Make Summer Travel Safe with Bed Bug Prevention

As the summer travel season gets into full swing it’s important to focus on bed bug prevention. It can be all too easy to overlook simple steps that can be taken to make sure that no matter where you’re going you don’t pick up any unwanted souvenirs.

Bed bug prevention relies on a few key, easy principles. First, be aware of your surroundings. Do a visual inspection of your hotel room or AirBnB right after you check in. The most important areas are around the bed, especially the mattress and behind the headboard. You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t put your luggage down on the bed or the floor; instead, place it on luggage stands (if provided) or a table top, as these are much less likely to allow for bed bug infestations. If you do see bed bugs when you check in alert the staff or owner right away.

It’s not just travelers themselves who are taking steps to prevent bed bug infestations. Hotels and tourist attractions are doing it too, as is the case in Calgary, Alberta where the annual Stampede (a rodeo/fair that’s one of the city’s main tourist attractions) began with bed bug sniffing dogs checking over hotels before guests arrived. We’ve always been a fan of using dogs to confirm suspected bed bug infestations and using them even when one isn’t suspected is a great step that we hope more hotels start using frequently. If you can ensure before guests even arrive that their rooms are safe and bed bug free not only do you prevent guests from taking bed bugs home with them, you also prevent any negative reviews of your hotel – and of the tourist events in general.

Bed bugs like to hide in places like wooden dressers

Bed bug prevention is also critical for places that aren’t tourist oriented, such as hospitals, community service providers and shelters. In Longview, Washington the Community House on Broadway shelter has begun using the ZappBug Room as a method to treat all incoming residents’ belongings. By heat treating everything regardless of knowing if it has bed bugs or not they’ve been able to greatly reduce the number of bed bug incidents they have. They’ve also taken other important precautions, like switching out the furniture and racking they use to metal models that are easier to examine and treat.

As you travel and go about your daily lives remember, it’s easy to prevent bed bug infestations! You don’t have to become paranoid or change your life, just take a few easy steps and you’ll be safe knowing that you won’t be bringing home any bed bugs. For more tips on bed bug prevention and treatment check out our 8-Step Guide.