Tips from the experts!

Many people we meet are very worried about staying in hotels. We understand the concern, but at the same time we think it is very sad that this feeling affects the experience and also some time afterwards. Here are our top tips on how to avoid bringing home bed bugs from your vacation.

We want everyone to enjoy comfortable hotel beds and good breakfasts. Who doesn’t love hotel breakfasts?!

There are a few things we always recommend doing both before and during your hotel stay.

1. Before you book a hotel, call the hotel and ask if they have bedbug prevention, do they do routine checks? The safest hotels to stay in are those that actually know what they are doing! If you want to be even safer, ask if they work with us or a company contracted through a pest control company.

2. When you enter the room, put your bags by the door and make a visual inspection of the bed and headboard. Focus on the bottom of the bed and the edges of the headboard. What you’re looking for are small black dots that could be bedbug droppings. If you find something that looks suspicious, take a good picture and send us a quick text message. You will usually receive an answer within a few minutes.

3. Leave bags and other luggage on a desk, stool or chair. If you want to feel even safer, leave your bags in the bathroom. ATTENTION! Never unpack your bags in bed or on the sofa. Also, do not store bags under or on the bed or sofa. This is to protect both you and the hotel.

4. If you are particularly worried, you can keep the clothes you sleep in in a sealed plastic bag until you get home and can wash them. Otherwise, wash all clothes when you get home at 60 degrees and or tumble dry or hang in the drying cabinet. Anything that cannot be washed at 60 degrees can be put in the freezer for at least 2 days. Vacuum the bag thoroughly, focusing on zippers, seams and other folds. Throw away the vacuum cleaner bag when you are done.

5. Have you done everything according to our recommendations but still feel worried. Call us and we’ll help you get rid of your worries!

And remember Bedbugs do not care how many a hotel has and it is the guests who bring bedbugs to the hotels. But without guests, there are no hotels. And anyone can be affected by bedbugs.

More and more hotels are realizing the importance of staying ahead of the game, both for their own sake and that of their guests.

Big kudos to those hotels!