How to Protect Yourself from Bed Bugs in Hotels

As expert hitchhikers, bed bugs are prevalent just about everywhere in the world. They are known as hitchhikers because they find their way into luggage, seams, pockets, and under collars, allowing them to hitch a ride undetected and spread from location to location. With due diligence before you travel, you can greatly reduce your risk of being bitten, or worse, bringing them home.

High-end Hotels Can Have Bed Bugs
Do not assume that a high-end establishment is exempt from bed bug issues. Unlike cockroaches, bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanliness. Bed bugs are attracted to three main things: warmth, blood, and carbon dioxide. While cleanliness is a good start to catching in potential bed bug infestations, it is not a foolproof way of prevention. From five star hotels to run down hostels, bed bugs can be found wherever their hosts take them. If they are not discovered and eradicated, they continue to hitchhike rides on the next unsuspecting lodger and the cycle continues.

Research Before You Book
RESEARCH on the web. Check out public databases such as bedbugreports.com or registry.bedbugs.net for user-submitted bed bug reports in the U.S. and Canada. Also search the city name with the term ‘bed bugs’ to see if news stories come up calling out infestations.

Choose A Hotel That Follows Bed Bug Protocols
Before booking a room online, CALL first. Ask if they have bed bug protocols in place, from precautions to ensure pest-free rooms to an action plan if something is discovered. If they avoid the question, reconsider booking a room there. An establishment that has a policy in place will be happy to share it with you.

Print out our Bed Bug Safety Check List for pre, during and post vacation precautionary advice.

Check out our blogs, videos and handouts in our Resources area for additional bed bug information. Call us if you suspect you have brought bed bugs home with you—our trained bed bug specialists will offer support and direction on your options.