Orkin Warns Travelers That Bed Bugs are Great Hitchhikers
Posted on March 15, 2012
Orkin is warning travelers that bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They can easily crawl into your luggage in a hotel or get into your stuff at work or at the gym.
Orkin entomologist Ron Harrison, Ph.D., says, "Bed bugs can be found in other places than the bedroom. They're great hitchhikers and tend to settle where people sleep, particularly in hotel rooms, but they can also crawl into personal belongings and make their way into planes, gyms, offices, stores and worse, your home."
Orkin offers the following S.L.E.E.P. acronym to help you avoid bringing the awful blood sucking bed bugs home with you during your travels:
- Survey surfaces for signs of an infestation, such as tiny rust-colored spots on bed sheets, mattress tags and seams and bed skirts.
- Lift and look for all bed bug hiding spots, including underneath the mattress, bed frame, headboard and furniture. Typically, they come out at night to feed, but during the day, they are most likely found within a five-foot radius of the bed.
- Elevate your luggage on a luggage rack away from the bed and wall, since bed bugs can often hide behind head boards, artwork, picture frames and electrical outlet panels.
- Examine your luggage carefully while repacking and when you return home. Always keep luggage off the bed and store it in a closet or other area, far away from your bedroom.
- Place all your clothing from your luggage immediately in the dryer for at least 15 minutes at the highest setting upon returning home from travel.
Sleep is an interesting name for it because we don't think anyone is going to get much of it worrying about bed bugs. However, it is better to be safe than sorry. You will certainly feel better if you follow the SLEEP method and never see a single bed bug. If you do see sings of them you'll want to change hotel rooms ASAP.
Here's a Bed Bug FAQ provided by Orkin.