Hotels And Bed Bugs
Bed Bugs Spreading in Homes, Apartments, Hotels, and College Dormitories
Author: Modern Pest Services
There is a Bed Bug crisis spreading across the U.S. and Maine is no exception. Despite the fact that sanitation has little or nothing to do with Bed Bugs, but there are some things you can do to protect yourself and your family.
Do not confuse Bed Bugs with Dust Mites. Dust Mites are microscopic, but Bed Bug adults, although flat as a business card before feeding, are about the size of a Lady Bug. Unless a mattress is torn, they are too large to pass through the fabric. Their eggs are white and the size of a spec of dust. Hatchlings are about the same size, but they bite just like an adult. Check under the beading and seems of your mattress and box spring, and in the cracks & crevices of the headboard and bed frame for clusters of Bed Bugs and their shed skins. Their droppings are small black spots that look like mold on the fabric.
A person can be bit many times while they sleep and not awaken because a Bed Bug’s saliva contains a topical anesthetic. The red marks and itching are an allergic reaction to the saliva. It is estimated that up to 40% of the population are not allergic and will have no visible reaction to the bites! To put it in to perspective, a Bed Bug bite is less of a health risk than a Mosquito bite, because Mosquitoes are known to transmit diseases, while Bed Bugs are not. They come out of hiding in the bed to feed, sucking a host’s blood for 3 to 15 minutes, then retreat back in to hiding in cracks and crevices.
Bed Bugs do not normally travel on people because they lack the appendages to hold on to skin or hair. They normally hide in luggage, back packs, hand bags, etc. All it takes is one pregnant female in your luggage to infest your whole house. Once impregnated, a female Bed Bug is pregnant for life and will lay 3 to 5 eggs every day! These eggs hatch within 1 or 2 weeks and are procreating within 3 or 4 weeks after that.
How do these pests get in to your home in the first place? Very often they will hitchhike in one’s luggage as they return from a trip, or in the luggage of an overnight visitor. Used furniture, especially bed room furniture is a common source of infestation. If you are travelling, here are some practical steps you can take to avoid Bed Bugs:
- Do not put your luggage on a hotel bed but use the luggage rack, especially a metal one as Bed Bugs have a natural aversion to metal. Or put your luggage in the bathroom until you can inspect the bed.
- Take off the bed covers and check the seams for Bed Bugs, their shed skins, or their droppings (remember these may look like mold).
- If you find evidence of Bed Bugs, do not let a hotel move you to an adjoining room, as they often migrate to other rooms through the walls.
If you suspect Bed Bugs in your home, preserve a specimen and call your local pest control company for positive identification. The best way to collect a specimen is to dab the suspect insect with a wet bar of soap. This will immobilize the bug, yet not crush it so it can be identified.
If you have Bed Bugs in your home, be wary of home remedies or self-treatments. These are the most difficult pests for even professionals to eradicate. Chances are, self-treatment will only make them spread to other rooms or deep in to your walls, making a pest control professional’s job much more difficult.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/hotels-articles/bed-bugs-spreading-in-homes-apartments-hotels-and-college-dormitories-677108.html
About the Author
Modern Pest Services is a 3rd generation family owned and operated pest control company.We at Modern are dedicated to protecting the health, property and environment of our clients. We pledge to ensure ethical business standards and to assert the highest standards of quality in the pest management industry. We pledge to anticipate and respond to the present and future needs of our clients, our team members, our vendors, and the general public.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
Good point Nora Cat
Most of the problems are most serious around airports that handle a lot of international travelers.
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.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
If you stay in hotel’s that much, then lift the sheets and see if there in the corners. And if they are, then ask either for another room, or get your money back. But I wouldn’t worry about that, even staying over a friends house can be the same. The thing I worry about the most in hotels is the carpet beetles and roaches which come out when you turn the lights off. I stayed in a hotel once in FL and notice the ceiling moving. When I turned on the light, I saw a spider bigger then my fist.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
Santa Cruz is a beautiful place…ideal in the Summer. However, being a prime living & vacation spot, there is heavy Summer traffic, lots of tourists. Tourist season is now so you WILL be paying top dollar, even for a Motel 6. Stay away from Beach Flats…the area surrounding the Boardwalk. Beach Hill area (above the flats) or Downtown Santa Cruz is a safer bet. Consider anything on Ocean Street…from here you can walk to ocean, restaurants Check out University Inn on Ocean street: http: //www.santacruz.com/universityinn/ .
This is a housing facility for UCSC students, as well as hotel for the general public. So it’s safe, well lit, homey. Hope that helps….love, a local.
January 29, 2008
2:01 pm
How can i protect myself from bed bugs at hotels?
ewwwwww i justed learned about them in sci. class today and they make me wanna live in my shower. ew how can i protect myself from them when staying at a hotel?
December 29, 2009
6:05 pm
Do these hotels have bed bugs?
My family and I are going to a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, and we would like to know if the two hotels we are considering have bed bugs.
Downtown Raleigh Sheraton
Raleigh Marriott City Center
Thanks!
May 12, 2010
1:42 pm
LEGAL THEORY NEEDED. State of Georgia / Hotel / Bed Bugs?
Hotel guest evicted when complained of bed bugs. Exterminator called, bugs found, one weeks rent (extended stay hotel) returned and told to leave premises within 2 hours. Emergency room records reflect bed bug bites. Photographs taken . Health Department quarantined rooms. newspaper and television media notified. Medical bills incurred. Legal representation fees. Moving expenses. Inconvenience. Why should not the hotel be responsible for damages that they initiated. No bed bugs in previous room, no bed bugs in subsequent room at another location. Conclusion: bed bugs were confined to that room solely.
Guest A stayed at hotel for 1 year. Guest B stayed at hotel in different room, for 1 year. Guest A and B moved into a room together. Guest A reported Bed bugs after first night. Mattress changed out. 2 weeks later Guest B bitten, with a bed bug captured. Evicted from hotel .
June 9, 2010
8:36 pm
Santa Cruz California hotels filled with bed bugs, theft, and rude service?
I am taking a little trip with a friend up to Santa Cruz for a few days this summer but it looks like all the hotel reviews are really really awful and frightening.
Does anyone with actual experience living or visiting Santa Cruz know of a decent and SAFE hotel for young girls to stay? I am looking to spend no more than $115 a night (hopefully less). If all of Santa Cruz is as disgusting as it looks in the reviews online, maybe a suggestion for a place in a nearby town?
Thanks so much.
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.