Avoid Infestations:

• Perform inspections while traveling of your room and belongings.
• Do not purchase used or second hand furniture or bed bugs.

The next time you travel you might want to keep the following tips handy:

• Use a flashlight to inspect your room for insects or evidence of activity such as fecal material, shed skins or blood spots.
• Use a business card or nail file in the cracks and crevices around the mattress, bed frame, headboard (most lift off the wall), carpet edges, picture frames, closets nightstands, luggage racks and dressers to inspect for bed bugs or remnants.
• Don’t unpack; leave your clothes in a closed suitcase, knapsack or in a zipped clothing bag in an area away from the bed and luggage rack.
• Keep your suitcase and belongings away from the bed. Do not leave clothes laying about or in dresser drawers.
• Move the bed away from the wall or headboard if possible and have linens changed each night.
• Check yourself for bites or itching, although bed bug bites are not always immediately noticeable. 

Prior to Leaving on Your Trip

• Purchase bedbug mattress and box spring encasements from Thomas Pest Services, prior to your trip.
• This proactive step will prevent bedbugs from nesting in your mattress and box spring, if you do bring them home with you. Purchase heavy duty plastic bags.
• Place luggage in heavy duty garbage bags before placing luggage in car and bringing into home. This will prevent bedbugs from nesting in your vehicle or infesting your home.
• Packing for your trip
• Hard shelled luggage is less appealing to bedbugs than fabric luggage. When you return from your trip, all clothing should be washed and dried to kill any live bedbugs. Items like, bathroom toiletries and electrics should be placed into Ziploc bags to prevent bed bugs from infesting them.

During your stay

• Reducing your risk is very important when you initially arrive at your destination. Do an inspection around the mattress and box spring looking for live bedbugs, blood stains on the bed and small black marks. In hotels, look at the headboard, which usually lifts up.
• Keep luggage closed and away from bed bug prone areas.
• Keep all zippers closed, placing and storing luggage away from the bed, furniture or closet.
• Keep items that cannot be laundered in sealed Ziploc Bags.
• Keeping items, which can not be laundered like toiletries, jewelry, books and electronics should remain in sealed Ziploc bags when not in use. This is very important at night time, since bed bugs are nocturnal.Notify management immediately if you suspect bed bugs.
• Notify management if you see evidence of bed bugs, develop itchy welts or see insects. Management should be aware to take further action.

Returning Home From Your Destination

Following the tips above will greatly reduce the risk of bringing bed bugs home, but there is always the risk. If you have suspicion you have brought bed bugs home, call Thomas Pest Services, to have a professional pest management inspector to inspect and evaluate the situation. When you arrive home:

• Place all luggage into heavy duty garbage bags, before placing in vehicle.

  • Once placing the luggage into heavy duty garbage bags, seal tightly and travel home. This will help isolated your luggage, preventing a spread of a bed bug infestation.

• Your home! What do you do with your luggage?

  • Do not take luggage inside your home. Find a location that is well lit, away from furniture and sleeping areas.
  • Unpack one suitcase at a time, placing clothing into a pile to be laundered and a dry cleaning pile.
  • Any items that remained in a Ziploc bag during your travel should be discarded. However, during your travels, if you kept them in the sealed bag do an inspection of the items and the likelihood of the items being infested is minimal.
  • All items should remain in bags until laundered.

• What about the luggage?

  • It is important to address the luggage itself because you want to contain and isolate the bedbugs itself.
  • Do an inspection of the luggage looking around the zipper areas, for eggs, live insects or black spots

• Inspect your mattress and box spring encasements
• Before you traveled you were proactive by placing encasements on your mattress and box spring. Now, inspect the encasements looking for evidence of bed bugs or if you begin to experience itchy welts. If you should, "Call Thomas, we'll bring Promise," our bed bug canine to do a thorough inspection.