Souvenirs are great but only if you’ve chosen them for yourself. Even though you could consider a bed bug that hitchhiked home inside your luggage to be a souvenir, most of us aren’t keen on the little pests that cause itchy bites and are a nightmare to get rid of once they’re in your home. Sadly, bed bugs thrive on human blood and are great hiders, which means there’s a fair chance you’ll encounter them in some hotel rooms. So how do you make sure there aren’t any in your room and how do you avoid taking them home of there are?
First of all, let’s talk bed bug damage. Maybe you’re well-aware of the harm they do but if you aren’t, a bed bug bite essentially greatly resembles a mosquito bite. However, there’s one way to tell them apart, expert Tine Vande Maele tells Belgian VRT news outlet.
The biggest difference with mosquito bites is the fact that bed bug bites are clustered, with multiple bites occurring on a very small skin surface. If that’s your case, there’s a good chance you’ve just encountered bed bugs.
Tine Vande Maele
1. Check the sheets
And if your sheets are covered with small brownish, mold-like stains, that should be a warning sign to. This is also one of the first things you could check for when entering your new hotel room and be sure to not only check the freshly-changed sheets but also the mattress protector and even the bedskirt.
2. Store your luggage away carefully
Before checking for stains, however, make your way over to the bathroom. Here, you can put down your luggage without too many worries as bed bugs don’t like sleek surfaces such as tiles. If the bathroom’s too small, try to make use of a luggage rack or something in that gist – whatever you do, don’t put your trolley on the bed or a carpet before having made sure there aren’t any bed bugs.
3. Think twice when you get home
While you’re on vacation, it can be a good idea to cover your luggage with something like a plastic bag and to store your dirty laundry in ziplock bags to safeguard your clean clothes as well as possible. And upon your return at home, don’t take your trolley inside just yet. If possible, try to put it on a white sheet outdoors while unpacking, checking for bed bugs signs all the way. Take your clothes immediately to the laundry machine and wash anything that allows for it on 60°C, as the little pests won’t survive that. As for your trolley: swipe it with your vacuum cleaner and if you have one, it can’t hurt to take out the steamer as this will eliminate any bed bugs inside your luggage.
