Avoiding bedbug hitchhikers: Hotel check-in tips for wary travellers

Many hotel guests, right after checking into their room, place their suitcase on the bed and then unpack it, arranging clothes right next to it on the bedding. Experts remind us that this is not a good practice.

Before we start laying out our personal items, including clothes and cosmetics, on the bed, it is worth checking if there are any unwanted, tiny guests, such as bedbugs. Experts share practical tips on how to effectively protect ourselves from them.

If we lay our luggage and other personal items on the bed without first checking for bedbugs, they can quickly transfer to our suitcase.

Martin Seeley, Director of MattressNextDay, a mattress production company, recommended keeping your luggage near the hotel room door until you're certain the room is clean, as this can prevent bedbugs from hitching a ride to your home.

So how do you check if there are bedbugs in the hotel bed? The expert explains that you should remove the bedding to expose the mattress. Adult bedbugs have flat, brown bodies the size of apple seeds.

Seeley recommends examining the mattress carefully for red, rusty, or dark stains, as well as eggs or eggshells that are around one millimetre in size. While these can be hard to see individually, they are often found in clusters, making them more noticeable. He also suggests checking the underside of the mattress, inside bed drawers, and the area between the headboard and the wall.

It is also worth searching the areas around the curtains with the lights off. A flashlight on your phone can be helpful. Bedbugs are nocturnal and come out only after dark, searching for their victims.

Another method to check for bedbugs is to use an iron. With it, you should thoroughly heat the mattress. If they're there, they will come out.

Source: mirror.co.uk