There is a increasing chance that the accommodation you take in hotels will have bed bugs. I am not talking about a cheap room in a doss-house, but accommodation in any hotel in the world. Costly suites and first-class hotels are also as likely to have bed bugs as the flop-house.
This is obviously very bad news for the traveller and tourist. It is ghastly enough being bitten when you are paying for a room in a hotel, but if there are bed bugs, you could end up bringing them home and creating your very own infestation too.
So, basically, you need to know how to recognize whether your room has bed bugs or not and what you can do about it.
Bite marks are obvious indications, but they are not foolproof because not everyone is allergic to bed bug saliva, which causes the bump and itchiness. Not only that, but some people do not feel any reaction for a few days, so you could have been bitten in the last place you stayed.
If you do see bite marks, bed bug bites are normally round, red-pink marks that look like the end of the rubber on a pencil. They will also be in a line or crooked line, but not random like mosquito bites. More like flea bites, but bigger.
If lots of bed bugs bite you in one night, and that is common, because when a bed bug finds a victim, it sends out pheromones to tell its friends that you are there, you might gt a rash. The rash can become substantial and deep red and may link all the patches of bites, perhaps on your chest or back.
However, if you have been bitten it is already too late. When you enter your room, take a deep sniff. This almost certainly will not help either as hotel staff know to spray air freshener in a room moments before a guest goes to look at it.
Bed bugs give off a, sickly, musty, ‘dirty’ odour, which, people say, once smelled, is never forgotten. The more bed bugs, the stronger the smell. It may take a few hours before the air freshener wears off and uncloaks the smell of bed bugs. You could try sniffing near the skirtings.
If this does not reveal bed bugs, put a bar of soap in a little water and lie on the bed for 30 minutes. Then, get up quickly, grab the soap and pull the bedclothes back. if you see any bed bugs, dab them up with the wet soap and you have evidence to give to the hotel manager.
Whatever the results of your due diligence, before you leave the hotel on the final day, unpack your suitcase and look for bed bugs; then place all your used garments in sealable plastic bags. In that way, you reduce the likelihood of taking any on your trip onwards.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on a number of topics, but is currently involved with allergenic mattress covers. If you would like to know more, go over to our website at Bed Infestation.