Could There Be Bed Bugs Hiding In Your Holiday Luggage?

Are there bed bugs hiding in your luggage? After all, this is usually the way that people get bed bugs. They go on holiday somewhere and the bed bugs crawl into your luggage. You then come home and a few weeks later you have an infestation. The point is that you should probably assume that could be bed bugs in your luggage. With this in mind, here’s what to do about this problem.

What to do about bed bugs hiding in your luggage

Solving this issue happens in three stages when dealing with bed bugs on summer holiday. When you’re packing, at the hotel and when you come back from holiday. To start with when packing, all of your clothing can be placed in plastic bags. Do not remove this clothing from the bags during your stay. The problem is that bed bugs can detect the smell of humans. This is why they crawl onto our clothes.

Placing things into plastic bags helps to prevent bed bugs hiding in your clothing and is great for protecting luggage. Just remember to keep clothing in bags during your stay. Only take things out when you are wearing them. Place clothing back into these bags immediately after it has been worn. Do not leave things on the floor, or on chairs or beds.

Follow the three steps to avoid bed bugs in luggage

Next, when you arrive at the hotel, do a thorough inspection because bed bugs can be found across the world. Start by stripping the bed. Carefully examine all sheets, pillow cases, and duvets with a torch. Then lift up the mattress and inspect that. Pay special attention to things like creases and fold. You’ll often find bed bugs hiding in these areas.

Also search in areas like behind the headboard, behind pictures, and around side tables, and lamps. You may also find bed bugs hiding in these areas, so search them thoroughly.

When staying at the hotel, it’s also a good idea to leave your luggage in the bathroom. This is a room that bed bugs do not often go into (they usually hang around the bed area.) Before leaving you also need to do a thorough inspection of your luggage. Turn bags inside out and look through them with a torch.

Finally, when you get home, do not unpack your bags straight away. It’s a good idea to them luggage in the garage for a few days. If there are bed bugs in your luggage, they might crawl away.

After a few days, bring your luggage back inside. Do not unpack in your bedroom. Take everything out in the kitchen or utility room. Wash all clothes immediately in warm water for about 90 minutes. Then check your bag once last time. This might sound like a lot of hard work, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. What you also have to realise is that dealing with an infestation is a lot more work than this.