Packing Home Pests | Four Reasons Travelers Accidentally Bring Home Bed Bugs

If there is one pest that is on the mind of just about every traveler that frequents a hotel room, it is bed bugs—and for good reason. As many as one in every five Americans say that they have had some kind of an experience with bed bugs either in their own home or a hotel room.

The biggest fear of discovering that you are sharing your hotel room with these unwanted guests is the worry that you will accidentally pack a few critters home with you. Your worries are not unwarranted, because it is so easy to pack up a few bugs and provide them with a non-stop trip straight to your house. Here are four reasons travelers usually end up taking bed bugs with them from an infested hotel.

1. Bed Bugs Can Be Difficult to See – You may think that you have an eye for bed bugs because you have seen a few pictures online, but the babies can be quite difficult to see. Before feeding, they are tiny, opaque creatures that could easily slip by your line of sight.

2. Bed Bugs Are Quite Sneaky and Stay Hidden – A hotel room could be infested with bugs and you would never know it until the lights went out. These creatures slip out under the veil of darkness because they are mostly nocturnal and prefer to feed at night.

3. Bed Bugs Will Seek Out Your Suitcase – It is not that the bugs know the suitcase is the best means of travel to your home where there is always someone in the bed, but the suitcase is a nice, dark place. It is full of places to hide and stay warm, which bed bugs thoroughly enjoy.

4. You May Never Know You Have Experienced Bed Bugs – Because bed bugs are so elusive, and their bites do not usually hurt, you may never know that you have slept in a bed full of these biting pests. Therefore, many travelers never realize that they have been exposed and take no precautions when they pack up their belongings.

If you want to make sure you do not end up with your own pest control problem at home, you do have to be careful as a traveler. Make sure you check a hotel's reputation online before you book a room and check the space over thoroughly when you arrive, including under pictures on the wall and around the baseboards. Never leave your suitcase open or on the floor and as an extra precaution, briskly shake out all of the clothes you wear before packing your things.

If you do bring an infestation home with you, contact a pest control company that specializes in bed bug treatment.

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