Bed Bugs Hotel
2 Common Signs Of Bed Bug Infestation - Safety Tips For Hotel Guests
Author: Abhishek Agarwal
Are you aware of the fact that there are 90% chances for a popular hotel - a suite room or a presidential in a posh hotel to have bed bugs? Even you're favorite hotel can have bed bugs without your knowledge.
Now you may wonder whether your hotel has got bed bugs or not. What are the symptoms and signs of bed bug infestation? Assuming that your hotel has got bed bugs, what can be done so that your house does not get infested when you return home?
The common symptoms and signs of bed bug infestation are as follows
1. Bed Bug Rash
Itching is the first sign. The rash begins with an itching sensation. The rash will not be visible but you'll be able to feel the itch.
When a bed bug bites, it can be itchier than mosquito bites. When a mosquito bites, you can sense its sting and feel the sucking of blood. But when bed bugs bite, the itch can be felt only after a time period of minimum one hour. This is caused by the anesthetics in the bed bug's saliva. They inject anticoagulant and anesthetics, to prevent blood from clotting, before it sucks your blood.
Bed bug rash can be sensed one hour after the bite. But in some cases, the rash appears only a few days or weeks later. This is determined by the body's response to the chemicals secreted by the bugs.
How can you identify a rash caused by a bed bug? It begins with a, red, small and round (from being inflamed), bump which looks more swollen than a mosquito rash. Initially, only a swollen bump can be seen. In due course of time, the rash spreads all over. This indicates that many bed bugs have started biting you. But in some cases, the rash may look similar to a bite mark in sequence. This is seen in people who constantly move when they're sleeping. Once the bed bugs notice movement around them, they quickly run back to their hiding places.
When you suspect a bed bug rash, examine it for a few days. The rash causes prolonged itching for days together .Also, a bed bug rash doesn't heal as quickly as mosquito bites. It remains swollen for weeks together.
2. Bed Bug Odor
Next thing to look for is bed bug odor. What kind of an odor does it have?
A Hotel where there's plenty of bed bug infestation had this obnoxious, musty, sweet-smelling, odor that bed bugs release. You may find this smell under the headboard and mattresses. If you find a sofa with cracks or a wooden chair in your hotel, check whether they've got bed bug odor.
Bed bug odor isn't easily detectable in hotels with negligible or minimal amount of infestation,
How do you avoid the hotel bed bugs from attacking your house?
Take out all the things from your suitcase the previous night. Bed bugs are efficient hitchhikers. Bed bugs can survive without food for days together. If there are bed bugs in your suitcase, they can attack the entire household.
Check your wooden things for bed bugs. They are attracted to wooden items, paper and cloth. These are the substances that support their survival.
Use water-based insect destroyer and spray it around your suitcase, and that the bed bugs can be thrown away. put your clothes and other things in a clean, dry bath tub. Bed bugs can't stay in tub crevices as the tub is made up of ceramic or marble and it gets wet quite often.
Wash the used clothes before going back home. Remember, this isn't a trivial issue. Once your bedroom gets infested with bed bugs, it quickly spreads to neighboring rooms. Destroying bed bugs is really difficult. You may even have to even condemn your sofa and bed to get rid of bed bugs.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/2-common-signs-of-bed-bug-infestation-safety-tips-for-hotel-guests-753578.html
About the Author
Abhishek has got some great Bed Bugs Elimination Secrets up his sleeve! Download his FREE 69 Pages Ebook, "How To Win Your War Against Bed Bugs!" from his website http://www.Wonder-Homes.com/113/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
I’m not a lawyer and I don’t know the exact legal recourse (I do think you might have to prove the managers had prior knowledge), but I know you can file complaints. I would file one with the board of health in that state and locality (talk to everybody you can), and I would also file with the Better Business Bureau. You won’t necessarily receive any restitution ($) for your pain and trouble, but it will hopefully force the hotel to clean up their act. At least it will bring them negative publicity. Also, please do an online review so that people like myself see these comments when they do a google search and don’t book a room at this nasty place!
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
You would see little black spots on the sheets. Those aren’t the bugs themselves, but their “droppings.”
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/#invade
Fairly far down there’s a series of recommendations about bringing your luggage in the house.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
The same kind of thing worries me. So far I have not run into any.
Reading hotel reviews at
http://www.tripadvisor.com may help. The absence of a reviewer writing about bedbugs does not prove a hotel is safe, but if a reviewer has reported bedbugs I would avoid that hotel. I usually examine the bed before accepting the room. It is advisable to look at the sheets and mattress pad for evidence of blood spots from previously bitten guests. Looking at seams along the mattress for actual bedbugs is recommended.
There are probably more thorough tests that I don’t know. I treat my travel clothing and bags with permethrin spray. This is originally intended to repel mosquitoes.
Sawyer offers it in pump bottles. Repel offers it in aerosol cans as Permanone. Wal-Mart used to carry Permanone, but I haven’t seen it there lately. Permethrin is toxic to cats and to fish. REI carries it. It can be ordered from Amazon. I don’t know how effective it is, as my absence of bed bugs could just be the luck of not getting exposed. It is possible that because permethrin is used a lot bedbugs may be evolving resistance.
I usually bring a magnifier with me to examine any suspicious specks.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
There is an easy solution to this problem – before bringing your luggage into the room, check the sheets and roll them back to check around the seams of a the mattress. If you see any brown, reddish spots then there could be a problem. If you do, call the manager. See the mattress picture in the resource below.
If the sheets and mattress are spot free, then there is a good chance that the room is bed bug free. Other bed bug travel tips are listed in the resource.
July 5, 2007
11:29 pm
How to check for bed bugs at a hotel?
where should I be checking if I was looking for bed bugs at a hotel I’m staying at? Are they easy to see? I don’t want to be any place that has bed bugs….that is gross… so I wana know if there’s a way to check for them. Thank you!
April 8, 2008
10:05 am
We suspect we were bitten by bed bugs at a hotel.?
What can we do to prevent brining bed bugs home from a hotel ?
August 19, 2008
11:03 am
How can you decontaminate a mattress in a motel or hotel for bed bugs, scabies etc?
What legal action or recourse do you have if you stay at a motel and the managers know the mattresses are infested with bedbugs,etc and you are severely bitten?
August 21, 2010
9:13 am
How worried should I be about bed bugs in a hotel?
Next week we are going to be staying at extended stay hotel in Mpls because we will be on vacation for more than a week. My question is with all the things I have heard about bed bugs being a growing problem, how worried should I actually be? Never thought about it before I saw it on the news and I know how hard it was to get rid of fleas when I didn’t realize my cat that I had brought them home. How can you tell if a hotel has them?
August 28, 2010
2:40 am
Just booked a budget hotel and am concerned about bed bugs?
Have just booked a budget hotel in Rome and am a bit concerned after reading some reviews (for other hotels) about bed bugs. A common issue with budget hotels from what I gather, worldwide. The reviews for the hotel I booked did not mention anything of the kind but I am a bit antsy about it. If I shake out the sheets/towels and spray the room with common fly/ant spray, will it take care of any possible bed bugs? I know they can be quite small to the eye.