Thanksgiving is once again upon us and with it comes the busiest travel and shopping season of the year.  Because bed bugs can be found in a multitude of locations from hotels, motels, retail stores, movie theaters, and even an unsuspecting relatives home, it’s important to keep a watchful eye out for the bloodsuckers so that you do not bring bed bugs back home with you.

Here are a few helpful tips to make your Thanksgiving travel bed bug free…

If you are staying at a hotel or motel, the be sure to check the Bedbugregistry.com to see if any bed bug infestations are reported in the hotel you are staying at.

Bed bugs like to hide in baseboards, the edges of wallpaper, and the edges of carpets so when you first arrive in a hotel room, check the entire perimeter for bed bug excrement, shed skins, and live or dead bed bugs.

The cracks and crevices of wood drawers in hotel rooms make perfect hiding places for bed bugs.  Check all drawers very carefully for any signs of bed bug excrement, shed skins, and live or dead bed bugs.  Removal of the drawers is helpful as they tend to hide on the underside of the drawers as well.

Experts recommend that you remove the headboard from a bed when you inspect a hotel room, but clearly this is not always possible as they are often bolted to the wall.  I find it helpful to bang on the headboard and take a large towel and run it along the back of the headboard (when possible).  Be sure to check carefully with a flashlight to see if any bed bugs or their skins have fallen to the ground behind the headboard.

Bed bugs are known for hiding in the seam areas of mattresses so checking the bed is a must.  The entire perimeter of the bed must be checked.  Peel back the sheets to expose the mattress.  Look for bed bug excrement, blood smears, shed skins, and live or dead bed bugs.  I found hidden bed bugs in a luxury hotel one time by running tweezers along the seam all the way around the bed.  The bed bugs were well embedded in the stitching and I did not initially see them upon doing my inspection.  Once I ran the tweezers over the stitching, many live bed bugs popped right out!  A thin credit card also works for this job.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion.