Using a hair dryer to check a hotel room for bed bugs
How to Submit a Bed Bug Report?
Just follow these simple steps:
- Find the hotel you stayed at by using the search box at the top of every page.
- If you can find it, search for the city where the hotel is located.
- Click on 'Write Report' button on the hotel or city page and complete the form.
What does a bedbug look like?
Bed bugs are little mites that are hard to see with a naked eye. They tend to be dark brown in color, and oval in shape. Sometimes, however, they can appear red after they have fed on a meal of a host's blood. They have very small wings, but they are vestigial and the bedbugs are actually unable to fly. Instead, bed bugs move about by scurrying very quickly. Due to their very small size, what you see may not actually resemble a bug. A large bedbug measures 5 mm in size (about the size of an apple seed), though younger ones are only 1 to 2 mm in size.
Nobody likes to think about bed bugs, especially when they are staying in a hotel room, but lots of hotel beds are hiding these little critters. Bedbugs are notorious for sneaking out at night and biting unsuspecting guests. This can happen anywhere from the most expensive hotel to the down-market flea pit While the bites are not usually harmful, some people are allergic to them and will get hives from the bites. These itchy bites are unpleasant, as is the thought of an insect biting an unsuspecting person while they are asleep.
The most obvious way to check for bed bugs is to look for them or their dark droppings on light-colored sheets. A person can also use their hand to brush from the suspected area on to a piece of white paper and check on there for signs of droppings. This may show signs of larger infestations, but if there are only a few bugs, then they might be more difficult to find, especially as they like to hide in little nooks and crannies.
Bed bugs like to hide in small dark spaces, such as behind the headboard, in folds in the mattress and behind bedroom furniture. They also like furnishings like the mattress, quilt and any carpets or rugs.
One of the best tricks to look for bed bugs that are hiding is to use a hot hair dryer, something that is commonly found in most hotel rooms. By pointing the hot air towards the little crevices, it will force the bed bugs out of hiding and allowing identification of an infestation before it is too late. Bed bugs don’t like the heat so you can do this trick along the mattress seams and baseboards until you have some assurance that your room is bed bug free.