Yuma Pest Control
Staying at a hotel should be a relaxing experience. It can become downright chilling, however, if you pick up bed bugs while you’re there. You can inspect your hotel room using the flashlight on your phone. It’s a good idea to examine the room before you open your suitcase and remove your belongings. If you find bed bugs, you probably want to choose a different place to stay.
The Initial Inspection
When you get into your hotel room, place your luggage in the bathroom. Bed bugs are less likely to hang out there. Don’t leave your suitcase on the luggage rack, where bed bugs may have crawled off of someone else’s luggage and made their home.
Remove the linens from the mattress and look at the cushion and box spring. Check the seams, corners and tufts. Bed bugs like to hide in cramped spaces. If you can’t see well into the deeper mattress folds, use a credit card to pry the material apart.
Use a flashlight to check any cracks in the headboard. If you can, remove picture frames from the wall and make sure there are no bed bugs hiding behind or inside of them. Look inside, behind and around the nightstands, opening each drawer.
What To Look For
Bed bugs are about 4 mm long. They’re oval in shape and the size of a lentil. They are reddish-brown in color.You might not spot the bugs themselves. The critters are very flat and can fit into tight spaces. They tend to conceal themselves during the day and come out at night. If you use a flashlight, you might notice the bugs crawling rapidly away as the light shines on them. You may also find nymphs, eggs or the exoskeletons that fall off of the bugs when they molt.
Some tell-tale signs of bed bugs are the droppings and blood markings that they leave behind. These will be quite noticeable on a white mattress or box spring. They may look like clusters of brown specks or small, red dots.
When you get home, vacuum the interior and exterior of your luggage to remove any pests that might be hitching a ride. You may also want to place your clothes in a heated dryer for 30 minutes. If you’re worried that you may have brought bed bugs home with you, you might want to contact Yuma Pest for a thorough inspection.
Our team of pest professionals offers many commercial pest control services, including hotels. If you are a business owner and expect that your business is being overrun by pests, give us a call today!