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Years ago, the biggest nuisance involved with traveling was whether or not you were going to have a pleasant trip. Unruly children or annoying seat mates on a plane ride can make anyone cranky, but once you arrived at your hotel room, the nuisance of that awful trip suddenly faded away.

Today, though, traveling can bring another nuisance, one that is much harder to get rid of—bed bugs. Until recently, bedbugs were not a problem thanks to DDT, a specific type of pesticide that kept the small insects at bay. But the government stopped using DDT, which inevitably brought them back.

Many hotels have started to see a rise in bedbugs, which have made travelers hesitant to take vacations. If you’re traveling, how do you protect yourself from bed bugs?

Check for infestations in your area.
TheBed Bug Registry is a website that allows you to check and see if bed bug infestations have been reported in your area. You can search a specific address, so you can check and see if the hotel you plan on staying at had been reported. If so, use the registry to check if other hotels in the area have also been reported, and use the registry to find a hotel that is bed bug free.

Check your hotel room.
Just because your hotel hasn’t been reported on the registry doesn’t mean that it’s in the clear for bed bugs. You should always do a thorough check of your room before you make yourself comfortable. Place your luggage on a hard surface, such as on a table or on a luggage stand. This way, your luggage will be less likely of becoming infected while you’re looking for bed bugs.

Break out your flashlight and start looking around the bed. Look underneath the bed and underneath the mattress. You should also look around the bed frame. Pull off the sheets and look around the seams of the sheets. Remove the pillow cases and check the pillows and the cases for signs of bed bugs. Bed bugs are small black dots. If you find bed bugs in your room, make sure to tell the hotel staff immediately.

Seal your luggage.
To be extra careful, you should always travel with sealed luggage. For example, put your clothes in sealable plastic bags before placing them into your suitcase. When you remove your clothing, put those clothes into sealable plastic bags as well. This will keep bed bugs from getting onto your clothing and will keep you from bringing bed bugs home with you.

Wash your clothes in high temperatures.
Bed bugs are small and can infest any location, not just hotel rooms, so it’s important to take the necessary precautions to keep them at bay. Make sure to wash your clothes in high temperature washes. This will kill any bed bugs that are on your clothing.

Invest in bed bug sprays.
Pronto Plus is a spray that is used to kill bed bugs and their eggs. If you are traveling, you can always keep this spray in your suitcase and spray down your hotel room or rental car.

Take precautions at home.
When you get home, you should take a few precautions to ensure that you don’t bring bed bugs back into your home. Put your clothes in the wash immediately. Keep your luggage outside or in the garage and vacuum it right away.

Bed bugs are a nuisance and they can easily ruin your trip. Instead of bringing the infestation home, use these tips to protect yourself from bed bugs while on the road.

Prepared by Mariana Daniels in partnership with Franklin PC a reliable Long Beach IN, Pest Control company.