I had a follower recently send me a tweet with the following daily vlog topic. “How to avoid bed bugs when traveling?” She asked, “Have you ever had stayed in a hotel that had bed bugs If so what did you do”. My initial response was “Bed Bugs in My Hotel…Oh Hell No”. I can tolerate a lot of things when I travel, however, bed bugs are a no go for me. Bed bugs or any bug for that matter in my room is the quickest way for a hotel brand to get a scathing review from me.
I’ve been lucky to never have run into this issue but I realize other may not have been as lucky. If you’re looking for general ideas on how to avoid bedbugs when traveling check out the following youtube video for tip and tricks for avoiding bed bugs. If you ‘ve never seen a bed bug and have no idea what to look for keep reading.
What Is A Bed Bug How to avoid bed bugs when traveling
According to WebMD, bed bugs are small, oval, brownish insects that live on the blood of animals or humans. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, however, their bodies swell and are a reddish color.
Bedbugs do not fly, but they can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Female bedbugs may lay hundreds of eggs, each of which is about the size of a speck of dust, over a lifetime.
Immature bedbugs, called nymphs, shed their skins five times before reaching maturity and require a meal of blood before each shedding. Under favorable conditions, the bugs can develop fully in as little as a month and produce three or more generations per year.
When Bed Bugs Bite How to avoid bed bugs when traveling
Bedbugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak. The bugs feed for three to 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed.
Most bedbug bites are painless at first but later turn into itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are mainly around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites do.
