Good night, sleep tight — but first, ensure that the bed bugs won’t bite.
The very first thing most of us do once we walk right into a hotel room — most definitely after a protracted day of travel — is the flawed thing, travel experts say.
Don’t flop on the bed and switch on the TV, in line with those within the know — get under that mattress and perform a bed bug check, a fast and simple process that would prevent a world of hassle in a while.
“I actually have two really good friends who’ve gotten bed bugs in Latest York [hotels] before,” said HuffPost Senior Editor Caroline Bologna, who spoke concerning the subject on HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Unsuitable?” podcast, co-hosted by Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson.
“It doesn’t matter how nice the hotel is ― they’re not interested in grime,” Bologna said.
Bed bugs crave “warmth, blood and carbon dioxide,” in line with the EPA, and revel in feeding on the blood of sleeping humans, who provide all three of those things to the hungry little monsters.
A guide published by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, aimed toward stamping out the pesky problem, describes the craven critters as “concerning the size of an apple seed,” saying that they’re “sufficiently big to be easily seen, but often hide in cracks in furniture, floors, or partitions.”
And the way do they get right into a hotel room in the primary place? Easy — they hitch a ride, on clothes and in suitcases.
Bed bugs have develop into a world phenomenon, even interrupting Paris Fashion Week last 12 months — French officials were warning of a “widespread” outbreak in public spaces, referring to the issue as a “scourge.”
Currently, the Big Apple ranks number two on a recent worldwide list of shame released by pest control company Orkin. One other Orkin study found that eight out of 10 hotels had bed bug problems in only one 12 months.
Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid letting the issue wreck your next trip to the City of Light, or anywhere — take the thirty seconds or so to comb the places in a hotel room where they could be lurking, before you agree in.
“They like upholstery — just have a look at the sheets,” said Bologna. “Just peel back considered one of the corners of the bed, have a look at the seams of the mattress… just check. Check anything upholstered. Take a look at the headboard. Take a look at the chairs. In case you don’t see anything, you’re probably totally nice.”
Feel like being much more careful?
“People who find themselves really cautious — like my friends who’ve had bed bugs — put their suitcase in the tub… just not on upholstery,” Bologna said. “Most hotel rooms are carpeted, so just don’t have your bag on carpeting.”
Must you be unlucky enough to seek out the uninvited guests in your room, don’t wait a second to inform management — complaining of bug bites after checkout is way less effective than having the hotel handle the issue (and perhaps even upgrade you to your troubles) in the beginning of your stay.
But still, Bologna warned, ensure that to distance yourself from the issue adequately.
“In case you determine you don’t want to depart the hotel but you would like to switch rooms, don’t move to an adjoining room because that may be prone to have the identical problem,” she warned.