Tips To Avoid Bed Bugs While Traveling

Bed bugs target motel guests, whether they are aware of their presence or not. Identifying the bed bug is important, but not nearly as important as the signs of a bed bug infestation. Why? The bed bug’s tiny size, which is no larger than 7 millimeters, helps avoid detection in commercial and residential settings. Learning how to avoid bed bugs in motel settings is not impossible without knowing there is a potential encounter waiting around every corner.

Learning How to Identify Bed Bugs At First Sight

As previously mentioned, bed bugs are tiny insect species. Visual sightings are rare unless there is an infestation. Bed bugs colonize to ensure the longest possible survival in the human habitat. Sharing a home with humans is risky, but absolutely necessary for the survival of the bed bug. The parasitic insect species need blood from a living host. While bed bugs prefer human blood to animal blood, both offering the same benefit, which is nutrition. The mature bed bug measures about 7 millimeters in length. The body varies between reddish/black and brown. As the insect feeds, the stomach becomes distended. Before the stomach becomes engorged in blood, it is flat, and the body is the shape of an apple seed.

Learning How To Identify A Bed Bug Infestation

Since bed bug sightings are rare, the next best option is to learn to identify an infestation. With this said, the bed bug is not of microscopic size, but visible to the naked eye. In any case, frequent travelers need to know how to identify an infestation of bed bugs. There are several signs to be on the lookout for when visiting travel accommodations like roadside inns. Bed & breakfasts, motels, chalets, and cabins. The signs of a bed bug infestation include the following:

• Live adult bed bugs, eggs, and lave
• Dried blood stains
• A musty, sweet odor
• Exoskeletons
• Fecal droppings

Know The Top Bed Bug Hiding Places

Like all insect species, the bed bug has preferred hiding places. It is important, everyone knows where the hiding places are located. In the event, you unknowingly access an infested property, an encounter is a possibility. Every bed bug encounter will not result in home infiltration. However, the odds of your home being infiltrated by bed bugs after a brief encounter are a major possibility. Where do bed bugs hide in residential and commercial settings? The answer is the same across the board, the host’s bed. Where in the host’s bed can bed bugs be found?

• Mattress
• Box springs
• Bed linen
• Bed frame
• Pillow

It only takes one pregnant female to cause a full-blown infestation. The mature female bed bug can produce up to 250 eggs in her lifetime. The pregnant female does not nest but deposits her eggs in close proximity to the host. It can up to 10 days for the eggs to hatch and another 5 weeks for the eggs to reach maturity. After reaching maturity, the bed bugs begin to breed, resulting in more eggs and a bigger problem for homeowners.

Learn How To Conduct Bed Bug Inspections

If your goal is to avoid bed bugs when traveling, it only makes sense to learn how to conduct inspections. This is a simple process that requires only a few minutes, patience, and knowledge of the bed bug. There are several clues to look for during the inspection. These clues include live bed bugs, larvae, and eggs. If these clues are not detected, you should start searching for the signs of bed bugs. These signs include dried blood, tiny fecal droppings, exoskeletons, and a sweet, musty scent. It is not unusual to detect only one or two of these signs. So, do not think the room is free of bed bugs if all of the signs are not detected.