Cheap accommodations sometimes come with caveats. If you’ve chosen a cheap hotel to stay in while visiting Disneyland or any other destination, you should definitely check it for bed bugs. Many people wonder, though, how to check hotel rooms for bed bugs. Here’s what we found!
Preventative measures can make a difference.
Figure out the best hotel for your stay. Even if you’re on an extremely tight budget, you probably don’t want to choose the cheapest hotel you can find. There’s usually a reason the hotel is so cheap and that might be due to the hotel not being clean or having issues with bugs. If you’re traveling to Disneyland, check out the top hotels we found in Anaheim to help you figure out which ones are the best.
When you’re choosing a hotel, always check the reviews on the hotel. The chances are if someone found bed bugs in the hotel, they’ll leave a review about it and let the hotel know. You can learn so much more about the hotel and all the things that people found while they were visiting just by checking out the reviews. It’s a good idea to make sure you have a solid idea of what other people experienced so you can be prepared…or avoid the hotel altogether.
Be proactive about your belongings.
When you get into the room, before you begin trying to check hotel rooms for bed bugs, it’s imperative you keep your belongings away from the floor, the bed, the mattress and anything that might be harboring these pests. It’s actually a great idea to keep your luggage and all of your belongings in your car before you even go into the hotel. Doing this will make it easier for you if you do find bed bugs so you don’t have to pack everything back up to leave the hotel room.
If leaving your belongings in the car isn’t an option, consider putting them on the luggage rack that most rooms have. Even if your hotel doesn’t have one or if you have too many suitcases to stack on it, you can put your luggage in the bathtub or stacked on the sink. It’s not a foolproof way to avoid bugs if you find them, but it might take them too long to find your luggage before you’re out of the room. Don’t leave your luggage in the room when you’re trying to check hotel rooms for bed bugs.
You must know what you’re looking for before you learn how to check hotel rooms for bed bugs.
When you’re looking for bed bugs, there are two different things that might signal an issue. Finding the actual bugs in the hotel room makes your job easier, but many times there are no actual bugs that you can see. You’re more likely to find blood spots from the bed bugs.
Bed bugs look just like you might expect- they’re small bugs with a round body and a round head. They’re less than a centimeter but still visible with the naked eye. Ones that have not eaten recently may be a lighter, almost tan color. Ones that have eaten recently will be a dark, rich brown not unlike blood. Even if you only see one bed bug, be alarmed. There will often be more hiding out somewhere else.
Blood spots will appear as small red or dark brown spots on the bed and around the bed. They will sometimes be in lines or in clumps. You can also find them on mattresses and in the cracks. More on that later.
Focus on where to look when you’re searching your hotel room for the bed bugs.
Most of the time, you’ll find bed bugs in the seams of the mattress or around the bed in other soft areas. You might find them in the carpet or on furniture, but the most obvious place to start looking is in the mattress. To do the best job while you check hotel rooms for bed bugs, you should start with the mattress.
Pull the linens off of the mattress to start looking for the bed bugs. It’s especially important to focus on the corners, but you might want to just completely strip the bed to ensure you get a good look.
Use a credit card and a flashlight (your phone one should work fine, you don’t have to worry about something high-powered) to push up on the folds of the mattress and the seams of it. Pull the edges down and look at where the stitching is on the seams. If you see red spots, a sign of a bug or anything that looks like it could be a bed bug, you’ve got them.
Be sure to check all the corners of the mattress just to be safe. It’s also important to look at the seams in the stitching on the top of the mattress in case they are hiding out on the top.
Check areas other than mattresses.
If you don’t find anything on the seams, you’re probably safe, but just to be sure, lift the mattress up and check underneath. Bugs might be hiding under there so don’t be surprised if you see bed bugs or blood spots. You can also lift up the box springs to check the bottom of them and the bottom of the bed.
If you still haven’t found any bed bugs, you’re probably safe to assume they’re not there. Still feeling worried? Do a quick check over the seams of the furniture the same way you did with the mattress just to be safe! Curtains, behind the headboard and the sheets of the bed are also great hiding places for bed bugs so do a check of those to make sure.
If you see bed bugs, talk with the hotel and consider booking at a different location that doesn’t have bugs.
Did you find bed bugs in your hotel room while you were trying to check hotel rooms for bed bugs? High-tail it out of that room! If you have luggage, tote it back outside. Check it before putting it back in your vehicle because that’s one of the easiest ways to spread bed bugs. Talk to the hotel manager or someone working the desk. The chances are they likely have protocols to handle it. You’ll be able to get your room deposit back and any other money you spent on the hotel room since it’s their fault you’re leaving.
Find another hotel in the area. Let them know you’re coming from a competitor, but you might not want to let them know you’re leaving because of bed bugs. Many hotels will be more than happy to take business from their competition and might be able to find you a room even if they are very full.
We know how hard it can be to have to pay more for a hotel room, but it is imperative you find something better than a hotel with bed bugs. Having bed bugs follow you home or get in your belongings is catastrophic. It can cost you thousands of dollars and make it hard for you to live your life. Bed bugs can even cause psychological problems and health issues in some people.
If you’re unable to pay for a hotel that doesn’t have bed bugs, it might be best to just skip your trip. Bed bugs are that serious.
Don’t take them home, but here’s what to do if it happens.
The last free souvenir you want to bring home from your vacation is bed bugs, but it can happen even if you check hotel rooms for bed bugs every time. If you find yourself in a situation where you have bed bugs in your home from travel or from any other issue, here’s what to do to get rid of them. It’s usually not cheap to get rid of them and it can take a long time, but you must do it to prevent bed bug bites and issues that could hurt your family down the road!
Want to do Disneyland on a budget? Check out our comprehensive series!
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