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Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

by Dave Luna (RSS feed) on Feb 16th 2007 at 9:49AM

When I first enter a hotel room, I become a man on a mission. I conduct a multi-point bed bug inspection process that starts with the bed sheets, continues to the floor, and ends at the nightstand. I picked up this process from an MSNBC article, and I'll pass on some of the finer points so you don't fall prey to the blood-sucking creepy-crawlies:

Pull back the bedsheets and look for reddish-brown, oval, wingless bugs that are about 4 to 5mm long. (Reference image from Wikipedia)
Check the mattress in addition to the bedsheets. The mattress seams and mattress tag are common places for bed bugs to hide.
Examine the headboard and floor behind the bed. Look for small black stains that could be bed bug excrement.
Peek in the drawers of bedside tables. Bed bugs infest all types of furniture, so some may be hiding in there.
Keep your luggage off the floor with a luggage stand if possible. This helps prevent bed bugs from hitching a free ride back home with you.

Some believe that bed bug populations are on the rise, so it's a good practice to give a hotel room a once over just in case. After all, if some stowaway in your luggage, they could start a colony in your home! Though, if that does happen, you might want to read the bed bug Wikipedia entry. It details how to deal with an infestation.

I also recommend this bed bug study from University of Kentucky Entomologist Michael F. Potter. It has great, gross-out pictures of bed bugs and bed bug excrement for reference!