Don’t let the bedbugs bite! Six ways you can prevent bringing the critters home from your holiday

There have been over 17,000 searches on Google for ‘how to get rid of bedbugs’ this month, along with 5,000 searches on ‘hotel bedbugs’.

So notes MattressNextDay, which points out that these pesky critters – which leave you with itchy bites – can hitchhike a lift right into your home by hiding in small crevices in your luggage and clothing while you’re on holiday, making for the worst kind of souvenir.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to avoid bringing bedbugs back from your travels, Martin Seeley, the CEO and sleep expert at MattressNextDay has revealed. 

Here are his six bedbug-busting tips…

1. Check the hotel bed for any signs of bedbugs

There are certain steps you can take to avoid bringing bedbugs home from your travels – including checking your hotel bed for any sign of the critters 

You’ve arrived at your hotel. What next? Martin explains: ‘In order to discover if the hotel bed is infested, first start by pulling the bedding off to reveal the bare mattress. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies and are a similar size and colour to an apple pip, depending on their age.’

He continues: ‘When checking the mattress, look out for red, rust, or dark-coloured stains, and eggs or eggshells that are about 1mm in size. These are hard to spot, but they do tend to come in clusters making them easier to see.’

Martin adds: ‘Make sure to also check the underside, any bed drawers, and between the gap of the headboard and the wall itself.’

2. Never put your suitcase on the hotel bed

‘When you initially arrive at your hotel, you might put your suitcase straight onto the bed without checking for bugs and begin unpacking,’ says Martin.

However, he notes that by doing this, ‘you’re putting your luggage and clothes right onto the place bedbugs are commonly found and giving them a free ticket home’.

With this in mind, he recommends storing ‘your suitcase as close to the room door as possible’.

3. Always store your clothes in a wardrobe, not drawers

It’s recommended that you avoid putting your suitcase on the hotel bed and always store your clothes in a wardrobe, not drawers

After a long day of travelling to your destination, you might be inclined to quickly throw whatever you’re wearing into the conveniently placed bedside drawers – but Martin declares this move a ‘big mistake’.

Why? He explains: ‘Although bedbugs can’t fly, they can crawl, and putting your clothes into bedside drawers gives them a perfect opportunity.’

4. Take a spare plastic bag for dirty clothes

Martin says: ‘Bedbugs are more attracted to dirty clothes, so make sure to take a spare bag for your dirty laundry in your case and tie the bag in a knot to make it completely sealed.’

5. Unpack on a hard floor and not in your bedroom

There are more preventative measures you can take when you get back from your holiday, Martin reveals.

The sleep expert says: ‘When you get home, unpack your luggage in another location apart from your bedroom. Even better if it’s on hard flooring, as you won’t be able to spot bedbugs on a carpet.’

He continues: ‘Inspect your suitcase closely and use a flashlight or torch to look into the seams, folds and pockets of your suitcase. Always vacuum-clean your suitcase before putting it in storage.’

6. Wash everything you took, even clean clothes

Finally, Martin recommends that – even though it ‘may seem like overkill’ – you ‘wash every single item of clothing you took on holiday with you, even those that are clean or you didn’t wear’.

He explains: ‘If bedbugs have crawled into your suitcase, they won’t discriminate between items of clothing.’