• Home
  • Travel Blog
  • Travel Deals
  • Travel Directory
  • Travel Guides

itravelnet.com

Travel blog and travel directory

  • Car Hire
  • Flights
  • Book Hotels
  • Package Deals
  • Eurail
  • Tours
  • Travel Insurance
  • Airport Transfers

Bed Bug Prevention for World Travelers

June 17, 2015 By itravelnet.com

Traveling always comes with its fair share of risks, but one risk that can easily be mitigated with a little education is the possibility of picking up bed bugs during your travels. Bed bugs are hitchhikers and love to hop around from luggage to trains to clothing and end up wherever you go. Since exterminating bed bugs on the road during your travels is not usually possible, the best you can do is to educate yourself on how to proven them in the first place. This infographic on bed bug prevention by NYC based exterminators bedbugforce.com illustrates some of the ways to identify and prevent bed bugs during your adventurous travels.

Bed Bug Identification

Bed bugs are about the size of an appleseed, reddish-brown in color and have a rather elliptical shape. You can find them in just about any part of your hotel room, but are most common around the bed, nightstand or any object that has nooks and crannies (something like an alarm clock for example).

Bed Bug

Items to Pack

When you’re hitting the road, you’ll want to keep in mind these things to help prevent bed bugs:

  • Pack a flashlight for inspection purposes
  • Use a hardshell suitcase (easy to clean) or collapsible suitcase (easy to wash)
  • Bring a plastic bag to wrap your suitcase in to be extra safe
  • Read online reviews carefully for previous bed bug sightings

Inspecting Your Hotel Room for Bed Bugs

You’ll want to be as thorough as possible when inspecting your hotel room. Start by putting your luggage in the bathroom as they are harder for bed bugs to exist in due to slippery surfaces and few hiding places.

After you have stored your luggage in the bathroom you’ll want to check these areas in your hotel room:

  • Head boards
  • Box springs
  • Night stands and screw holes
  • Book shelves, alarm clocks
  • Sheets, pillows and mattress seams

After you’ve determined that you don’t have any bed bugs, be sure to keep your belongings off the ground for the entire length of your stay. This ensure that you don’t get any bed bugs crawling into your belongings that you may have missed during inspection.

Inspecting Rental Cars

It’s not very common, but since bed bugs are hitchhikers they can also be found in rental cars and still get into your luggage. Be sure to check the tires, trunk and interior for any signs of a previous bed bug presence. If you find any signs of them, be sure to request a new rental immediately.

Arriving Home

When you get home be sure to wash all of your clothing in hot water and check your luggage outside of your home with a flashlight to ensure that you haven’t picked up any bed bugs along the way. This step is crucial as it is the point at which you bring your belongings into your home. If you end up missing a single bed bug during your check, you can easily introduce an entire infestation into your home. Be sure to be thorough and ensure that you are in fact bed bug-free.

Being Smart about Bed Bugs

When traveling it’s paramount to be fully cognizant of the habits of bed bugs, how to identify them and where to find them when you’re arriving at a new destination. Don’t take any chances, educating yourself about bed bug prevention is the key to a happy, safe and adventurous trip during your travels.

Check out the infographic below for more information.

how to prevent and check for bed bugs

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: bed bugs, travel health

itravelnet.com – Travel Directory and Blog

Travel blog:
Travel articles and press releases from travel writers and news outlets.
Travel Directory:
The best travel sites sorted into relevant categories.
Travel Guide:
An index of travel guides for every country in the world.

Featured Travel Sites

hotelscombined.com Access 850 airport lounges
CruiseDirect Tourradar

Recent Posts

  • The world’s most instagrammable destinations
  • Planning a wellness retreat in Spain? Here’s what you need to know
  • OneClickDrive races ahead with seamless rentals across Morocco
  • What makes a supercar drive worth it in Dubai?
  • The ultimate guide to the best bachelor party destinations in the world
  • Minor Hotels: Stay in luxury wherever you go
  • Things you should have when you’re travelling to Europe
  • The art of traveling: A journey through places, people, and purpose
  • Traveling to China: A journey through heritage, cities, and cuisine
  • How to travel like a local while spending like a tourist

Travel Directory

Airfares
Car Travel

itravelnet.com

About
Contact
Write for us

Follow itravelnet.com

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Twitter

Hotel Directory

Find hotels by location.
Hotel Directory
- U.K Hotels
- U.S.A Hotels

Recently Updated

Spain Tours
National Parks
Travel Gear
Business Travel
USA
Las Vegas
Cabo San Lucas

Site Search

Copyright © 2025 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Add a travel site | Log in