How to Avoid Bringing Bed Bugs Home After Travelling

Bed bugs do not fly or jump. They travel by hitchhiking on luggage, clothing, and belongings and hotels are their most effective distribution network. A single room stay is enough to bring home a population that can establish itself in your home within weeks.

How Bed Bugs Spread Through Travel

Bed bugs are found in hotels at every price point from budget motels to five-star resorts. They are also common in Airbnbs, hostels, trains, buses, and airplanes. The bugs hide in mattress seams, headboards, and upholstered furniture during the day and come out to feed at night. They climb into luggage left on the floor or bed and hitch a ride home with you.

How to Inspect a Hotel Room

Before settling in, put your luggage in the bathroom tiled floors and hard surfaces are much harder for bed bugs to hide in. Then inspect the bed. Pull back the sheets and check the mattress seams, especially at the corners. Look for small dark spots, shed skins, or live bugs. Check the headboard and bed frame. Run a credit card along seams to disturb any hiding insects. Also check the upholstered chairs and sofa. If you find signs of bed bugs, request a different room ideally not adjacent to or directly above or below the affected room.

Protecting Your Luggage

Use hard-sided luggage when possible it is harder for bugs to cling to. Keep luggage on the luggage rack away from the wall, not on the floor or on the bed. Use large zip-lock bags to seal dirty clothing. When you return home, do not bring luggage straight into your bedroom.

What to Do When You Get Home

Unpack directly into the washing machine if possible. Wash and dry all clothing on high heat 60°C or higher for 30 minutes kills all life stages of bed bugs. Inspect your luggage before storing it. Vacuum the inside and outside of your suitcase and dispose of the vacuum bag immediately. Store luggage in a sealed bag or in a storage area away from bedrooms.

Signs You Brought Bed Bugs Home

• Waking up with small itchy bites in lines or clusters
• Tiny dark spots on your mattress or sheets
• Small blood smears on pillowcases
• A sweet musty odour in the bedroom

If you notice any of these signs within a few weeks of returning from travel, act immediately. Bed bug populations double rapidly and early treatment is far less involved and costly than treating an established infestation.

XtermaPro Pest Control provides same-day bed bug inspections and treatment across Toronto, Peterborough, and surrounding areas. We answer 24/7 call us the moment you suspect a problem.