How to Check for Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are the most horrible! There is nothing more awful than a holiday ruined by tiny little bed bugs who have sure to make you their next food ticket.

Of course, there is hardly any way to know if you’re going to be staying in a place with bed bugs. There are hotels of questionable quality that can have rooms that completely bed bug-free and then there are hotels that are known for their exceptional service that is crawling with bed bugs. The general nature of hotels means that people are constantly coming in and out and there is no way for the hotel to know where these people were before and what they are bringing into the building or the room they are staying in. Most places will do their best to keep their rooms clean for their guests, but you will probably still want to do a quick check before you commit to spending a night between the sheets.  In this case, you need to know how to check for bed bugs.

The first thing you need to do when you get to your new hotel room is to make sure that, just in case it is infected, you don’t get your luggage/belongings infested. Put your luggage in a plastic bag and then set it somewhere far away from the floor or the bed. Usually, the folding rack the hotel provides will work or you can try putting it in the closet. When this is done, put on your gloves and let the inspection begin.

Where to check for bed bugs

The Mattress

In order to properly check for bed bugs, you’ll need to pull back the sheets and examine the mattress. While most hotels are responsible enough to change the sheets after every guest, they won’t often check the mattress. This means that a bed bug infestation can stay behind. Use your fingers to check the seams of the mattress – lookout for tiny black dots (bed bug spots), little bed bug skins, and bed bugs themselves.

Areas Around The Bed

Bed bugs hate the light, so check in darker areas to see if they are there. These include the bed headboard and around the bed frame.

Other Furniture Within The Room

In a similar way to the mattress, look for any signs of infestation in the seams of chairs and other surrounding furniture.

Add-Ons / Requested Furniture

Fold-up beds and baby/children cribs move from room to room and provide an easy way for an infestation to spread. If any of these are present in your room, follow the same kind of check as you’ve done on your main bed mattress.

With the knowledge of how to check for bed bugs, now when you go to hotels and you can have some peace of mind that when you close your eyes to sleep at night, you shouldn’t wake up with any nasty surprises in the morning. For more info about bed bugs, call Pest Control Adelaide professionals.