Breeding grounds
Hotel rooms, no matter how high-end or well-maintained, can be a breeding ground for these tiny pests, stowaways looking for a free ride to a new home.
“Bedbugs are highly efficient hitchhikers. They can move quickly across a room and climb onto luggage or anything left on a bed or floor in just one night,” writes pest control company, Orkin. “Hotels are ideal homes for bedbugs because of the high guest turnover rate. They are also found in these spaces because of how difficult it is to control bedbugs in hotels due to the number of rooms.”
And, the creepy little critters are expert predators, lurking “close to the humans they feed on,” warns Orkin.
Bedbug-free zone
Since the pests thrive in soft, warm areas like mattresses, carpets, and even upholstered furniture, placing your suitcase in these spots only promotes their survival.
The bathtub, on the other hand, is a bedbug-free zone. These bugs struggle to climb smooth surfaces, and since hotel bathrooms are typically cleaned more thoroughly than bedroom areas, your luggage is far less likely to come into contact with the pesky pests.
Entomologist Katelyn Kesheimer, PhD, told Reader’s Digest that she always places her luggage in the bathroom while she examines the room, thoroughly, for bedbugs.
“Once I know it is clear, I bring my luggage out into the main room. But I never put it on the bed, just in case,” Kesheimer said. “A bathroom is the least likely place that bedbugs will be found in a hotel room due to the short amount of time that humans (the bedbugs’ source of food) spend in the bathroom relative to the rest of the room.”
S.L.E.E.P.
When travelling, Orkin suggests using the acronym S.L.E.E.P. to avoid taking bedbugs home with you.
Survey the hotel room for signs of a bedbug infestation. Keep an eye out for dark, ink-like stains on bedding, the crevices of mattresses and box springs. Also, make sure you know what bedbugs look like at all life stages (eggs, newly hatched and adult).
Lift and look in bedbug hiding spots like the mattress, box spring, bed skirt and other furniture, as well as behind baseboards, pictures and even torn wallpaper.
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