There are many risks when you are traveling that are always at the back of your mind. One of the biggest worries many people have during their travels is the cleanliness of their hotel of choice when needing to stop for some shut eye.
There are a few things you can do before you get to your hotel, and even before you make reservations, that will put your mind at ease when you stop to rest your head. You can even take a few precautionary measures if your pit stop comes without much planning and preparing that may help you feel more comfortable in the end.
Research
While bedbugs are one of the biggest things that we worry about when we stay at a hotel during our travels, they aren’t always at the forefront of our minds when we are on the road. There are many horror stories on the internet of people stay at hotels while traveling from place to place where they found gross things in their hotels.
These stories tell us of bed bug infested hotel rooms, sickening finds on mattresses and other furniture, and some terrifying photos of hotel bathrooms that are bad enough to make your skin crawl. But the worst of them all is the discovery of bedbugs, as these little vampires aren’t easy to get rid of when you get them in your own home.
One of the best things you can do when you know you will be staying at hotels during your travels is research. There are hundreds of websites that you can view to see if the hotels through your travels are infested with bedbugs or not. These sites are easy to find and are meant to be as credible as possible, and some even include pictures. It is best to plan your stops and research each hotel you choose to lay your head at night to avoid the possibility of bedbugs in your hotel.
Last Minute
We all know that sometimes a last minute stop for some well-deserved shut eye happens, and this is why people should take a little action when concerned about bed bugs. When you arrive at a hotel, you can research the hotel once you arrive to see if there have been any reports of bedbugs online. If you don’t have access to the internet from a mobile device, you can still purchase the room and check for yourself.
Bedbugs are small rust brown colored bugs that enjoy the seams of beds and other furniture. It is best to check the room before you bring your belongings into the hotel. This provides you time to check your room before settling in. A 5 to 10 minute check of your room may save you hundreds of dollars on a fumigation of your home as well as months of disarray within your home.
When you get to the room, prop open the door and remove your shoes in the bathroom. Then roll up your pant legs and go to the nearest piece of furniture and survey the seams for bedbugs. If you don’t see any, move to the bed and pull up the fitted sheet. Be sure to thoroughly check the bed as this is a great spot for them to both feed and hide. When you are sure all is clear, bring your things into the bathroom of the hotel and store them there.
If you are still uncertain of the bedbug situation, place all clothing you wore in the hotel room into a plastic trash bag and knot shut. These can be washed in hot water and dried on high heat in your drier to ensure no bugs came home with you.
Pete Kontakos is a blogger that writes about green living, health, fitness and sports. You can see more of his work on Examiner.
