Check all furniture and linens in hotel before unpacking

A customer called saying that she had bedbugs in her home. She had recently stayed in a hotel and she believed that she might have brought them with her when she returned.

If you are getting ready to stay in a hotel, here are some precautions to take to reduce your risk of transporting these insects back into your bed at home.

1. Leave your bags in your car or with the front desk until you’ve performed an inspection. Use a small flashlight to search the crevices of the bed and the rest of the room.
2. Bedbugs have an oval shape and are reddish or brown in color. Younger bedbugs are a bit lighter. Look for droppings as well. They will be tiny black spots on furniture or linens. You may also see light brown skin casings.
3. Start with the bed, of course, and then look at all the linens. Pay special attention to piping, seams and ruffles. Look at the bed’s dust ruffle as well, because this is a common place for bedbugs to hide. Pull back the sheets and look closely at the mattress as well as the frame.
4. Check any furniture near the bed as well. Look behind the headboard if you can, as well as inside dressers and nightstands, and behind mirrors and picture frames.

If you bring back some unwanted guests from your trip, call Bozarjian Pest Control today.

North Shore Service Areas: