It turns out the best ways to spot bed bugs in your hotel room are all just as gross as the fact bed bugs exist at all.
Not letting the bed bugs bite is a lot easier said than done unless you know what you’re looking for. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with these 3 very simple things to look for when checking your room for these blood sucking bed buddies.
What is a bed bug?
Before we get into the nitty gritty of finding bugs in your bed, what are these pesky little creatures anyway?
Web MD defines bed bugs as small, oval, brownish insects that live on the blood of animals or humans.
Okay, now you’ve had a second to cringe over that, let us continue.
“Adult bedbugs have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, however, their bodies swell and are a reddish color.”
“Bedbugs do not fly, but they can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Female bedbugs may lay hundreds of eggs, each of which is about the size of a speck of dust, over a lifetime.”
While they don’t transmit disease, they do bite.
“Bedbugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak. The bugs feed from three to 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed.”
You’ll be left with itchy red spots and the knowledge that these little guys were feasting on your body while you were in snooze land.
How to spot if you’ve got bed bugs
Here are a few quick, easy ways to spot if your room is hosting bed bugs.
The initial room scan
You’ve put your bags down, checked out the bathroom and now you’re ready to scout the place for bed bugs.
Here’s what you’re looking for:
Blood stains on your sheets or pillowcases
These are leftovers from your bugs last big feed, they’re messy little suckers.
Dark or rusty spots of bedbug excrement on sheets and mattresses, bed clothes, and walls
Same as above but will be collected in darker pockets about the size of apple seeds.
A musty odour which is coming from the bugs’ scent glands
Something smell a bit… off?
Chances are it’s from your resident vampires, hiding around the room.
After the initial room scan, make sure you check all the furniture surrounding the bed – including the seam divets around your mattresses, bed side tables and even lamps.
Bed bugs are very good at hiding and unless you want an infestation on your hands, we suggest investigating in depth as soon as possible.
Getting rid of bed bugs
Now you’ve found out your room is riddled with bed bugs – what do you do?
Sadly, most DIY fixes are only temporary – bed bugs are so resilient they can live up to a year without food.
The best long term fix is to hire a professional to evict your uninvited guests.
Sleep tight, don’t let the… ah, never mind.
