Most people fear encountering bedbugs right here in the hotel room,
but there’s no need to fear,
millions of people stay in hotels every night and wake up bedbug-free.
A hotel with 700 rooms in New York City may
appear on the bedbug registry
but does that mean the whole hotel has bedbugs?
Certainly not.
Bedbugs in hotels are still a very rare occurrence;
however, they get a lot of attention from the press.
Now regardless of where I might be staying,
when I arrive at my destination
I remember to inspect for bedbug evidence,
so make sure you know what bedbug evidence looks like.
I know what I’m looking for- I’m looking for live bedbugs-
that’s the adults, the eggs, and the nymphs, fecal spots-
these are the bedbug droppings, and molted skins-
the skins that immature bedbugs shed as they grow.
Many people are putting their bag in the bathtub while inspecting for bedbugs
in the room, however, the bag can’t stay in the bathtub forever,
so I like to establish my bag’s location first.
Leaving my bag at the door, I take the valet out and look at it,
inspect the holes where there are set-in screws and under the fabric bands.
If I see no bedbug evidence I put my bag on the valet
and set the whole thing away from the wall.
Next, I inspect the outside of my bag.
Remember how my bag has traveled with
all those other bags that it might have met on the trip?
I don’t want to be the one bringing bedbugs into this hotel,
so I inspect the outside of my bag,
all the seams and zippers,
for bedbug evidence first.
Bedbugs are very unlikely to get inside of a closed bag, so I
don’t open my bag until I inspect the outside.
If I see no evidence on the bag
I begin my inspection of the room. Now, bedbugs
in a hotel are typically associated with the bed,
because that’s where the food is. I pull back
all the covers on the bed and inspect the mattress for bedbug
evidence. If the mattress is brand new
and I see no immediate signs of bedbug evidence,
I only check the seams on the edge of the top
mattress, particularly those next to the headboard,
and then the mattress tag, and then I’m done.
Now if you’re really freaked out by bedbugs, or if you’re new
to bedbug inspection, you may want to check
all of the seams around the mattress, the tag,
and the seams of the box springs.
These are the areas where bedbugs like to hide.
You typically don’t need to worry about the
bedding because it’s changed so frequently, and
bedbugs tend to avoid locations where
they are frequently disturbed.
One last
place that may be frequented by bedbugs in hotels
is the headboard.
In many hotels the headboard can be huge,
and it can be bolted to the wall.
But, in others it simply hangs on the wall like a picture frame.
To inspect behind the headboard, lift it straight off the wall,
laying it face down on the bed for inspection.
Look alongside the backside of the bracket where the
board hangs on the wall. Also, inspect any mitering
where the bedbugs might hide, finally,
look at the top of the baseboard-
do you see any fecal stains or any live bugs?
If you see no bedbug evidence, simply
lift the headboard back up again and slide it
into place. If you do see a bedbug, capture it,
or at least write down where you saw it so you can alert
the hotel management.
But, do them a favor and alert them discreetly.
Finding one bug does not
mean the whole establishment is infested.
So go and ask for another room and begin your inspection again.
If you find no bedbug evidence on the bed
you don’t have to inspect the rest of the room unless you just want to.
You can hang up your dress clothes in the closet,
but it’s still recommended that you keep the rest of your clothing
inside your bag rather than putting it in the drawers in the room.
Now that you’ve inspected your hotel room
for bedbugs, you can sleep tight.