, by chance, a bed bug comes home with you, it may be a few weeks or months before you see the first signs. Not everyone reacts to bed bug bites, but if you do find a few itchy red welts in a line or group, it’s a good chance that they are bed bug bites. At this point, you will want to check your mattress, box spring and bed frame for live bugs, blood stains or black smears.

While bed bugs don’t carry diseases, they can cause you a great deal of anxiety as they have become immune to pesticides. The good news is that the Achilles’ heel of the bed bug is heat; all stages, from egg to adult, die at 45C. The most affordable way to heat up your bedroom is by renting a bed bug heater. Heat will also kill other pests, like spiders, dust mites and moths. Whatever is biting you, the fastest way to a good night’s sleep is to heat treat your room.