Tips To Avoid Bed Bugs While Traveling

After arriving home from a long vacation, you do not want to discover that you’ve brought back an unwanted invader. You likely already have tons of other things you must get back in order. Now, you’ve discovered that you’ve got a pest with a penchant for blood to deal with. It’s enough to want to make you give up. Unfortunately, this is a scenario that more and more travelers are running into. Bed bugs have not only secured a foothold in the hospitality industry. They’ve completely taken it over. These bugs have been found in some of the cleanest and most reputed establishments in the world. Therefore, if you are going to travel, you’ll want to learn to protect yourself to the fullest. Below, you’ll learn some pertinent steps that you can apply to help protect yourself.

Know What The Bugs Look Like

First and foremost, you must know exactly what you are looking for. You can look through a lineup of pests. However, positively confirming the identification will not be the easiest task in the world. Bed bugs are small, flat wingless creatures that prefer blood as their main course. They usually satisfy this desire through human or animal blood. Believe it or not, these unwanted invaders can range from white to brown. After feeding, they will be a rusty red color with a protruding abdomen. The common bed bug doesn’t usually grow to be more than 0.2 inches in length, meaning they’ll be extremely hard to spot. They can be seen with the naked eye, but it’ll take an astute observer. You can usually distinguish the males from the females by examining the abdomens. Males have more pointed abdomens, whereas females are rounded.

Knowing How To Search

Although you know what the bed bug looks like, it isn’t going to make your journey any less arduous. One of the reasons for this is because these pests go out of their way to hide from you. Therefore, it pays to know exactly where to look for these bedbugs. This is going to be your first line of defense. And where most travelers make their very first crucial mistake. They simply move right into their hotel room without first searching it. Even a simple visual inspection can go miles towards keeping you and your family pest-free during your travels. Given the name of the pest, you’ll obviously want to start your search with the bed. Look deep into the mattress and sheets. Flip the box spring and check both sides. Be sure to scour under the tags, in the cracks and crevices, and across the stitching. In addition to the bed, you’ll want to check the nightstands, rugs, and carpeting. This search will be much more effective if you familiarize yourself with all the potential hiding spots before the trip.

Preparing For The Return Trip

You don’t just want to be diligent about your time in the hotel. You’ll also need to be extremely witty about your return trip as well. Start by reexamining your belongings before heading home. Even if you spent an entire week in your room without any unusual signs, you’ll still want to do a quick search through your things before repacking. Remember some people don’t react to bed bug bites. With that in mind, you’ll want to go as far as checking your newly purchased items also. If one wants to be extra careful, they can immediately place their belongings in the washer when returning home. Follow this up with a heat cycle in the dryer. You’ll almost be guaranteed that you come out of the situation bed bug-free. Bed bugs have been known to perish under extreme heat, as it causes their vital internal organs to shut down.

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