While it isn’t exactly possible to stop bed bugs in hotels from ever appearing there, it is possible to take certain precautions in order to find out whether or not the hotel you are staying in has bed bugs. Fortunately, bed bugs emit relatively clear signs of their presence, and checking for them is far from being rocket science.
The first and most obvious thing you need to do in order to avoid bed bugs while traveling is to look up what people have to say about the hotels you plan on staying in. People are generally very quick to complain about experiences during their travels, and if anything will have those travelers in an uproar, its bed bugs. There are even some hotels for which customers can have a look at the complaints previously dropped against them, and if bed bugs are among them, then you should definitely look for a different lodging establishment. Also, you may end up needing to change hotels if you see signs of bed bugs, so it would be helpful to write down a few numbers and possible alternatives.
In any case, once you have arrived to your room it is time to inspect it for bed bugs. The first place of interest should be the mattress; if there are small blood smears and tiny black specks all over, then you can be certain bed bugs are about. The blood smears come from their feeding while the black specks are their excrement’s. After you are done with the mattress, you should move on to the headdress, the nightstand, behind the bed, and more importantly, inside drawers. Keep in mind that bed bugs would much rather stay in dark places, so you are more likely to find them behind furniture, under sheets and in drawer corners. When looking elsewhere but on the mattress during the day, the only sign of bed bugs you can hope to find are their droppings.
Bed bugs are nocturnal creatures, so if you haven’t found any during the day, it is heavily recommended that you also do a check-up during nighttime. Adult bed bugs tend to be tiny and brownish while their larvae are generally of a golden color. After feeding though, bed bugs look bright red due to the blood they just consumed.
If bed bugs have been detected, report it to the reception immediately and go the next best hotel on your list. All hope is not lost though, as pest control services have become more and more prominent in the past few years, saving many lodging businesses from total failure due to bed bugs… it is even possible that in the future methods will exist to prevent them, but as of now, bed bugs in hotels are still a very real problem and travelers do need to be extra careful.
