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Tips To Avoid Bed Bugs While Traveling

Vacations are special events shared among friends and families. Even a business trip to an exciting destination can be very rewarding for all parties involves. That being said, you do have to be safe when traveling. Due to the rise in bed bugs, one of the best ways to be safe during your travels is by applying the SLEEP method.

SURVEY

As you probably already know, the survey means pretty much what the name suggests. It means to survey the hotel room in which you are staying. It doesn’t matter if you are staying in a five-star hotel, at the Ritz, or a local Motel 6, you’ll want to do your best to properly survey the room. Bed bugs are not discriminatory. They’ll invade any property, regardless of the sanitation levels of income. One thing to keep in mind while survey your room is odor. When dealing with large infestations, you can expect sweet, musty smells. Large infestations of bugs give off sweet odors. You’ll smell something similar to that of soda-pop syrup. Another thing to keep an eye out for is n. Especially if you are dealing with white or light-colored sheets. Look for reddish-brown or red spots on the sheets. This can be an indication of dried blood or feces.

LIFT And LOOK

Next up is the L in the theory, which stands for lift and look. This is almost just a continuation of the survey. It means to continue surveying the hotel room, but doing so by lifting and looking under furniture. Check all the potential hiding spots for bed bugs. Check under the mattresses, box springs, in nightstands, and scour any of the potential hiding spots for bed bugs. Of course, what helps is knowing all the potential hiding spots for bed bugs. These places you can discover online via simple research. Make sure you lift and look under everything. Just because a room is clean, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the room is bed bug-free.

ELEVATE

This step of the SLEEP theory is much different than most people think. What it means is to elevate your luggage upon entering the hotel room. Don’t just move in the room, unpack your belongings, and call it a day. Elevate means taking advantage of the hotel’s luggage rack, usually mounted near the closet or bathroom up high. Place your luggage up here, inspect the room, look for signs of an infestation, and then unpack your belongings. You have to remember that while bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers, they cannot grab onto what they cannot reach. If they can’t get to your belongings, they cannot get in them. Bed bugs can crawl up the walls, but this also reduces the likelihood.

EXAMINE

While the elevate in the SLEEP theory was genius, the other “E” is just as important. This part of the sleep theory means examination. Given the name, most people would automatically assume that it just means to examine the room again. That is not what this part of the theory means. This E means to examine your luggage before packing back up and heading up. Just because you slept a week in a hotel room and didn’t experience any bed bug bites or symptoms, it doesn’t necessarily mean you haven’t been infected. Your luggage could be full of bed bugs and you might not even know it. This is where this part of the SLEEP theory comes in. It means to examine your luggage before repacking and heading home. Whether you bought new items or are just repacking your old belongings, make sure you aren’t bringing a pest home with you by reexamining your luggage to the fullest.

PLACE

The “P” may be the last part of the SLEEP theory, but you’ll soon find that it is the part of the theory that ties everything together. That being said, the “P”  stands for placement. What this means is to place your belongings in the washer and dryer when returning home. It is a well-known fact that bed bugs cannot survive when exposed to specific amounts of heat. Returning home and washing your belongings in the highest heat settings will eradicate adult bugs and their eggs. Drying your belongings on the highest heat settings will only double your chances of killing out bugs and eggs. Washing and drying on the highest heat settings for 15 minutes or more should be more than sufficient time to kill bugs and eggs. With a little bit of research, you’ll quickly discover that bed bug treatment has been difficult and tricky for many. This is because they are elusive creatures with resiliency to match. Given these facts, it makes them extremely difficult to eliminate. This is why it is usually best to call in the pros. Every infestation is different and usually requires a specialized approach.

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