Traveling for Thanksgiving? Watch Out for Bed Bugs!

People all over the U.S. are getting ready to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. An estimated amount of nearly 47 million travelers will be driving, flying, and taking trains to get to their destinations. Whether going home or visiting family and friends, likely the majority of those people will be living out of suitcases for a while and a lot of those people will be staying at hotels while out of town. No matter what the case may be for Turkey Day travelers, we know one thing’s for sure: they’ll need to watch out for hitchhiking bed bugs.

Thankfully there are a few simple precautions that can be taken to avoid this most unwanted holiday gift – an encounter with bed bugs.  Here are some helpful tips for travelers from the National Pest Management Association:

• Thoroughly inspect the entire room with a flashlight before unpacking, including behind the headboard, under lights, and inside dressers, drawers, sofas, and chairs.
• Pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams and box springs, particularly at the corners, for telltale stains, spots or shed bed-bug skins.
• Place suitcase in a plastic trash bag during the duration of your trip to ensure that bed bugs cannot take up residence there prior to departure. *Tip: Pack clothes in zip lock bag for easy cleaning upon returning home.
• Do not place luggage on upholstered surfaces. The safest place is in the bathroom in the middle of a tile floor or on a luggage rack after it has been thoroughly inspected. Do not use a luggage rack if it has hollow legs, where bed bugs may hide unseen.
• If you notice bed bugs in your room, notify management and request to change rooms immediately.
• Do not move to a room adjacent and/or directly above/below the suspected infestation.
• When you return home, inspect your suitcases before bringing them into the house.
• Vacuum your suitcase thoroughly before bringing indoors and storing away.
• Wash all of your clothes – even those items you haven¹t worn – in hot water to remove any bed bugs or eggs that may have traveled home with you. Dry clean only clothes should be thrown in the dryer and run on high heat.