Do you know that bed bugs travel a lot more than us humans?
Bed bugs travel by hitching rides. They can be in the taxi cabs, buses, trains, airplanes, cinemas, and hotels! Bed bugs can hitch a ride in your belongings including clothing, bags, and luggages.
Bed bugs can survive for months without blood supply and they have been starving for months due to the previous travel restrictions. Now that it's holiday season and most of us are planning for balik kampung and holiday trips, be careful of those bugs that are starving for human blood meals.
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Just like other risks of travelling, there are ways to prevent those bugs from getting the best of you. As awful as the bites are, bringing the bugs home with you could lead to a total nightmare.
1) Wrap your bag
If you’re flying or using public transport, wrap your bags and luggages in plastic.
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2) Room inspection
Spend a few minutes inspecting your hotel room. It’s worth taking a close look rather than regretting it later. Check the blanket, mattress seams, headboards, closets, drawers, furniture, and the edge of carpets. Look for blood stains, bed bug shells, or live bed bugs!
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3) Keep away from bed and carpet
Try to keep the bags and luggages away from the bed and carpet. Pack or unpack on a hard surface.
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4) Request a new room
If you suspect bed bugs, request a new room or consider switching hotels. Bed bugs can easily move around from room to room.
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5) Spray the bed
As a prevention, bring along any product that kills bed bugs with you and spray the bed before sleeping. Use natural products available in the market that really work for bed bugs such as EcoRaider Bed Bug Killer. You would not want to sleep with chemicals on the bed.
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6) Inspect and steam
Upon returning home, inspect your bags and luggages carefully. In the case of bed bugs hitching a ride on your bag, use any product that kills bed bugs to kill those bugs. Steam the bags and luggages using hot steam (60°C) for at least 30 minutes to kill the hidden eggs and bed bugs. You can use the standing steam iron if you don’t have a steamer!
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7) Wash and hot dry
Unpack your clothings directly into a washing machine and consider using a hot dryer at a high temperature (60°C). Just washing will generally not kill the bed bugs.
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8) Keep away from the bedroom
Keep the bags and luggages away from the bedroom. Never store the bags and luggages under your
bed.
Image via TripAdvisor
Bed bugs can be really painful to endure and is a nightmare. Always know what the signs are and always check your hotel room to avoid the painful encounter with bed bugs while travelling. Just like the saying goes, don’t let the bed bugs bite.
